School me on solar or wind energy

[7sdad]

Go off the grid, people did it for years.

[WItoTX]

OP, add more information. Is the stove and water heater electric? Those are huge consumers of electricity. How cold do you keep your AC? Do you have any shade on your house? Do you have solar screens on your windows? Do you have kids? Do you have a TV on all day? LED tv's produce a ton of heat, and those LED lights produce a lot as well, it's just that it happens behind the light, unlike an incandescent which the whole bulb gets hot. Computers/monitors running all day?

When you use the stove, do you run the fan above it to get the heat out of the house? This was a big issue in our house, where my wife would cook all afternoon, and it would go up 6-10 degrees because she never turned the fan on. Once we started using the fan, the house would stay right at its set point, even when 100 plus outside.

After working on solar installations in a past life, I would never install one, nor would I want the eye sore of either solar panels or a wind fan. If you are suffering power outages, I would consider a battery bank or a home generator.

[Sunnylab]

Just curious. What is your sq footage and what is your elec bill running per month?

[kyle1974]

they're not common, but I am starting to see a few down here on the coast. I wonder how those panels fair in a hurricane? it seems like it would put a lot of added stress on the roof.

I've also wondered if insurance companies will still cover your house/roof in case of a total failure of the roof?

[SharpEnd]

A proper solar setup with battery bank is at best a way to offset some of your energy costs, and provide a partial solution for power outage (a generator is needed, too, as a backup for the batteries). Unless subsidies change dramatically, and battery costs come down dramatically, it just doesn't make sense economically. Even though energy prices are increasing substantially, at anything less than about $0.50/kWh you're behind, due to the lifespan of the panels and the batteries. I've looked at getting a setup numerous times, and the math just doesn't work. Just about the time you have them paid for under a financing deal, you have to replace them due to wear and efficiency losses, and then the whole cycle starts over.

[Walding1989]

they're not common, but I am starting to see a few down here on the coast. I wonder how those panels fair in a hurricane? it seems like it would put a lot of added stress on the roof.

I've also wondered if insurance companies will still cover your house/roof in case of a total failure of the roof?

Thunderstorms can and will rip them off the racking and send them flying. I’m sure a hurricane won’t have any issues removing them either.

[dfkoon]

For current conditions, to get a payoff you need to be able to buy the system (aka cash). However, that is IF electricity rates don't rise. I'd bet that electricity goes thru the roof in next 10 years.

Those that are afraid of putting on roof are not using engineered systems. Your current roof is sized for 'live' loads (a guy or guys walking on your roof) and another layer of roofing material. That is why the solar panel can be put on the roof and not cause structural issues. If there are structural issues, it is due to a poorly constructed (not to par) roof. Which an inspection should be able to uncover. And if they are engineered correctly they can withstand a hurricane. An engineered system looks at the wind and the snow accumulations. We don't have to worry about the snow too much in Texas.
Hail - maybe not as much.

The system can be sized with realistic expected losses including hot days as well. And if not already, net metering will turn out as you selling excess at wholesale (same as every other producer) and buying at retail. You should be able to plan for that as well.

Not every house is a good candidate for solar. Gotta look at orientation and shading and expected shading (those trees you planted a year ago grow).

[WItoTX]

For current conditions, to get a payoff you need to be able to buy the system (aka cash). However, that is IF electricity rates don't rise. I'd bet that electricity goes thru the roof in next 10 years.

Those that are afraid of putting on roof are not using engineered systems. Your current roof is sized for 'live' loads (a guy or guys walking on your roof) and another layer of roofing material. That is why the solar panel can be put on the roof and not cause structural issues. If there are structural issues, it is due to a poorly constructed (not to par) roof. Which an inspection should be able to uncover. And if they are engineered correctly they can withstand a hurricane. An engineered system looks at the wind and the snow accumulations. We don't have to worry about the snow too much in Texas.
Hail - maybe not as much.

The system can be sized with realistic expected losses including hot days as well. And if not already, net metering will turn out as you selling excess at wholesale (same as every other producer) and buying at retail. You should be able to plan for that as well.

Not every house is a good candidate for solar. Gotta look at orientation and shading and expected shading (those trees you planted a year ago grow).

I can only speak for myself, but I am not afraid of the weight, the systems are light. The issue is the holes you have to put in your roof. At some point, they will leak. And when they do, The ins company is going to see the panels and say go pound sand, fix it yourself.

[dfkoon]

I can only speak for myself, but I am not afraid of the weight, the systems are light. The issue is the holes you have to put in your roof. At some point, they will leak. And when they do, The ins company is going to see the panels and say go pound sand, fix it yourself.

They have systems that have integrated flashing to prevent leaks. I have 2 heater vents, 7 plumbing and a skylight that have never leaked in the 27 years I've owned my house. Because they were properly flashed. Same concept. It is a matter of being done right vs. not.

[ccbrown50]

Neither technology is efficient enough at this time. They are both great for certain applications but not powering your whole home on a daily basis.

[tigerscowboy]

There isn't a break even possibility and there isn't a profit.

School over. Sorry.

Similar to believing a instant water heater will save you money.

They are both a convenience or luxury.

[WItoTX]

They have systems that have integrated flashing to prevent leaks. I have 2 heater vents, 7 plumbing and a skylight that have never leaked in the 27 years I've owned my house. Because they were properly flashed. Same concept. It is a matter of being done right vs. not.

Maybe. But when the home builder no longer warranties your roof, and the insurance company says it's your fault, no amount of calling the people who installed the panels and telling them "you didn't install the flashing right" is going to get your leak fixed.

[Bassdeer]

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[Mission408]

I can only speak for myself, but I am not afraid of the weight, the systems are light. The issue is the holes you have to put in your roof. At some point, they will leak. And when they do, The ins company is going to see the panels and say go pound sand, fix it yourself.

Just finished a roof last Friday. Said roof had water solar on it. Insurance paid to r&r the solar system. They didn't pay enough so I send them a supplement for the actual coat of r&r. They paid it no questions asked. Pretty standard for us.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[KX500]

Originally Posted by KX500 View Post
"Solar (without incentives) is a break even kind of thing (maybe).

We had looked at them for years, but the incentives weren't quite to the point where we could pull the trigger.

A couple years ago, we looked again and found that the incentives (in Illinois) were better and we would now only need to pay a bit more than 1/4 of the whole cost.

So we got solar panels and no regrets so far.

Total project cost was about $40,000. After all the rebates & everything, we're paying about $11,000 of that.

About the most important thing I learned through it all was this - Our solar panels are projected to make about $40,000 worth of electricity in their 30 year life span - and the cost was $40,000. With the rising cost of electricity, maybe we'll do even a little better than that.

But the bottom line is this - without the government subsidies, NOBODY is going to shell out $40k just to hopefully make $40k! Which leads right back to my 1st sentence.

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure the math for wind power doesn't work out any better.
But you paid out 11k hoping to recoup 11k. How much have you saved over the last two years since you got them? And did you pay off the 11k or is it through a loan?

This is the real life valuable data that needs to be shared. Please give specifics. Do you still pay electric or totally off grid now?"



Our solar panels have made about $3500 worth of electricity in a little less than 2 years. That isn't too bad - if they can do this for 20 years that's $35000. I feel pretty good about investing $11000.

Off the grid - no, that was never the goal.