Solar panels (get credit, home, buy)

[amcjap]

Has anyone had solar panels installed? I went on a website through Duke Energy for an estimate and it came out to $86k after incentives. Is that possible?

[coltank]

Possibly, I'll check with my dad. He has about 30 panels he bought from someone in Long Island, and recently put together a system. They are very costly.

[CaliBoy]

86k. Wow!!! I knew it was a hefty cost, but I figured it was hefty like 20k hefty. 86k or anywhere near that, I can't imagine that paying for itself during my lifetime or even the lifetime of this house.

Btw, do you know if you get credit or incentives for kicking energy back into the grid here?

[somuchbetter]

I would look into other energy efficient/green ideas to help your housing costs because solar panels alone will take longer to earn their cost back. Here are some good things to keep in mind.

1: go to current.com and search G Love's Brushfire. Its a pod about Jack Johnson's recording studio that acutally puts energy back into the grid, and you can see the meter going backwards! They give some good ideas in there (although it is still an initial investment).

2: You could always wait for the super-duper solar panel I saw on some Science channel, where they discovered a new kind of solar panel that harvests all spectrum of light from UV to visible to infrared; traditional solar panels only harvest a small amount of the spectrum, infrared(?) light...I believe. Anyway, I don't know anything about the release of these or if they would be any cheaper but I thought it was pretty cool they were extremely efficient.

Anyway, they are all going to be very expensive. Just do some research. Good luck!

[amcjap]

The full estimate was $212k, the state pays for about half and then there are more incentives from the fed gov't and the city. That brought it to $86k. After credits from Duke, it says the break even point is seven years.

I think I'll just conserve until this gets cheaper.

[CaliBoy]

Originally Posted by amcjap

The full estimate was $212k, the state pays for about half and then there are more incentives from the fed gov't and the city. That brought it to $86k. After credits from Duke, it says the break even point is seven years.

I think I'll just conserve until this gets cheaper.

Honestly, I can't imagine how a break even point is possible after seven years, unless you're electric bill is over 12k a year (more if credits weren't offered). I know that's simplistic math, but how is that possible? OMG At those prices, I'll buy some monkeys to ride stationary bicycles that pump a generator all day. j/k

Amcjap, did they give you any breakdown other than the grand total on how they supported that break even point?

[amcjap]

No, they didn't.

Solar energy has been around for a while, I would have thought that by now it was cheaper and more efficient.

[CaliBoy]

Me too. Whew!!! I need a sweet tea after all that.

[SamAEC]

Solar panels are not as expensive as everyone thinks. There are a lot of misconceptions out there. I would recommend DSIRE: DSIRE Home to anyone looking to see what incentives are available for putting panels on your home. Every home is also different. A $10,000 system might work for some people where a $50,000 system might work for someone else.

[geoff2v]

Originally Posted by amcjap

Has anyone had solar panels installed? I went on a website through Duke Energy for an estimate and it came out to $86k after incentives. Is that possible?

Are these photovoltaic panels (generating electricity)? They're still quite pricey, and as we don't live in a desert, you don't generate as much electricity as you might in a more ideal climate. You might look into a solar water heating system, which is simpler, cheaper to install, and more cost-effective overall.