PSA for Solar

[Ucsdryder]

Whether or not solar makes sense for a particular house, is case by case. Solar in and of it's self is not a scam by any stretch. Some of the companies are scammy and only tell the positives and leave out any negatives. It is like anything else in life you purchase. It's simply numbers to figure out if it makes financial sense or not.

It really shouldn't be a political issue. I see it more of a financial issue. Some how the ignorant, on both sides of the aisle, tend to make statements that are not factual and only made out of ignorance and emotion.

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Very well said. It does get old seeing people follow party lines on both sides without actually independently think…about anything.

 

[ramsdude47]

Curious to know what makes you think your house “went up by $18000 the day you installed it”? Not being a smart ass. Really would like to know. Sounds like something a solar sales person would tell a customer.

Part of it is wishful thinking to be perfectly honest. But I have talked to enough people in Real Estate (and read/researched) to know that even if it’s not the full amount the property value increases significantly.

And logically, why wouldn’t it? Compare the very best comp of my home without solar panels and it will cost at the absolute minimum an extra $20,000 over 10 years to live there versus my house. Probably somewhere closer to 30-40K in reality. Based on the trajectory of energy rates the 20 year number is likely considerably higher as well.

 

[Jstumbaugh]

Curious to know what makes you think your house “went up by $18000 the day you installed it”? Not being a smart ass. Really would like to know. Sounds like something a solar sales person would tell a customer.

I would guess he had to apply for a permit which lead the town to increase his assessment $18k which increased his tax bill too.

 

[Maverick1]

Whoever sold this poor woman solar, should be executed.

Everyone ripping on the salesman. His job is to sell, which he did. Appears to be quite unethical.

But what about the neighbor? Nobody finds fault in them for spending money on an unwise financial decision or purchase, not getting multiple opinions, or consulting with family and friends prior to the purchase? And making a purchase decision which they will never realize the payoff period, on a roof that needs replacing?

Or is that all just forgiven or forgotten because of their age?

“Whoever sold this poor woman solar should be executed”

What about

“Whoever overpays for solar, in their 70’s or 80’s, with all major appliances that don’t use electricity, and puts it on an aging roof, should be…….”

 

[Yoder]

Everyone ripping on the salesman. His job is to sell, which he did. Appears to be quite unethical.

But what about the neighbor? Nobody finds fault in them for spending money on an unwise financial decision or purchase, not getting multiple opinions, or consulting with family and friends prior to the purchase? And making a purchase decision which they will never realize the payoff period, on a roof that needs replacing?

Or is that all just forgiven or forgotten because of their age?

“Whoever sold this poor woman solar should be executed”

What about

“Whoever overpays for solar, in their 70’s or 80’s, with all major appliances that don’t use electricity, and puts it on an aging roof, should be…….”

I knew there would be one.

It is her fault. People can do anything with dementia these days. Even run the country.

 

[Jstumbaugh]

Being a salesman is one thing. I’ve been in “sales” for the last 20 years. You have to believe in what you sell and find the customers need. You also need to know when it’s not a fit and be honest. Sleeping at night is a wonderful thing. I love helping someone learn a new method or install new technology when all parties win.

 

[Fowl Play]

Just going to chime in that this particular situation sucks and some solar installation companies are charging outrageous fees.

But solar is not a “scam” in and of itself. It could actually be a very good investment for some people. Just get competing quotes and run the numbers for yourself. It’s also fairly easy to install these systems yourself.

There are many houses/companies that it does make financial sense for. And as you see the prices keep coming down you are going to see many more homes/big stores etc installing solar to sell back to the grid.

Same goes for small scale nuclear since it was mentioned. The entire planet was done a disservice by the early failures of poorly run nuclear reactors. If those didn’t happen we would be light years ahead in that space and much better off for it.

 

[Maverick1]

I knew there would be one.

It is her fault. People can do anything with dementia these days. Even run the country.

I knew there would be one…to make it political.

 

[Jstumbaugh]

Training class with customers a few years ago was pushing solar collector tubes for a domestic hot water system and a hydronic heating system. Rep was crushing it doing his thing and then he pulled up the weather data for Albany NY. He didn’t say a word but his face told the tale. Average house here requires x number of Btu’s for heat and hot water. Our daily weather produces 1/2x btu on a good day. We don’t have a lot of rain/clouds from what I feel but it’s not like Denver, where the rep was from. Like I said before, it’s climate/location dependent. I’m not against technology and improving our hvac systems. I put geothermal in my house. I want to see technology grow to where solar is actually feasible for everyone. We aren’t there yet.

 

[Johnny Tyndall]

Curious to know what makes you think your house “went up by $18000 the day you installed it”? Not being a smart ass. Really would like to know. Sounds like something a solar sales person would tell a customer.

