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That has been my findings on the solar as well. I really want the numbers to work out but as of now they just don't. Plus dealing with solar companies is like buying a used car in the 80s, its a scummy sales process. One guy tried to hard close me for a $100k quote. LOL....... Kudos for the balls to do that though.
Wow.
I am shopping for a mattress and I am getting the same ick feeling.
Both are money losers. I know one person who uses thier pool enough for it to not be a huge pain in the butt. They are like a convertible car, awesome at first but soon after you wish you would have bought something else.
I would pick the solar panels.
Don't be so sure on the pool. My neighbor got about $200k more than her house was worth because of the pool. That's ON TOP of the cost which was probably around $150k.
Don't be so sure on the pool. My neighbor got about $200k more than her house was worth because of the pool. That's ON TOP of the cost which was probably around $150k.
The thing is that you can’t predict. In a time where no public pools were open and/or require time slots to be reserved in advance, having a pool can be appealing. That said, there have been times even in Florida where having a pool wasn’t a big benefit, particularly in neighborhoods with elaborate community pools.
Both are money losers. I know one person who uses thier pool enough for it to not be a huge pain in the butt. They are like a convertible car, awesome at first but soon after you wish you would have bought something else.
I would pick the solar panels.
Having had a pool and I do have solar panels.
Yeah, both are money losers!!! However, a pool is more fun than the solar panels. And quite frankly, a pool is lower maintenance than a lawn.
If I had a pool again, I would design it to swim laps with maybe an "lap" extension off the main body of the pool. I would seriously consider making it five feet deep, period without a diving end.
Design a safety cover and pool cleaner at the front.
IF you implement some deep conservation measures for electricity, you probably could afford to pay for a pool.
There are very few cases where solar panels will have a 10 year payback. Think about it. A lot more people would have them. Even if they had to take out another loan.
It is totally location dependent, which of course includes not only solar availability in your region, house and roof orientation and potential shading, electricity rates and whether or not your utility company has a good net metering program. In our area it is a no brainer: lots of sunshine, very high electricity rates and generous retail rate offset net metering program. Our payback on our modest $11K cash system was less than five years, we now enjoy $40/annual electricity bills for the next twenty years instead of $300-500/month. You also can’t see the panels on our beautiful historic house.
It is totally location dependent, which of course includes not only solar availability in your region, house and roof orientation and potential shading, electricity rates and whether or not you utility company has a good net metering program. In our area it is a no brainer: lots of sunshine, very high electricity rates and generous retail rate offset net metering program. Our payback on our modest $11K cash system was less than five years, we now enjoy $40/annual electricity bills for the next twenty years instead of $300-500/month. You also can’t see the panels on our beautiful historic house.
But, but, but... everyone above says solar CAN'T be an investment.
Glad it's working for you. It's great for me. I have negative electric bills for about six months of the year, due to the bright Texas sunshine in the cooler/winter months, before AC is needed. Once it gets hot, they average around $80-$120/month, still not bad for five AC units. They used to be $400-$500+.
I actually could have sized them to reduce my bill to almost nothing even in the summer, but the ROI gets pushed to 15-18 years if I did that. Right now it's around ten years. The kicker is when I over-produce, I get 6.5 cents, versus 12 cents when I buy electrons. A good solar company runs calculations that balance cost vs savings vs energy costs vs who-knows-what-else. And they'll show you the results, and you pick the winner.
I also considered adding a wind turbine, to create power at night. I'm on top of a hill, and we get a LOT of wind. That would let me reduce the size of my solar panels. But the ROI still kicked out longer.
It's not an opinion. Explaining my ROI on solar is facts. I've been very detailed in sharing them here. I've also acknowledged they aren't for everyone, and not all can attain the same 10 year payback that many of us get.
Having new posts that continually say "it's not an investment", that's an opinion, and it's wrong. There's no polite way to say it.
Your return on your solar system is an anecdote, nothing more. Calling it a worthwhile investment is an opinion. There is no reason to benchmark any particular installation when so many variables exist.
In our area a pool is fun the first year then the maintenance and headaches take over. Adds very little value to the house. Sometimes it's a nuisance.
Solar panels are a losing proposition unless you stay in the house for 20-30 years to maybe possibly recoup. Utility companies are starting to put fees on them. Weather storms can damage them especially hail. Rules change often and the pigeons love to nest under them.
It is totally location dependent, which of course includes not only solar availability in your region, house and roof orientation and potential shading, electricity rates and whether or not your utility company has a good net metering program. In our area it is a no brainer: lots of sunshine, very high electricity rates and generous retail rate offset net metering program. Our payback on our modest $11K cash system was less than five years, we now enjoy $40/annual electricity bills for the next twenty years instead of $300-500/month. You also can’t see the panels on our beautiful historic house.
Right? I’ve done the math on our house here in San Diego too and it was about 8-10yrs because I’m frugal with electricity, and we have a lot of on natural gas. If my wife had her druthers it would be paid off in way less time because she would keep this place an oven in winter, and meat locker in summer. I grew up not needing either, lol.
The only reason I haven’t pulled the trigger is we gave ourself a 5 year plan before deciding if we’d lay down roots permanently in this house. We’re 3 years in and have only done things that would give us a great ROI if we were to sell today. Solar won’t, but I feel like I’m leaving money on the table every month. I’m seriously considering pulling the trigger because if we do decide to move we’re most likely keeping the house and renting it out as it’ll already rent for about $8K more a year than our PITI. And having solar will allow us to rent it for more.
I’m also curious though how in the world you could have a $300-$500 a month electric bill? A family of four inland easily, but for 2 people in South Park?
Right? I’ve done the math on our house here in San Diego too and it was about 8-10yrs because I’m frugal with electricity, and we have a lot of on natural gas. If my wife had her druthers it would be paid off in way less time because she would keep this place an oven in winter, and meat locker in summer. I grew up not needing either, lol.
The only reason I haven’t pulled the trigger is we gave ourself a 5 year plan before deciding if we’d lay down roots permanently in this house. We’re 3 years in and have only done things that would give us a great ROI if we were to sell today. Solar won’t, but I feel like I’m leaving money on the table every month. I’m seriously considering pulling the trigger because if we do decide to move we’re most likely keeping the house and renting it out as it’ll already rent for about $8K more a year than our PITI. And having solar will allow us to rent it for more.
I’m also curious though how in the world you could have a $300-$500 a month electric bill? A family of four inland easily, but for 2 people in South Park?
Yeah it would probably be more like $250 or so for us, I’m not sure because it’s been six years since we shifted over to solar and rates certainly have gone up since our last traditional bill. We are frugal with electricity like you but our neighbors, a single woman and a couple with one kid, albeit both with AC which we don’t have and the couple have a Tesla, were complaining of those very bill amounts with otherwise similar size houses before they went solar. Our ROI was for our annual usage calculated and the rate with predicted modest increases at the time when we signed up and it was a more generous net-metering program available then.
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