VdomanFla t1_ivcl0dr wrote
Solar would work in the U.S. too if our greedy power companies stopped bribing our government officials to stop it. Even our insurance companies will not insure a house with solar without an extra cost. Any incentive to contribute back to the grid has been bribed away. We are in a very sad state of affairs here.
Surur t1_ivcmnit wrote
Home solar in USA cost several times more than in other countries for some reason. They are probably just charging what the market will bear and profiteering.
PM_ME_YOUR_STEAM_ID t1_ivdf3rh wrote
Yup, I've had several solar quotes over the past 4 years. Every single one of them would increase cost about 40% more (solar loan) than my regular electricity bill.
The cost is just way too high.
siinfekl t1_ive7hmx wrote
Mine (in Aus) should pay for themselves in 3 years, 4 max. Insurance wasn't effected and value of house is realistically improved by the value of the panels
kidicarus89 t1_ivexwha wrote
Wow, what state are you in? In the Southwest Solar is pretty much a no brainer if you have a new roof. Payoff is usually 4-6 years.
GutFeelingonTheLong t1_ivg8pde wrote
It’s move like 8-10 years to break even in the US. More at the current financing rate. We are about to install solar on our home.
VdomanFla t1_ivn96bx wrote
Florida… it’s corrupted all to hell here.
_AndyJessop t1_ivf09hg wrote
Have you thought about just buying the kit yourself and running a system that isn't grid-tied?
VdomanFla t1_ivn9e0f wrote
We are not allowed… BY LAW… to completely off-grid. Even a full solar system we still have to pay a minimum to the power company, and that cost doubled in the last year.
randomusername8472 t1_ive5e44 wrote
I figured this out after talking to a few people on hear who seemed really angry that solar was crazy unaffordable. From my perspective it's expensive, but the panels are the cheapest part and the reduction in energy means they should pay themselves back double over their life time.
I got 2.2kW worth of panels added to my roof. The panels cost about £700 ($750). The inverter and other equipment was another £1500. The scaffolding was £700, and the installation was £1200.
£4200 total ($4500) and halved our energy bill!
improbablyatthegame t1_ivfqr8i wrote
Just had a quote run here in Texas. $45,000…no storage battery included.
Ok_Dependent1131 t1_ivfupby wrote
How may KWH?
randomusername8472 t1_ivfxra6 wrote
For an amount comparable to 2.2kWh!? That's insane!
improbablyatthegame t1_ivgi9hq wrote
Having them resend the quotes to take a look at the output.
improbablyatthegame t1_ivgrq0a wrote
19kWh system, 49 panels.
randomusername8472 t1_ivguvr9 wrote
That's about 10x the size of mine, so actually not too surprised it's 10x the price!
To have that much solar power on my house in the UK I think I would need to register as a power station, if I wanted to also connect and input to the grid! (Don't hold me to that, it's just anything up to 5kW has a really simplifying process and no planning permissions or needed or anything).
In the UK average houses only really need 2-3kW system, which would basically meet all needs in the summer but not really touch the sides of usage in winter - we get so little sunlight in the winter it's not even worth trying.
It's very, very rare for a residential property to have above a 5kW system.
But then, we don't really use cooling and we tend to use natural gas for heating. So while we only use 10-15kwH of electricity per day, we use a lot more in natural gas for heating over the winter.
GutFeelingonTheLong t1_ivggjor wrote
Call project solar. They seem to have the best rates in our area of TX. We had quotes from 5 companies and they were the best quote by far. I found Project Solar by researching on the solar Reddit page.
improbablyatthegame t1_ivgi3ud wrote
I can’t get my head wrapped around it just yet. According to their calculations, for 75% offset I’d still be looking at 25k over 20 years, not accounting for local hoa regulation issues, not accounting for system standard degradation over the loan term, unable to get data from the providers myself and are locked into their app, not accounting for an increase to my insurance policy.
The list of issues really grows large for a basic setup.