It's really hard to tell for certain. Very difficult to take resale price for a house and pull out the effect of any specific feature. The only decent study I've found concluded that, on average, the value of the home increases by the replacement cost of the system, but the data looked like a shotgun blast. I haven't seen solar get taken into account in property tax assessments, but things might be different in other markets. Long story short, I wouldn't count on it.

 

[Weldor]

Southern CA here. We finally bit the bullet and installed solar on our home. With the cost of electricity continuing to rise it was the only thing that made sense anymore. Our payment for the solar system is $400/month (OUCH!), but our lowest electricity bill was $430 in Jan (no AC, no Christmas lights). Our highest electricity bill was $900 in the summer months last year. Rates are planned to continue increasing so in 10 years when I'm still paying $400/month, the electicity costs in Jan without solar might be close to $500+.

Plus, now I can crank the AC during the summer months (during daylight hours of course) and not try to conserve the AC usage by only setting it to 79F.

How many panels ? I need between 25 to 30 panels to power a 5 ton heat pump here in AZ. That's just for the ac/heat not the rest of tthe house. Curious?

 

[Axlrod]

I had a solar salesman stop at my house last month. I said to him "you are either not very good at this, or you are a fraud" He said "why is that" I said "the 2 towering spruce trees between my house and the southern exposure shade my roof all day. So you either didn't see them or you are trying to scam someone." He said "oh I guess I should have noticed that"

And last spring I had a vinyl siding salesman stop. I said "you aren't very good at this are you? Who in the hell would put vinyl on a brick house??"

 

[WrstMuleHntr]

How many panels ? I need between 25 to 30 panels to power a 5 ton heat pump here in AZ. That's just for the ac/heat not the rest of tthe house. Curious?

35- 400 watt solar panels
3- Enphase batteries 5P
IQ8 micro forming inverters
System II controller
Enphase Load controls
Dedicated Power load center
Whole Home backup capability

We are producing around 85kWh each day. Our use is under 40 kWh each day, but we haven’t kicked on the AC yet. Once it gets hot enough to run the AC I plan to cool the house as much as possible until it consumes that excess, then close the windows and keep the cool in all night.

 

[Warmsy]

Getting solar to have an off-grid setup makes sense to me. Putting it on my house to send power out into the universe does not. If this is such a great idea, then why aren't there solar panels covering every large building's roof in the country? Amazon, Walmart and Target could be some of the largest producers of power. It's also subsidized by taxpayers which also shows me it can't stand on it's own merit.

That's a very good observation.

 

[Mikido]

Peak sun /= peak demand, and battery storage is expensive.

No go

 

[Muddler]

Some of these solar companies will also show you ROI calcs based on "perfect" incident solar radiation...I think the number is something like 1000 watts/m^2. That number is only good at the equator, at high noon on a blue bird day. That number drops as you move away from the equator. Toss in weather and that ROI is useless.

 

[Yoder]

I knew there would be one…to make it political.

Its not partisan. There are both Republicans and Democrats with dementia running the country right now. I don't blame them, I blame us for voting for them.

 

[ramsdude47]

Do Solar Panels Increase Home Value? (2024 Guide)

A solar panel system can do more than lower your energy costs. Learn how solar panels increase your home value and boost your listing price.

www.marketwatch.com

 

[JohnDough]

Maybe just something to warn your parents or grandparents about. My next-door neighbor just put her house up for sale. Her and her husband are both in their 80's. They can't take care of it by themselves anymore and need to sell. We went over and looked at the house since we're in the market for another house. The heat, dryer and stove are all propane, so their electric bill was always right around $100 or so a month. They got solar panels about 4 years ago. WHY??? Whoever sold this poor woman solar, should be executed. The fact that she's 80, they will never break even on this nonsense. She told me, she still owes $70k and it will need to be paid off when the house sells. She had no idea how it worked, and her electric bill was still $50/month. Another thing that was messed up is the asphalt shingle roof on the house is 25 yrs old. The put the panels right on top of it. What kind of disaster is it going to be to install a new roof? They should have never installed the panels on a roof that's pretty much shot. I know it was their fault for buying it, but you have no soul taking advantage of old people like this. I actually felt sick to my stomach when she said she had to pay back $70k. She just wanted to do something good for the environment and save money on her electric bill.

That's insane. I went solar in 2019, and a 12.40kw grid-tie ground mount array cost me $36K installed, not counting the $11K tax credit, and I used Silfab panels and Sunnyboy inverters.

 

[Throwin Darts]

My next door neighbor is head of solar sales of his company for the state we live in. He doesn't have solar on his house if that tells you anything