Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Compounded by the fact that you are leasing a technology product, not a commodity. It's essentially the same thing as leasing an expensive server. Sure, if cared for properly a server can last a long time but in the 10-20 years it takes to pay off the lease you've ended up paying double(if not triple) for a massively outdated technology. I'm sure solar panels will look much different in 10-20 years as the technology improves, look how far they have come in the last 10!
panels today aren't wildly different than panels of 30ish years ago. most of the changes have happened in the equipment that turns the energy over in a more efficient manner. yes, panels have improved. but i wouldn't compare panels to something like a desktop computer from 1995-2005.
the lease is more about giving someone access to your roof so they can make a profit off of you instead of the utility making it. in return, you'll save a couple hundred dollars a year, and get "renewable" electricity. is that an awful idea? not if you'll be in that house for the full term of the lease. but, if you can get approved for a reasonable interest loan - why not pay the loan off instead of paying for electricity.
My friend who decided to do it at the same time to me is having his install started today. i'm waiting on state approval. will report back when it's my turn.
Price of solar panels is down by about 60% in the past 5 years.
It'll be down to 90% in 5 more years. Solar panels are dirt cheap in Asia any engineering college student can make one, it's a feature in every home owner out there and here because of tariffs it's still super expensive. It should be no more than $2k to cover our roof tops with install. Once again our government tariffs are killing renewable energy and ripping people off just to make a few companies rich.
Interesting thread! I was looking into it for our new home.. I am not 100% convinced its worth it
It's not worth it because Fed tariffs jacked up the price by ridiculous amounts and installers milking this with the help of rebates which is why you get phone calls about it.
Something that cost less than $2k in equipment in most countries becomes $25k here.
I am all for solar panels but I don't trust these companies that offer them for rent. We went through the process with one company (I think SunRUN or similar) and they agreed to install the solar panels with us paying 500 dollars. This was about three years ago. We would pay the same electric rates as PSEG to some other company. The only savings would come from supposedly reduced electric consumption and they also claimed that PSEG would eventually raise electric rates. So far they have not.
Furthermore, the salesman wanted us to sign a contract essentially without giving us time to read it through. He would not leave it behind for us to read through. We backed out of the deal.
I would pay 5-6 k for solar panels with installation for our house. More than that doe snot really make too much sense...
If the payback of a 20 grand installation is 6-7 years
I'm paying one hundred a month for a 2500 sf home. That involved the electric to run the well, ac, heat and everything else. That puts the payback at a little over 18 years.
I'm paying one hundred a month for a 2500 sf home. That involved the electric to run the well, ac, heat and everything else. That puts the payback at a little over 18 years.
an 18 year payback doesnt seem like a good deal. i am in the process of purchasing a house so i have done some googling on this and i am trying to figure out if it will save me money. im very early in my search but id like personal accounts rather than advertisements you get when you google search.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
