Solar panels (Haverhill: contractors, tax credit, prices)

[simplexsimon]

Batteries are pretty expensive but Eversource offers some incentives for getting one. Anybody have experience with this?

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

Also more common in Maine. They last far longer and reduce the likelihood of ice damming issues, but I think cost about 3x the cost of an asphalt roof.

I see metal roofing a lot on skirt roofs or on porticos but it's pretty rare to see them on the main roof at least around here. They're definitely better than asphalt roofs because it doesn't matter which way water is running on them. They're still water tight either way. Asphalt roofs are just one way in terms of shedding water. The metal roofs also last a lot longer as you say. It's an investment though so I wouldn't do it on my house unless i was planning on staying here for a long time and I'm thinking that I'd like to move in the next few years.

Originally Posted by GeoffD

You also have to design the house for a metal roof so you don’t kill people as snow & ice slides off the roof. You have to put doors on the gable ends or build entryway roofs. I destroyed a Weber once not thinking about ice sliding off the roof. You can’t have gutters. You can’t landscape at the edge of the foundation since it gets destroyed. You have to pay attention to parking areas so you don’t total your car.

Very interesting! I would never have thought of that. Makes sense though.

[sunguy13]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

A mention of solar panels in another thread and seeing more installs in my neighborhood recently made me wonder if I should look into this.

I just quickly did an estimate on Tesla's website and they have a list of several local energy incentives and rebates in addition to the federal and state tax credits.

Has anybody gone through this recently? What's been your experience with installation and getting all the credits and rebates? How much monthly cost savings is there really compared to what the estimates say?

My electric bill runs about $200/month...I expect this to increase as the kids get older and if there is an EV in our future. If I used their estimates (92% cost reduction), my breakeven is about four years...if I assume something more conservative like 50% it'd be eight years.

Our heat is on NG.

I just signed up with Sunpower. Got quotes from Tesla, local installers via Energysage, direct referral to a local installer and Sunrun.

Sunpower came the 2nd cheapest (they were running some special in Februrary) and was $1800 more than Tesla. I earlier signed up with Tesla but their process was really slow and they do install a lot more panels than other installers. Simply, because their panels have lower efficiency and higher degradation.

I am going with solar because I am buying a EV this year and my roof is 25 years old (replacing at the same time might get me some tax credits on the roof itself)

[sunguy13]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

I'd like to get solar panels but we have a leak around our skylights so I don't trust our roof. It's only 10 years old so it's kinda too new to start over with a new metal roof. Maybe we need to get rid of the skylights.

I got quotes from Energy sage and a bunch of companies I've never heard of showed up. Is it risky to go with these vs the big names like Sunrun, Sunbug etc? The big companies quote nearly twice as much. Why is there such a big price discrepancy?

Our average electric bill used to be 120-140 but this winter it went up to almost 200 due to the price increases. We have a PHEV but I charge for free at work, I haven't charged at home yet. So if we get a full BEV I'm not sure I would even charge that often.

I was told skylights last 15 years and will eventually leak, before the roof. This came from a roofing contractor last month..

[MtPleasantDream]

Originally Posted by sunguy13

I was told skylights last 15 years and will eventually leak, before the roof. This came from a roofing contractor last month..

I heard nowadays they are improved. Not exactly sure though.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by MtPleasantDream

I heard nowadays they are improved. Not exactly sure though.

We don't have skylights, but I was joking with my contractor about them and he said that he's never seen a skylight that didn't leak. So, as much as I kind of like them, I'm not sure I'd put them in -- maybe if I was building a house from scratch, but even then, I'm not sure. I'd have to be really convinced that they were improved and would not leak.

[Strannik33]

Ha!
1. IMHO, anything that the government pushes and subsidizes cannot be a good investment.

2. Resale value? I wouldn't want to buy a house with solar panels. It's just a matter of time until some of the myriad of small penetrations will start leaking. I have a new asphalt shingle roof -- dearly paid for -- and there is no way I'd be at the mercy of those installers. A rule of thumb: Nothing penetrates the roof except the plumbing stacks.

3. Money saved? Doubt it. It would make sense to couple the solar panels with some monstrous batteries that would carry you through the New England winter. I don't see those on the horizon. Let's see what happens in 10 years.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by sunguy13

I was told skylights last 15 years and will eventually leak, before the roof. This came from a roofing contractor last month..

We have a skylight in our family room. It was installed 25 years ago and hasn't leaked yet.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by sunguy13

I was told skylights last 15 years and will eventually leak, before the roof. This came from a roofing contractor last month..

I recently replaced a skylight in my house that was leaking. I'm pretty sure it was about 35 years old and only had a very slight leak. I would have never noticed if I wasn't renovating the room it was in and the contractor pointed it out.

Many developers and GC's have told me Velux is the brand to go with if you're buying a skylight. That's what my old one was and that's what my new one is.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

We have a skylight in our family room. It was installed 25 years ago and hasn't leaked yet.

Agreed, quality skylights, that are properly installed, including proper flashing, last a good while. I bought a townhouse with some older (approaching 20 years old) Velux skylights in the loft years ago, and I eventually discovered they were leaking, but I couldn't really examine them as they were way up there in the roof. I figured I needed new skylights and got someone to go up on the roof to take a look at them, and he found that they were not flashed properly. He re-flashed them, patched the shingles, and they were fine as long as I lived there, which was at 23yo for the skylights.