Comments on Boston Gal's Open Wallet: My three year solarversary!

An article you might enjoy on the NY Times http:...

2011-04-22T14:29:04.830-04:00

An article you might enjoy on the NY Times

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/study-finds-solar-panels-increase-home-values/?smid=tw-nytimesbusiness&seid=auto

My roof was less than 10 years old when I had the ...

2011-04-21T19:17:02.591-04:00

My roof was less than 10 years old when I had the panels installed. The good news is the panels should extend the life of that section of roof. But if I did need to replace the shingles, I would have to remove the panels, re-do the roof, then remount the panels.

If my roof had not been in such good shape, the solar installer would have recommended I replace that section before the panels went up. I know someone who replaced just the section of roof where the panels would be installed since his roof was older. Later, after the panels were in place and a couple of years passed, he finished re-doing the rest of his roof.

My hot water tank is natural gas and is a gas/furnace driven system. The previous homeowner put the system in shortly before I purchased my home - so it is pretty efficient. I am considering in the future installing a tankless system - but it is not high on my home improvement list.

Good Luck!

BG, I'm having an electrical contractor come ...

2011-04-21T13:21:51.147-04:00

BG,

I'm having an electrical contractor come next week. I had some questions - what did they say about your roof? I have some concerns my shingles won't last the 20 years of the PV panels - did you replace or have a new roof before installation.

What do you do for hot water? Electric tank, tankless or gas/furance-driven?

Thanks for all the "real life" data and experience you provide here!!

Yesterday, I learned about the 3rd generation in s...

2011-04-18T08:49:34.400-04:00

Yesterday, I learned about the 3rd generation in solar technology - after PV and thin film. A company in Australia called Dyesol is doing some cool things with spray on solar technology. The payback for my system would be 12 years and this technology might become viable in 3-4 yrs so I may hold off on the PV system till it's mainstream. I do realize that I might get caught in a cycle of waiting for the next generation. However, I don't have a south facing rooftop and need to collect sun from as many surfaces as possible. Meanwhile, I will likely do the geothermal and solar hot water.

Hi Ravi, If you are interested in eventually goin...

2011-04-17T11:27:42.381-04:00

Hi Ravi,

If you are interested in eventually going solar, I encourage you to start learning more about your usage and potential conservation options now. I bet your parents would appreciate your helping them save on their electric bill. Good Luck!

Hi Indio,

Generally the shortest payback solar system a homeowner can install is the hot water system. If you see a house with just a couple of panels on their roof, that is generally the hot water system. Folks with an electric hot water heater see the biggest savings, then oil, then natural gas. Good Luck and I would be interested to learn what you choose to install!

Hi Anonymous, To answer your question: 12 190 Wat...

2011-04-17T11:18:36.265-04:00

Hi Anonymous,

To answer your question:
12 190 Watt DC panels (plus brackets, inverter, wiring, etc)
Total cost: $20,745.28

As you can read above, after rebates my out of pocket cost was a bit over $7,000. While I did get a Federal and State tax credit for the year the system was installed, that was a very small portion of my total discount (this was back when the Fed tax credit was capped at $2,000 and State at $1,000).

The bulk of my rebate money came from the Massachusetts Commonwealth solar fund which is funded by the major electric companies in my state (National Grid, Mass Electric, etc.) they in turn get the money from their rate payers. Everyone in Massachusetts pays a few pennies extra (literally pennies) every month when they pay their bill.

The bulk of the fund is used by corporations to off-set their solar installations. They also then get much larger Federal and State tax credits for the same. Because of the higher incentives for commercial installations, the payback period for them is much shorter than a small homeowner like me.

So yes, my rate paying and tax paying neighbors did help me pay for my solar panels. But they also helped for-profit corporations far more. Hopefully, the eventual payoff for all rate payers in Massachusetts is not having to pay for additional power plants and other expensive infrastructure upgrades. Reducing the strain on the grid benefits all who are connected to it. The other payoff for my neighbors who are interested in installing solar themselves, is early adopters like me help mature an industry that then rewards later participants with lower prices.

Thanks for posting this update. I've been seri...

2011-04-17T07:44:02.719-04:00

Thanks for posting this update. I've been seriously looking into doing solar or geothermal now. I have a few estimates and my doing the analysis to determine which one will lower my carbon footprint the most and have the shortest payback time. I really dislike the fluctuations with the price of oil, environmental impact, on and on. Ideally, I would like to get to a PV system that can be used to charge an electric car too.

Very cool! I've always wanted to install solar...

2011-04-17T03:29:51.461-04:00

Very cool! I've always wanted to install solar panels at my house, sadly I live at home for the moment. I'm hoping one day when I have a home I'll be able to.

-Ravi Gupta

THANK YOU for this post! These are precisely the n...

2011-04-17T01:47:10.974-04:00

THANK YOU for this post! These are precisely the numbers I've been wanting to see as I consider my own solar installation.

This cuts right through the rhetoric present on both sides of the 'renewable energy' debate with actual figures -- refreshing!

Unfortunately it looks to me like, at this time, solar panels just don't make financial sense. They do still appeal to the engineer in me; I spend money on other hobbies, so spending money on solar panels may still be attractive from that perspective.

I'm curious what the intallation cost would have been if not for the incentives, since that is the 'true' cost of the system. My inner personal finance geek always reminds my inner engineer that while the payoff time for me will be 'x' years, the payoff time for my neighbors who will be subsidizing my purchase is, sadly, 'never'.