Solar Power

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Btw, I would NOT recommend a lease system....too many negative issues. ( which I am happy to discuss off-line!).
Indeed there are tons of horror stories when you try to sell the house. Leasing companies demand huge payments to get you out of the lease. And buyers do not want to assume the lease. It essentially devalues your house price.


Latest issue of consumer reports magazine has a good article on this.
 

DaveyF

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2010
6,129
181
458
La Jolla, Calif USA
Tom..what Amir posted above is the primary reason why leasing is NOT a great idea. I will PM you with the other issues.
 
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BlueFox

Member Sponsor
Nov 8, 2013
1,709
406
405
Indeed there are tons of horror stories when you try to sell the house. Leasing companies demand huge payments to get you out of the lease. And buyers do not want to assume the lease. It essentially devalues your house price.

Latest issue of consumer reports magazine has a good article on this.

Exactly. After rebate, it cost me $16k to install solar, with a projected break even date of approximately 5-6 years. Of course, it immediately increased my home value by the same amount, or a bit more. Being able to run my amps, and the required AC at the same time for a nominal cost makes it worthwhile in my mind.

They don't require much maintenance. I was just on the roof two weekends ago with hose and broom to clean the panels. This is only necessary once or twice a year since it never rains in the summer here, and sometimes it doesn't even rain in the winter. While good for solar, I would prefer the water. :)
 

MtnHam

Industry Expert
Jan 12, 2014
275
50
335
Nothern California Wine Country
Net metering (bi-directional meter whereby the consumer is credited for energy fed into the grid) and high electricity rates are two important factors in making solar feasible. California at $0.25/kWh is among the highest, and has the largest # of installed systems. Idaho with abundant hydro at $0.06/kWh is among the lowest, and doesn't pencil out. Some states Florida, Hawaai are solar unfriendly. Also, you must have lots of sunlight and a good location for the panels. Utility companies are threatened by solar and are hoping to change the rules in their favor.

Several interesting articles:

Net metering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_metering
Wikipedia
Net metering (or net energy metering, NEM) allows consumers which generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly important with wind and solar, which are non-dispatchable.
?History · ?Controversy · ?Comparison · ?Time of use metering

Ditching Net Metering Is in the 'Best Interest' of Solar, Say MIT ...
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/MIT-Economists-Say-We-Should-Ditch-Net-Metering
Greentech Media
May 5, 2015 - Net metering compensates distributed solar generators at the retail price for electricity they supply to the grid, rather than at the wholesale price ...

Net Metering 101 - IER
instituteforenergyresearch.org/analysis/net-metering-101/
Institute for Energy Research
Jan 14, 2014 - Selling the excess electricity to the grid is called “net metering.” Net metering is one of the hottest topics for utilities today because of the way the ...
 
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Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Tom

That was very helpful in my search. I am lucky to have a big roof facing in an ideal position with an unobstructed view. My goal was to purchase as noted in the posts before. Leasing IMO is good if you are using it on property that won't be sold during the lifetime of the lease.

your middle link brings up an error code
 

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