101–110 of 510 posts
Weird question and probably rare but what happens if solar array is hit by lighting? Are they insured? Do they get damaged? Does the inverter/batteries get damaged or is there likely a circuit breaker?
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if you generate excess energy, can you store it for a later time when you need more energy (presumably summer time)?
You would need batteries which are quite expensive at this time.
Batteries a great for powering your house for a few days. Not really beyond that. Unless you buy a ridiculous amount of batteries.
>Realizing that the solar company was in quite the pickle insofar as repossessing the panels would require costly legal actions on top of paying people to take out the system, I just waited on the payment. They would contact me periodically asking me to make payment and offering to help me get approved for a new loan. But I just ignored all of that. Seems pretty unethical tbh. The solar company delivered, but now thi…
So residential solar really doesn't make a lot of sense to me on a societal level, assuming blackouts are rare.
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Air conditioning dominates summer electricity uses anywhere that is hot and/or humid.
I live in a much hotter and much more humid area than the author does, and my bills are not even remotely close to these. I do run my AC through the summer, probably more than most
> The unsubsidized all-in price for buying and installing the panels was $25,525.43... after counting this $6,636.61 tax credit, the subsidized price was $18,888.82 Looks like a 7 year return on investment after subsidies, 10 years without.
7-10 years to break even. If the panels last 15 years you'll see a net return of $21,416 on investment of $18,888. If they last 25 years, that net return grows to $48,186. In either case it works out to an annual rate of return of 5%, assuming electricity prices stay the same (BIG ASSUMPTION) and also assuming the weather doesn't change to get cloudier or more violent (also a big assumption).
I paid ~15k to install solar in 2019. After tax rebates it was ~11k. I’m generating ~12MWh per year. My break even period is less than 5 years. I’m based out of California, and generate excess energy. My electric bill is now just ~$100/year.
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>The panels, because they are black Doesn't seem like that would matter once covered by a few inches of snow. But otherwise your points seem solid.
You don't ever get a few inches of snow on the top of the roof. The point of the aggressive pitch is so the weight of the snow pulls itself off the roof so your roof/home doesn't have to support 5 tons of water weight. IDK if you live in a place that sees significant snow, if so, just drive around a neighborhood and notice what the snow looks like on the rooftops. Generally none on the top and some on the bottom. Tha…
This is definitely not how snow on roofs work. Here is an example with a roof with lots of snow on it:
https://millworksconstructionservices.com/wp-content/uploads...
Roofs in cold climates are designed to hold the weight of snow on top of them.
ETA:
The no snow on top but some on the bottom is because their attic isn't insulated well enough. Ideally you lose no heat through the ceiling into the attic. But without enough insulation you will lose a significant amount and the hotter air will rise to the highest point and melt the peak first. You don't want this because the melted snow can run down your roof and freeze again on the colder parts.
PG&E will find a way to keep their profit margin.
https://www.npr.org/2022/12/15/1142927418/california-plans-t...
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Sorry, life after 25 years? That's WAY higher than I thought. That's incredible.
Generally you can find the degradation curve in their datasheet, and yes, 80% after 25 years sounds possible. IIRC they fade faster with time, so it might be 50% after 50, but ... that's still pretty good.
