Solar Power

[jaysz2893]

So we have been talking about this at work after all the power outages during the winter storms. It just got brought up on Facebook and I chimed in. I used to work for a large (now dead) Solar Power company and then had my own biz in the industry before working for DuPont. I kind of keep up with what's going on and my father and bro in law both are certified solar installers. The prices have come way down from when I used to be in the biz. I have it on my farm, a grid tied 6.9kW system and it has its pitfalls and positives too. Here is what I discussed on FB

To get off the grid you will need about $40K for a well made and installed system. You will need a spot for storage and a spot for about 35-40 panels facing the right direction with little or no shade. To have a grid tied system you need all the same except the storage and about $25K. Those prices are before any federal and local paybacks. Also you can sell excess back for Renewable energy credits, but that market is diluted now by other "Green" sources. Grid tied is most economical and can cut your bill way down and have a faster payoff. Non Grid Tied have maintenance costs on the storage and when the storage is empty, you are in the dark. Also grid tied is in the dark in a power outage for safety reasons. I always recommend a gas backup generator for either system if you need un interrupted power, so budget another couple grand. After incentives and paybacks you can get back 30-35%. Typical grid tied breaks even after 8.5 years

There is a calculator here :http://solarimpact.com/how.html


and a good article about grid and non grid tied here:http://www.aprs.org/off-grid-maybe.html

[popo8]

wow... where did all that come from. lol. Very knowledgable indeed.

LTXtech.com is my drug.

[SSlowBoat]

i heard something along the lines of the panels need to be replaced before you reach your break even, and judging by one account i work at, that seems to be kinda true, could just be that installer knifing them if you know what i mean. jay, whats the life span of the panels

[jaysz2893]

Good panels should last 25+ years. The ones we used to make were warranted for 20. The cheap crap coming out of China has not been proven and there are problems. China has dumped stuff in the market bringing the price down. Is is def a buyer beware thing now. The inverters are having issues as well. My system has my old companies panels and they are fine. The inverters we have had sucked. It is the old adage, you get what you pay for. One of the reasons i left the industry is the influx of cheap products that undercut my profit but even worse it kills the technology. I know a lot of good companies are trying to bring up the quality but pricing is still tough in this market.

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[zmm95]

^^what he said.
I work as a solar PV installer and all the panels we use have. minimum of a 25yr Warranty... The top of the line ones we sell carry a lifetime free replacement warranty too.

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[Sahara54]

When I finally build my real shop I wanted to have a few panels installed. There is a shop around the corner from my house that have a retractable solar panel...They automatically wind up at night and i figure have a manual option for bad weather. Are those even a decent option?

[jaysz2893]

If they are the flexible ones they make less power per square foot of panel area. The option is only decent if the power it makes offsets the cost and makes a difference in your bill. In all my years in the industry the most common customer didn't not care about the cost or return on investment. Most drove hybrids and had some kind of money they wanted a tax break on... lol.. but now with the prices dropping the people interested now are usually steered into buying through bad information. I responded to an article in the news journal and sent in a letter to the editor over a story on solar last year. The one thing I pointed out was the common misconception that a cheap grid tied system will keep your power on in an outage. A guy that had a beach house was quoted in the article. He said he got a $10k system (smallish grid tied at that price) because if super storm sandy... I replied that if we have another super storm like sandy again you would be lucky to still have the panels anywhere near your house and if you did you would still be in the dark.

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[Ccreddell]

Ive been researching this stuff for a few years now in order to get completely off the grid. And with the Bamster doing his best to kill the coal industry, the price of electricity has nowhere to go but up. Along with Jayz recommendations, I would add that having a creek or stream with about 36" of fall across your property will allow you to supplement your solar during inclement weather with a low head turbine and if you do all your appliances right, youve got it made. Of course you can, if youre starting from scratch, heat your home with a wood stove. Put a coil in it, and you can have radiant heat throughout your house, not to mention unlimited hot water for showers, clothes washing and such. During the summer, you could get your hot water from a rooftop solar collector.