I've installed solar panels, and I'm addicted to them now.

Isee · Aug 20, 2021

deadbass said:
This is super interesting. My wife and I just bought a detached townhome and, on average, our daily energy usage is ~8KwH, so it seems quite possible to run entirely on solar energy in the summer, and get a good portion of it the rest of the year.

Funny enough, with an energy consumption that low, it could be possible to be 90%+ self sufficient over the year. We are talking about a system that is comically oversized, expensive, beyond rationality and there are many more specific factors to your region that can improve or decrease the ratio (temperature, sun hours etc.)

But it could be possible.

Mango Polo · Aug 20, 2021

I've been meaning to look into solar (and green roofs), but living in Finland I already expect the answer to be "not the best idea". Unless something has significantly changed that even a cloudy place like here could have worthwhile solar.

Meauxse · Aug 20, 2021

I'm also in this process, and working with the bank right now on loans. I'll quote my post from the homeowner thread. I can't wait to move forward with it!

NH Apache said:
I've had three solar vendors come by to provide quote on two systems:

1. ~9 kW panel install, inverter, permitting and accessories. Avg: 30k, 20 after tax rebate.
2. Same with 25-30 kWh battery backup. Avg 54k, 40 after tax rebate.

I've had the following companies bid:

A. South Coast Solar with Sunpower, 2 powerwalls
B. Solar Alternatives with Tesla Panels, 2 powerwalls
C. Envisha Energy with unknown panels, 3 LG batteries (~30 kWh)

I am leaning towards solution 2, option A which specifically is Sunpower Solar 10.15 kWh and two tesla powerwall IIs, with enphase microinverters on the panels so they are covered under the 25 year parts and labor. Powerwalls have a 10 year. Also, I'm in a historic district so I have super dumb rules like 10 ft from front wall unusable, which means I have to compensate on the North (top) side.

I have net metering in New Orleans, with a 1:1 payback. My house was built in 2018 with a new roof.

So, over the 25 year parts and labor, payback is 10 years for option 1 and 22 years for option 2, not including the increase in value to the house (~15-20k). I am looking at battery solutions because original goal was to make the house resilient during hurricane season and automatic generator install is my comparative cost (~15k).

Which leads me to some questions.

1. If I think of doing a pool in a few years, I'm assuming that would affect a Home Equity loan. Not sure if you can take a second loan on equity in future or what. Intent is to use Home Equity Loan against the Solar system but it is likely that we would be doing a pool and porch extension in a few years.

2. Experience with Solar on your house, your install process, and value related effects to your home. Also, insurance impacts wrt to batteries and the solar system.

Noticeably, I saw we don't have a Solar OT so I figured this would be the best spot.

TylerD · Aug 20, 2021

I'm pretty happy with my SolarEdge system but I'm not really saving more money overall. Energy here in San Antonio is not very expensive.

I have a 5.9 kwh system that came online March 2020 (19 x 310w panels). No battery. Over the first year period of full production starting in April 2020 I generated 7700 kwh. Everything was working so well that I stopped looking at the system and didn't notice that I missed 13 days in August 2020 of prime generation when my system was offline.

7 of the months in that timeframe my energy use was net 0 and I only was charged the base 8.75 connection/service fee for electricity. The excess I generate in a month rolls over to the next month and so on, so one of the high usage summer months gets cut way down as well. I get paid back at price kwh to kwh in reduction to my bill from the energy company for the excess I generate. The payment on my solar loan (5% interest) was 63.75 for the first 18 months and will be 93 for the rest of the 20 yr term. I was installed at the end of 2019 so did get the full tax credit benefit plus a local 1000 credit through the energy company for using Mission Solar panels that are manufactured locally. They carry a 25 yr warranty at 80.2% efficiency.

The local credit was applied to the installation cost (15,500) and I invested my tax credit into my Roth iRA so that is totally offsetting my increased monthly cost with the solar loan and then some. I will have the panels paid off within 7-8 years most likely but definitely less than 10.

Perks that came with installation or were rolled in to the cost:
Replace all lights in home with LED bulbs, $300 towards smart thermostat ( I went with Ecobee), 1 free tear down and setup of the solar panels in the future (of course providing the solar installer is still in business then but they are doing really well).

