Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 09-23-2014, 09:24 AM
 
609 posts, read 2,243,161 times
Reputation: 429

Advertisements

Very interesting....Any info. on tax rebates etc. Buy vs lease, which option would be better.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-23-2014, 09:30 AM
 
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,937 posts, read 36,951,955 times
Reputation: 40635
Quote:
Originally Posted by tigerclaws View Post
Very interesting....Any info. on tax rebates etc. Buy vs lease, which option would be better.

See the link I provided early to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. They can and do provide information on these decisions, and in fact administrate a number of the rebate programs; though most of the rebate programs are done through the contractor.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-23-2014, 11:18 AM
 
609 posts, read 2,243,161 times
Reputation: 429
i am torn in that my electric bills are not much (because we don't have central air ) so I am wondering if it would even be worthwhile to go Solar even though I like the idea of clean energy.

I also believe that the prices of components are artificially inflated partly because of tax rebates. When these rebates go away 2016 ??!! (can't remember), I am expecting a price drop of the complete system.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-23-2014, 11:24 AM
 
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,937 posts, read 36,951,955 times
Reputation: 40635
The real long term issue isn't the concern with electricity prices, persay. That will remain relatively modest. The concern is with the distribution charges since our grid infrastructure is old, undersized, and not being properly invested in. Those costs are undoubtedly going to keep going up. Solar can help lock in a price (esp third party models) to hedge against the rising distribution costs.

There is such competition between manufacturers trying to grab market share that I can't agreed with your second point, but hey, maybe they will drop.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-24-2014, 08:17 AM
 
7,924 posts, read 7,811,466 times
Reputation: 4152
]Without naming specific names there is a company to be wary of because they combine this with network marketing. The solar market is very competitive right now. I think we will get more energy via the Kinder Morgan pipeline going though Mass and potentially Northern Pass which might kinda use VT instead of NH.

Of course there are other possibilities in the state depending on the size of the house.
http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/54654836.jpg

Last edited by CaseyB; 09-26-2014 at 08:20 AM.. Reason: adding text
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-25-2014, 07:30 AM
 
15,796 posts, read 20,493,343 times
Reputation: 20974
Because they are ugly...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-26-2014, 08:01 AM
 
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,937 posts, read 36,951,955 times
Reputation: 40635
Related:

Massachusetts electric rates shoot up 37 percent - Massachusetts news - Boston.com

With the third party model, you can lock in a long term rate.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-27-2014, 11:51 PM
 
Location: Brookline, MA
100 posts, read 219,141 times
Reputation: 79

Here is a presentation which has some several examples (starting around the 12 minute mark) of potential roof leaks/damage from solar panel installations. Notably, this is from an employee who works for the company which makes Quick Mount PV, which he claims is a better system to minimize the chance of leaks. I think it's a pretty good design, but in the Northeast, I worry that those seals can still have standing water/snow/ice around them which can cause damage and eventual leaks.

Another good point brought up in the presentation is that the expansion and shrinkage of the metal mounts differs from the wood components of the roof, which puts extra stress on the mount apparatus.

So, I think anybody who is considering solar must ask themselves whether they think the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-28-2014, 02:07 AM
 
Location: Southern New Hampshire
10,048 posts, read 18,066,509 times
Reputation: 35846
OP, I'm in New Hampshire and had some similar questions earlier this year. Here's my thread, if it's helpful: //www.city-data.com/forum/house...ar-panels.html .

The "nutshell" version is that for me, even with a house with an almost perfect southern exposure in the backyard, solar made no sense. (And one thing I forgot to mention in my thread: the solar companies recommended cutting down a LOT of trees, including those that are basically like privacy screens all around the perimeter of my backyard ... but the trees were a huge reason I bought the house. The last thing I wanted was to cut them down.)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-28-2014, 05:43 AM
 
837 posts, read 1,225,439 times
Reputation: 701
Somebody living near me has solar panels on his roof. Then again his house is at the top of a hill. There are trees on three sides, but trees on the south side had to be trimmed in order for the panels to receive the most sunlight.

I don't know him but I'd be curious to see how much he's saved over the last couple of years.

My biggest fear with solar panels is the winter...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:19 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top