Going Solar
- Thread starter Kenfuzed
- Start date
Don't think you will ever see a check from them as they garentee you a yearly production number that is less than the manufactures number at 20 years 
Only way they will lose is if the pannel goes bad. But on the up side, you are almost garentee to make more than what they say.
Only way they will lose is if the pannel goes bad. But on the up side, you are almost garentee to make more than what they say. 
Its not a 1 price fits all. Depends on the size and the type of inverts/panels etc. You can purchase straight which is cheapest, but you have to maintain. You can lease via monthly payments with added financing or you can pay the lease up front. Cheaper up front and then the solar co maintains the system for 20 yrs. I'd say you are looking at between 10-20K for total payment after rebates. Worked out for me.
laverda
Well-known member
I wonder how many of these companies will be around in say 10 years or when ever the equipment starts failing? My guess is not very many. My experience with these types of warranties is they are not worth the paper they are written on. Companies that make such claims never stand behind them, if they are still around. You always have done something wrong, or not maintained them properly, like not wash the panels off weekly with their special soap or something equally ridiculous. Read the fine print especially on warranties!
solar has been around for decades. Real Goods is one of the pioneers and extremely reputable. Germany is way ahead of us, generating an incredible amount of their energy from solar and wind. The tech is improving and solar is here to stay because it makes sense $wise even with existing technology. Plus utility rates are going nowhere but up.
No need to wash the panels once a week. If you are leasing the panels and have a power generation garauntee then the solar co has an incentive to keep the panels functioning. The company I choose monitors the power and will come and clean the panels if they get dirty enough to affect the power output.
There have been issues and they've responded to fix every one. Pretty happy with them.
Jeff
There have been issues and they've responded to fix every one. Pretty happy with them.
Jeff
Kenfuzed
New member
Sorry didn't mean to abandon this thread. My system is up and running nicely. I went with the lease from Real Goods Solar. You can IM me for more info. This is the same company that Jeff, Lawrence, and others here went with.
I don't want to quote prices because that could vary greatly, but I can share that with anyone who wants to contact me offline.
Here are some pictures of the installation from tear off to panels on the new roof. Not sure why the slide show plays in reverse, but you get the idea.
<div style="width:480px;text-align:right;"><embed width="480" height="360" src="http://static.pbsrc.com/flash/rss_slideshow.swf" flashvars="rssFeed=http%3A%2F%2Ffeed497.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Frr335%2Fkenfuzed%2FSolar%2Ffeed.rss" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" /><a href="http://photobucket.com/redirect/album?showShareLB=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.pbsrc.com/share/icons/embed/btn_geturs.gif" style="border:none;" /></a><a href="http://s497.photobucket.com/albums/rr335/kenfuzed/Solar/" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.pbsrc.com/share/icons/embed/btn_viewall.gif" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
I don't want to quote prices because that could vary greatly, but I can share that with anyone who wants to contact me offline.
Here are some pictures of the installation from tear off to panels on the new roof. Not sure why the slide show plays in reverse, but you get the idea.
<div style="width:480px;text-align:right;"><embed width="480" height="360" src="http://static.pbsrc.com/flash/rss_slideshow.swf" flashvars="rssFeed=http%3A%2F%2Ffeed497.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Frr335%2Fkenfuzed%2FSolar%2Ffeed.rss" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" /><a href="http://photobucket.com/redirect/album?showShareLB=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.pbsrc.com/share/icons/embed/btn_geturs.gif" style="border:none;" /></a><a href="http://s497.photobucket.com/albums/rr335/kenfuzed/Solar/" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.pbsrc.com/share/icons/embed/btn_viewall.gif" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
arcab4
Active member
thanks for everyone for the info....
i’ve been looking and this is what i have so far based on my needs....
the difference between buy and pre-paid lease was about $2,000 for the same specs. with the pre-paid lease, all the parts and labor are covered for 20 years while buying the system wouldn’t. at the end of 20 years, the company can
1. come take the system down
2. offer to sell it to me for a price
3. try to upsell me on a newer system.
assuming in 20 years, this technology we have today will be pretty outdated, it would probably cost them more to take it down. they could also offer to sell it to me for cheap as nobody would really want this system specs anyways. but most likely the sales rep i talked to they would try to upsell me on a newer system.
so for $2,000 savings in pre-paid lease…i get the system completely covered with the option to buy if i wanted (assuming that the buy price will be less than $2K in 20 years) then it would make more sense to just do the pre-paid lease.
also..since it’s pre-paid..if i were to sell this house…the new owners would just have to know that in however x-years are left in the lease, they would be presented with the 3 choices above at that time.
am i overlooking anything?
i’ve been looking and this is what i have so far based on my needs....
the difference between buy and pre-paid lease was about $2,000 for the same specs. with the pre-paid lease, all the parts and labor are covered for 20 years while buying the system wouldn’t. at the end of 20 years, the company can
1. come take the system down
2. offer to sell it to me for a price
3. try to upsell me on a newer system.
assuming in 20 years, this technology we have today will be pretty outdated, it would probably cost them more to take it down. they could also offer to sell it to me for cheap as nobody would really want this system specs anyways. but most likely the sales rep i talked to they would try to upsell me on a newer system.
so for $2,000 savings in pre-paid lease…i get the system completely covered with the option to buy if i wanted (assuming that the buy price will be less than $2K in 20 years) then it would make more sense to just do the pre-paid lease.
also..since it’s pre-paid..if i were to sell this house…the new owners would just have to know that in however x-years are left in the lease, they would be presented with the 3 choices above at that time.
am i overlooking anything?