GutFeelingonTheLong t1_ivgl1cm wrote
Well HOAs are legally bound to allow for solar installations (Section 202.010(b) of the Texas Property Code states that “a property owners’ association may not include or enforce a provision in a dedicatory instrument that prohibits or restricts a property owner from installing a solar energy device.”). Most warranties on our quotes were 25 years - the equipment under this warranty is guaranteed to produce around 90% on the guaranteed starting production. Not trying to talk you into anything. Just made sense financially in the long run for us.
seanflyon t1_ive4i98 wrote
My parents wanted to put solar on their roof, but the city required that they get full architectural plans for the building drawn up first, by a certified architect.
ChildrenAreOurDoom t1_ivf5hyu wrote
Well yes, you are adding load to an existing structure. That should be required everywhere.
seanflyon t1_ivfxvvw wrote
We are talking about adding less than 100 pounds to the roof, that is a 0% increase in loading. Requiring certified architectural drawings effectively outlaws solar on the roof of old buildings.
Walking on your roof is 100 times worse because not only is it more weight but it is vastly more concentrated.
ChildrenAreOurDoom t1_ivg0e7j wrote
I am an engineer. Any changes to a structure must be documented. Not just for "this time", but so that there is a record of modifications for "next time".
The permit process is to log changes to a building over its lifetime. Don't skip any part of that story.
seanflyon t1_ivg1m4c wrote
I didn't say anything about skipping the permitting process, I was talking about the permitting process itself.
Alis451 t1_ivfbhh4 wrote
> a certified architect.
certified engineer, not architect. architects are designers, engineers are the developers. Architect is "Where it goes", Engineer is "How it works". My brother had a collapsing column in his crawl space and needed an engineer to come assess in order to get a permit.
OTHERPPLSMAGE t1_ivd49a2 wrote
In tennessee the tennessee Valley authority has an application process for putting power back into the grid. Which includes changing the meter on your house to show what's pulled in and put back.
But they limit you to 12 panels on your house. Loop hole to that being you can add 2nd meter to your address. Which would then most likely allow an extra 12 panels. But for this house and it's 1 meter 1 fuse box we are maxed.
We opted out of putting back instead set it up to supplement what we use. Lowering our power bill bout 100+ a month.
Sleepybystander t1_ivddrlr wrote
The problem don't stop at private sector bribing officials, the public servants have to reject the bribes too.
Vote for politicians that push for renewables, instead of those who tells you they can bring cheaper oil because you'll never shake of the addiction to oil if the politicians are only coming up with short term solutions.
Fausterion18 t1_ive9ghj wrote
Nothing in your post is even remotely the truth.
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Power companies use renewable energy sources themselves. They don't like rooftop solar with feed in tariffs because you're not paying for transmission costs. Generation is only one part of the total cost of electricity. Plus utilities profit is highly regulated.
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Insurance companies do not care about your rooftop solar unless it makes it more expensive for them in the event of a claim such as in areas with frequent storm damage.
Solar works great in the US in areas that support it. And contrary to your claim, it's the solar lobby that has the upper hand over the utilities companies. In California for example, all new construction homes are required to have solar, and natural gas is scheduled to be banned on new homes starting next year.
VdomanFla t1_iveoz27 wrote
Try those points you make… but in Florida. Solar adoption is slow because the power companies want to generate ALL the power and charge you for it. Duke Energy in Fla has our asshole Governor in their pocket. Every time they meet, Duke gets more of an advantage.
Fausterion18 t1_ivf9uqe wrote
DeSantis literally just vetoed the new net metering bill that the utilities companies including Duke Energy wanted.
Confused-Raccoon t1_ivcwqtg wrote
I reckon if one of them power companies bit the bullet and bought some of Nevada or new mexico, next year they'd be rolling in it. You ain't got any logistics to pay for to move the sun from where it's mined to where it's processed and all that.
Wait for the current generation, maybe the next one too, to die off and I think things will really start changing. Probably too late but hey ho.
orangutanoz t1_ive2oul wrote
Sad in Australia too. I pay more for the electricity from the grid than someone without solar and if I get an electric car their are no subsidies and I will have to pay an extra fee for kilometres driven.
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