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Solar Energy Panels
Topic Started: Apr 12 2018, 12:56 PM (418 Views)
jlbear71
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Dh and I are looking at the possibility of putting solar panels on our house and/or garage. We have no trees blocking the roofs. The company we are looking at is Vivint as an acquaintance is their local rep. I like the idea but not 100% sure we want to do this.

So tell me the pros and cons of what you know.
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greenbean
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Queen Bean
We don't have them, but after the last big snow storm I saw a van from a solar energy company in someone's driveway and guys up on the roof clearing snow off of them. It's something I hadn't thought of, but I guess they don't work if covered with snow.
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Roor
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bad hombre
It sounds like you're wanting to lease? Vivint is in hot water right now for deceptive contract pricing: http://fox13now.com/2018/03/08/vivint-solar-accused-of-defrauding-new-mexico-residents-jeopardizing-home-ownership/

The 20 year contract is pretty standard for lease options, my company does it too and you'll typically see the kWh rate increase ~2% every 2 years. They're banking on the customer not being educated on what they currently pay for electricity, what they have paid in the past, and what they will pay in the future.

If you can afford to buy outright that is typically going to have the best ROI.
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Sugaree
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That's interesting. I didn't even know leasing them was an option. I've been considering it as of late. Of course my state doesn't give any kind of credits or anything, but if I could reduce what I'm using that would be awesome. I can't wait until the solar shingles are a more available and cost-effective option.
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dol-fan
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We got ours put up last summer and I LOVE them. We technically bought ours and financed them so we have a monthly bill that is about average for what we would pay each month (lower than the summer months but higher than the winter months) but with the possibility of paying it off faster and not having a bill at all. My actual electric bill is just the price of connection. I think it's about $5. We also can sell back the energy that we produce but I know that varies by state.

Ours are in the back of our house but even if they weren't, I don't find them all that unsightly. They sit pretty flush with the roof.

Mostly, I love not having to worry as much about leaving a light on or turning on the AC if I'm hot. I still try to be mindful of my energy consumption but I don't have the "guilt" of worrying about the bill if I'm a little wasteful.
Edited by dol-fan, Apr 12 2018, 02:12 PM.
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Figment
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Rotor,

What do you think of the shingles?
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jlbear71
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dol-fan
Apr 12 2018, 02:11 PM
We got ours put up last summer and I LOVE them. We technically bought ours and financed them so we have a monthly bill that is about average for what we would pay each month (lower than the summer months but higher than the winter months) but with the possibility of paying it off faster and not having a bill at all. My actual electric bill is just the price of connection. I think it's about $5. We also can sell back the energy that we produce but I know that varies by state.

Ours are in the back of our house but even if they weren't, I don't find them all that unsightly. They sit pretty flush with the roof.

Mostly, I love not having to worry as much about leaving a light on or turning on the AC if I'm hot. I still try to be mindful of my energy consumption but I don't have the "guilt" of worrying about the bill if I'm a little wasteful.
Aren't you not far from me? (Phila area)

Who did you use?
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CraftyK
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Your friendly neighborhood Crafty voice!
I signed up for a co-op for informational purposes. I haven't done tons of research because it's not an immediate thing right now (we have lots of other things going on...), but it seems like it might be a good idea. This group organizes consumers in a geographic area who want to buy solar panels, and then negotiates a group discount deal with the installer. It might be worth checking into.

https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/go-solar/
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Roor
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bad hombre
Figment
Apr 12 2018, 02:21 PM
Rotor,

What do you think of the shingles?
It's a really neat concept but i don't think they're worth it for the average homeowner. At least not in the states.
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mogar123
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My inlaws have had them since the early eighties. Ugly as sin but sure keeps them warm.
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wikkiit
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Not Liam
Be sure to call your home insurance provider to see if/how the panels would be covered, whether damage to your roof would be covered, etc.
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Stimpy
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Amateur Rabble Rouser
Do you have a HOA? Some HOAs may restrict solar panel usage.

Have solar panel costs increased due to the Trump tariffs? If they have gone up significantly, you may want to wait.
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jlbear71
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No HOA here. Good idea about checking with the insurance. I will also check with my mortgage holder since it is a private mortgage with the Lodge.
Crafty, I will look into that more.
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Yvonne 2
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What happens if it hails? Do the panels break?
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Roor
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bad hombre
Yvonne 2
Apr 13 2018, 12:23 AM
What happens if it hails? Do the panels break?
They can, if you lease them the company generally replaces them for free.
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dol-fan
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jlbear71
Apr 12 2018, 03:09 PM
dol-fan
Apr 12 2018, 02:11 PM
We got ours put up last summer and I LOVE them. We technically bought ours and financed them so we have a monthly bill that is about average for what we would pay each month (lower than the summer months but higher than the winter months) but with the possibility of paying it off faster and not having a bill at all. My actual electric bill is just the price of connection. I think it's about $5. We also can sell back the energy that we produce but I know that varies by state.

Ours are in the back of our house but even if they weren't, I don't find them all that unsightly. They sit pretty flush with the roof.

Mostly, I love not having to worry as much about leaving a light on or turning on the AC if I'm hot. I still try to be mindful of my energy consumption but I don't have the "guilt" of worrying about the bill if I'm a little wasteful.
Aren't you not far from me? (Phila area)

Who did you use?
I'm not far! I'm in South Jersey.

We used Impact Solar. My husband is a meticulous researcher (much to my annoyance most of the time) and he found them to be able to answer all of his questions to his satisfaction as well as having a competitive rate. I also liked that it was a family run business. We dealt with 3 different brothers through the process: 1 was the salesmen, 1 was the foreman of the work crew, and the last did the inspection.

Come to think of it, they might be based out of Philly.
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