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I do not have solar as I could not afford to install it on my house. The upfront costs are too much.
I do wish, however, that new construction was designed with more sustainability in mind. I believe that if we worked at the micro-level (solar panels/small scale wind power on new houses and commercial buildings) we would not need the huge solar farms that the utilities claim we need.
I have a obvious question, why doesn't everyone have solar electricity? There are so many advantages but obviously it has to be the initial cost start up which makes it difficult to purchase the system. I have tried to get a quote but they all of the companies want to give me an estimate over the phone. It is very annoying as I want someone to come out to my home for the estimate. Can you please let me know your experiences with the system and would you recommend it?
I do not have solar as I could not afford to install it on my house. The upfront costs are too much.
I do wish, however, that new construction was designed with more sustainability in mind. I believe that if we worked at the micro-level (solar panels/small scale wind power on new houses and commercial buildings) we would not need the huge solar farms that the utilities claim we need.
When it comes to new homes being built, kind of surprised that anyone builds a home not net-zero.
When you live in an area that's predominantly cloudy from October through April and that's prone to frequent 6+ inch snowfalls and occasional 12+ inch ones throughout the winter when you would use it most, solar panels on your roof have obvious shortcomings.
Everyone? I guess you would have to ask my landlord. Renters don't have a say in the matter.
There are portable solar generators that can be hooked up to a rented home, but it may be difficult to do so with a rented apartment. Depends on whether your circuit-breaker box is accessible by you. In many apartment complexes, it isn't. That puts a damper on things.
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Originally Posted by TamaraSavannah
Finally, to be totally solar and be off the grid? That would be "nice" but probably would draw some unwanted attention in one's bureaucratic world. Buy at least some of their power.
Unless...as in our situation..."their power" is not available. So, we do without "their power". But you are correct, in that most municipalities require all dwelling units to be connected to the grid. Bummer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Submariner
I am on two solar-power forums. When a new poster comes along and begins asking questions, the conversation starts with "How much electricity do you currently consume"?
You start to go onto solar-power by reviewing your energy consumption, and modifying your lifestyle by reducing your consumption. That is the first real step.
Absolutely! You don't need any solar company to 'come out to the house' - you can figure your own usage yourself. Buy a $10 Kill-O-Watt meter from HD and plug it into every appliance you expect to be needing, to get an estimate of your power draw. If you have a huge 2-door fridge with ice-maker in the door, an all-electric range and oven, and lots of other power-gobbling mega-appliances, you might wish to scale back a bit before expecting an affordable solar array to power it.
Also, how long do you expect to keep your home? If you sell it, will you be expecting the buyers to take over the financing of the solar array? Will that affect your resale value? Just more to think about.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Submariner
The installers who marketed this, start with the idea of looking at your average monthly electric bill and setting up the financing at that exact amount [plus interest].
Then after it is all installed, your meter is retro-fitted to a meter capable of spinning forwards and backwards, logging all of this and communicating back to the power company. Which is a more expensive meter, which requires a higher month connection fee.
Be wary of solar marketers and salesmen. YES they will try to sell you enough panels to meet the draw from your monthly electric bill. But you should first reduce your power consumption...as Sub has pointed out, that is Step One. If you buy as much solar as the snake-oil salesmen want to sell you, you'll end up very much indebted, indeed.
When you live in an area that's predominantly cloudy from October through April and that's prone to frequent 6+ inch snowfalls and occasional 12+ inch ones throughout the winter when you would use it most, solar panels on your roof have obvious shortcomings.
Cloudy is an issue. Snow typically is not. Many snowy areas have very good insolation.
When you live in an area that's predominantly cloudy from October through April and that's prone to frequent 6+ inch snowfalls and occasional 12+ inch ones throughout the winter when you would use it most, solar panels on your roof have obvious shortcomings.
I agree.
Fortunately I do not live in a region known for dark cloudy winters. We have lived in such a region before, we chose to not settle there.
Everyone won't have solar due to upfront costs. How many years will it take to make your money back? I live in a pretty cloudy area, so I don't know if it would be a good option, but I like the idea of the sun providing energy for me. That would be great, if it was cheaper to install.
Cloudy is an issue. Snow typically is not. Many snowy areas have very good insolation.
Upstate New York, especially the westernmost part to the east of Lake Erie, is infamous for long periods of dark, cloudy days as well as lake-effect and lake-enhanced snowstorms off Lakes Erie and Ontario. It doesn't snow and then give you a week of sunshine and near freezing temps to melt it off here. If you get a sunny day or two after snowstorms, they're usually the result of an Arctic cold front that brings temps in the teens and low twenties, so that foot of snow on your roof (and solar collectors) doesn't melt much.
It's also not uncommon for there to be fewer than 4 sunny or partly sunny days a month from November through March. The long periods of cloudiness are one of the reasons that many people seek to move elsewhere; seasonal depression brought on by lack of sunlight is also quite common here.
In this area, wind power is a better bet than solar, which is why we have numerous commercial wind farms but no commercial solar arrays.
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