Solar Now, or Wait ?

[tp4tissue]

A little worried about these early adopter components. They don't give very long warranties. It's about 30k upfront.

The guy said they guarantee their work for 10 years, yet the company is only a few months old, most of the sales guys walking around are from brand new companies, and they all seem to sell different gear.

Is the equipment going to have compatibility / service problems down the road with things moving so fast ?

Are these small installers even going to be around later?


Anyone got panels on the roofs already? What is the real world experience with break even points, does that include maintenance costs.

[kurplop]

I’ve had solar for 2 years and it made sense to me. The laws, credits, and reimbursements for excess production are ever changing so anyone considering should not assume they will be under the same program. My investment should be made up in savings in five more years, then free electricity until they fail.

My decision to install had everything to do with economics. I question the climate saving merit because of the ecological cost of manufacturing and wonder about future recycling costs of millions of old panels.

It helps being in Southern California where there are plenty of sunlight hours. It may make less sense in other areas.

[tp4tissue]

Did you install yourself kurplop. I've been reading that people have had problem with installers not sealing the mounting bolts properly, which necessitated costly roof board repairs from leaking, those boards arn't that expensive, but the labor to change them out is.

[kurplop]

No I didn’t. The company used flashed mounts that should work fine. It is always a good idea to install over a roof that will last as long as the panels too. The total cost of my install two years ago was $21,000.00 minus a 26%tax credit bringing my cash outlay down to around $16,000.00 My system doesn’t include battery storage which made sense with the energy buyback I have. Since then many utility companies aren’t as generous with their buyback policies so batteries may be a cost effective solution now. My system has 24 panels rated at 340w each.

[noisyturtle]

Prices for solar panels and install go up exponentially every year. Some companies will have a deal where you can trade up to newer panels after 7 years or so if they do the install.

[yui]

i was planing on getting used panels, cheaper and reduces landfill, but also reduced output power