Another thing too is it also saves you from having to pest proof them later.

First cut your usage. Add insulation, new windows, update appliances. I would have a ground Mount system setup so that you can change the angle for summer and winter sun cycles. This avoids holes in your roof moving a system if you need a new roof and also makes it much easier to remove any snow or do any maintenance. I've been looking at him off and on for the last several years and for me it looks like the payback would be in about 12 years. But that's not counting future electrical rate increases. But I also planned install the system myself not that I know how but because I usually have poor luck when I hire somebody to do things for me. Plus if I know how it works I'll have a better understanding of fixing things or when it has problems on the Sunday night or on a holiday.

Why do people dislike power co. and paying a electric bill ? But can make a bad investment sound great!

If you look at the article above, Beck is using swamp coolers, and smaller fridges and ovens just to keep the drain off his system, and hes dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into his system. The more wood or gas powererd appliances you have, the less draw you'll put on your system.

It's cheaper to buy green beans and tomatoes than grow them and can them yourself if you spent that time at work instead you would come out ahead.

Myself I don't like to be reliant on the system and I don't like monthly bills that can go up at any time. But if I get solar I will pay cash knowing it's a poor investment at the time but come with a good piece of mind.

If you don't use batteries you are reliant on the system .Solar doesn't work unless connected to the grid.

6 posts on this thread b line.
Question from me...
Do YOU have a solar system?

Did my own install w a friend 10 panels cost for the whole job was less than 10,000. Pays for about 1/3 of my electric bill. Plus I got money back for using panels made in Washington. I’m real happy w my setup.

I have it. Never again.

Osky

No I don't have solar.I work with the problems it causes to distribution circuits.Remember to think twice when government is pushing a great idea.

my brother an aunt and a cousin have solar on their roofs 8-10K grid tie , they love it , they had the money and they do get very low electric bills it isn't net zero but it gets close if the weather is right.


with grid tie you put any power your not using out on the grid but at the same time you have zero storage

battery arrays are a lot of cost and maintenance and loss.

I know nothing about living on solar, but coming from hurricane ally, I am experienced in power discipline. I have lived on generator power a lot. My generator allowed for comfort, but no more. What surprised me the most was the energy demand of microwave ovens,

holy cow...... you need some LED lights or something. our bill was $90 last month.

If going green makes you sleep better ? Then go for it.I don't think it will be a savings in the end.Cutting back on your usage would be the fastest pay back.Solar panels and inverters haven't been around long enough to know the true pay back?

Why?

25yr. Loan $290 a month
8 months over production
Nov., Dec, Jan, Feb. Under production
25 year Bumper to bumper installation and Warranty

8 mo. Should get a check or credit back from ECE For overproduction [/quote]

I don't have solar panels, but I am pretty sure that the warranty is not worth the paper it is written on.

Very few companies make it to the 25 year mark. I suspect alternate energy companies tend to be even shorter lived.

If the company goes bankrupt or is bought out by someone else, their liabilities, i.e. the warranty on your solar panels, will all but disappear.

This same company's assest however will remain and be sold off to the highest bidder. These assets include the debt you own them. This may well leave you paying a collection agency or third party bank for a bunch of inoperable solar panels.

Craftsman sockets and Cutco Knives may have a true 25 year warranty (maybe?), but these are nowhere near the price you are talking about. The warranty they are offering looks unsustainable to me and will most likely bankrupt the company if they attempt to honor it. It is too good to be true.

If the rest of the numbers work out, and you determine this is a good investment for you then by all means go for it. All I am suggesting with the above is that you should not rely too much on the warranty as a deciding factor.

It's not always either or. Some systems are grid tied with a battery back up.

A battery bank big enough to supply a house at full load? What would that cost?

Way I'm seeing it is my payback should be 6 or less years not the
25 yrs they want to finance at.

What is the cost if you just buy it out wright?