I'm always surprised about the price of solar panels in the US, I think we paid about €1.2/W. It's not like labor is cheap in Belgium.
Surely you mean 1.2 Eur/W?
Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022
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Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022
#42I looked into solar in 2022. The bid I got for a 9.5 kW system and one Tesla Powerwall ended up being right around $50,000.
No thanks.
Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sounds great to me. Especially considering you aren't paying any taxes on your returns when they come in the form of deferred costs. That's equivalent to a pre-tax return in the mid-teens. You won't find that in most asset classes these days, and definitely not with the risk profile of solar.
Especially considering most modern panels are expected to still have a good amount of life left in them after 25 years. (80% or more}
Sorry, life after 25 years? That's WAY higher than I thought. That's incredible.
Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022
#44My parents had panels installed on their house, it is a large single story house in Austin, Texas, which is pretty ideal (more surface area for panels, less volume inside vs two story). No trees in the way either. They haven't had to pay anything for electricity yet. And that is with an EV charging in the garage. We have panels on our roof, a two story house, also in Austin Texas, not so lucky as my parents. With the…
In Austin I'd like to see some studies on solar vs tree coverage. My empirical evidence would suggest that great tree coverage alone keep the inside livable on 100f+ summer days. On my house without trees I could barely keep some of the rooms cool.
Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022
#45> 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.
That is technically true, but why is no one asking how and why his electricity bill is $223 at minimum, plied higher since the bill was only reduced by that amount. Also, “subsidies” are really just a quaint term for “made the working and lower middle class that can’t pay for such exorbitant luxuries pay for it through taxes and inflation”. I’m always a bit confused if seemingly otherwise smart people simply don’t un…
Your restaurant visit is quite subsidized. Notably, both the labor and the materials used are heavily subsidized.
Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022
#46It's surprising that it's possible to produce electricity at home for a lower cost than the wholesale price. I can't think of any other commodity for which this is possible. You couldn't make your own steel, bread or printer paper at home and beat manufacturing at scale. Why is electricity different?
Grid scale solar is half the price of home electricity.
Also about half your bill is distribution fees.
And, BTW, making bread at home is cheaper than buying it. Get a bread machine, put in ingredients, wait a bit, and you have bread.
Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022
#47Hmmm.. I have a 2400 sq ft home in FL. The electricity portion of my utility bill averages roughly $150/month.
They must be in a really large home.
Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022
#48I am surprised at these power bills, at least in my area the implied "savings" are 2-3 times what my bill is on any given month. Huge house maybe?
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
Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022
#49It's surprising that it's possible to produce electricity at home for a lower cost than the wholesale price. I can't think of any other commodity for which this is possible. You couldn't make your own steel, bread or printer paper at home and beat manufacturing at scale. Why is electricity different?
Subsidies, primarily net metering.
With panels on your house the grid is still providing you a key service, providing you with any power you need in excess of what you produce, and sinking any extra for you. But with net metering you only pay in proportion to your net usage, effectively compensating you at retail rates for the power you supply to the grid.
Re: Solar panels reduced my electric bill in 2022
#50It's surprising that it's possible to produce electricity at home for a lower cost than the wholesale price. I can't think of any other commodity for which this is possible. You couldn't make your own steel, bread or printer paper at home and beat manufacturing at scale. Why is electricity different?
Largely it is because you don't have to pay for delivery. It is very similar to having a well. If the water is available at your house already it is most likely cheaper to just pump it versus paying someone to supply water to your house.