What about the other side of the coin?
How much are you going to save from your current electric bill?
How much will the Solar production decrease your current usage?
What is the total amount, lease and yearly electric bill after the Solar is installed? Is it less than your current yearly bill?
I found that at this time, it was cheapier to stay on SCE than to go Solar. If the prices for Solar come down more, then I'll relook at it.
Going "green" as they say I'll agree is a good thing, but at what cost? For those who have already installed teh Solar, do you see any savings over your old electric bill? Is it all a wash? Or is it actually costing you more?
When I looked into going Solar, the bottom line was that my total electric cost, SCE and Solar was more than I was currently paying for SCE.
How much are you going to save from your current electric bill?
How much will the Solar production decrease your current usage?
What is the total amount, lease and yearly electric bill after the Solar is installed? Is it less than your current yearly bill?
I found that at this time, it was cheapier to stay on SCE than to go Solar. If the prices for Solar come down more, then I'll relook at it.
Going "green" as they say I'll agree is a good thing, but at what cost? For those who have already installed teh Solar, do you see any savings over your old electric bill? Is it all a wash? Or is it actually costing you more?
When I looked into going Solar, the bottom line was that my total electric cost, SCE and Solar was more than I was currently paying for SCE.
arcab4
Active member
i break even around the 10 year mark at my current usage. it's a tad bigger system than what i need but i'm anticipating more usage increase in the coming future (another fish tank. ha!) so it might be sooner than that. ofcourse then if i sell this house before that 10 year mark, i don't really see any benefits unless i'm able to get a premium or increase in price b/c of the solar.
Paul, thanks for posting that.. I'd love to get more info on that approach as that is the only way I would consider going solar for the reasons mentioned above by crusty old shellback..
How difficult was the install? Are you able to start off with a few panels and add more over time?
How difficult was the install? Are you able to start off with a few panels and add more over time?
Paul B
Premium Member
Yeah but why would you listen to someone as Crusty :beer:
You can not install a few then add to it. There is a minimum amount you need to make it produce enough to make it worthwhile. The inverter is a big part of the investment and costs more than a few panels.
You also need to get a permit to install them and your town will give that to you.
I am an electrician so the system was simple to install but you can save a lot of money if you just mount the panels yourself. They come with a track system that you screw to your roof with special screws that won't make your roof leak. The panels just plug together then you get an electrician to connect it to your panel. I did the job myself in 4 days and that includes humping the 2 panels on to my roof.
Or some old guy who still uses a undergravel filter. :lol2::beer::celeb2:
How you been Buddy?
So I'm assuming, yea I know what they say, that you need a minimum amount of pannels to run the inverter. Once you have that, you can start making power right? Then say in the future, you come upon more pannels, you could then install them and plug in, up to a certin max, for that inverter?
From there, if you wanted to expand more, then it would be a second inverter and another minimum number of pannels connected to it to get going again.
Does that sound about right? Or do you have to do the total of everything all at once? Doing a DIY system like you did would be well worth the investment as it would save a lot of money and make the payback a lot more inticing.
For those of you who have a system installed here in SOCal, do you make enough to be completely self sufficent? If so, do you sell any excess back to the power company? Will you ever make money off of it or does the electric company have some clause like they used to have where they zero out your bill once a year if they owe you money and you start over again?
Just trying to find out what has changed over the years and what the new rules are.
Paul B
Premium Member
You need to have double panels because homes have 220 volts so the panels are on 2 circuits. You get the inverter based on the amount of panels you have and the power that you will use. You don't want to buy another inverter, they are not cheap. The panels are only about $300.00 each, mine were $500.00 each but the price came down as did the rebates. Each panel puts out about 80 watts. For my system I needed at least 11 panels on each circuit to even make the thing work so I got 22 panels. I wish my roof was larger and I would have gotten much more. The more you have, the more you will save and the inverter is the same even if I have double the panels so the cost would only be extra panels. I save $1,500.00 a year. If I am away and my system is making more than I use, the power company reimburses me by taking it off my next bill.
If I consistantly make more than I use, they must, by law pay me because I am considered a power company. My meter goes backwards when I am generating more than I use there by reducing my bill.
It's a no brainer. Instead of complaining about high utility bills, I did something about it
If I consistantly make more than I use, they must, by law pay me because I am considered a power company. My meter goes backwards when I am generating more than I use there by reducing my bill.
It's a no brainer. Instead of complaining about high utility bills, I did something about it