Isee · Aug 22, 2021

TylerD said:
I'm pretty happy with my SolarEdge system but I'm not really saving more money overall
-
I will have the panels paid off within 7-8 years most likely but definitely less than 10.

Correct, you are not saving money right now.
You paid a big part of your energy bill 8 years in advance. Something you would have had to pay anyway, just in monthly or yearly chunks.
And for that up-front investment, you'll be saving a lot of money in the future. Especially as energy prices will go up.
That's not a bad investment imo.

---
Personal note:
It is grey and raining today. My small(!) East/West installation is still generating 1200W at 11 a.m, while there is water coming from the sky!
I remember reading, ~20 years ago, that you need good, direct sunlight to generate energy from photovoltaic panels.

Today it is more like: Put them towards the sky and they'll work. (I'm exaggerating, it's more complicated)
I'm still fascinated how well the tech progressed and things will only get better from here on out. The next gen. of even better panels is already on its way!

(just a small, compact, additional tool. not my main dashboard)

FliX · Aug 31, 2021

Just got a first quote 8-10k. tempting...

Isee · Sep 1, 2021

FliX said:
Just got a first quote 8-10k. tempting...

What size?

Adventureracing · Sep 1, 2021

I'm just hoping battery prices come down a bit soon (or maybe a government subsidy here in Australia) so I can add that to my setup.

netprints · Sep 1, 2021

I would have to trim so many trees to make it worth it. I wish I could get them.

massive · Sep 1, 2021

Isee said:
Correct, you are not saving money right now.
You paid a big part of your energy bill 8 years in advance. Something you would have had to pay anyway, just in monthly or yearly chunks.
And for that up-front investment, you'll be saving a lot of money in the future. Especially as energy prices will go up.
That's not a bad investment imo.

I feel like I might be missing something when it comes to the value proposition. The figures I'm seeing are showing "break even" around 10 years and "double your investment" after about 20 years.

If I put $10,000 into a S&P 500 ETF at a 6.86% return (average annual return since the stock market's inception), I'd end up with $34,000 in 20 years which is more than triple my investment.

I think as the systems become cheaper and (if) energy becomes more expensive, there will be a time in the future where it does make sense but right now it seems like an early adopter's market for enthusiasts.

Isee · Sep 1, 2021

massive said:
I feel like I might be missing something when it comes to the value proposition. The figures I'm seeing are showing "break even" around 10 years and "double your investment" after about 20 years.

If I put $10,000 into a S&P 500 ETF at a 6.86% return (average annual return since the stock market's inception), I'd end up with $34,000 in 20 years which is more than triple my investment.

I think as the systems become cheaper and (if) energy becomes more expensive, there will be a time in the future where it does make sense but right now it seems like an early adopter's market for enthusiasts.

pV-Return rates depend on where you live, the state subsidy, tax advantages, energy prices, your roof space, your roof orientation and many other, sometimes unique conditions.
It's one of the reasons why I didn't create an OT, this is a multiuser forum, with members from many different regions of the world. Giving generalised advices is impossible.

I disagree with your "enthusiast tech" message. One of the reasons I created this thread was the realisation that it no longer is a niche technology. We are talking about the iPhone 12 and no longer the slow iPhone 3G here.
We are putting solar panels on German homes for 21 years now. There is an incredible amount of data present about reliability, production rates, failure rates, maintenance costs. pV-Panels survived the 20 year test-span with ease and are still reliably producing energy in large quantities and test batteries from 10-15 years ago are still going strong. As a matter of fact, the first installed pV-panel in Germany is from 1981 and it is still going (University project). But this is just a sample rate of one, so it's more of a curiosity than reliable data.
To go a tiny bit deeper: 9% of germany's total energy mix is coming from solar panels: That's roughly 54 Gigawatts of power, with probably 60 Gigawatts by the end of 2021. 90% of that is decentralised and being produced by private, small home-investors like me. My small city has about 20k one-family houses in total and about 3300 of them are equipped with solar panels now (16.5%).

It is not enthusiast tech, at least not in my part of the world.

No idea which specific investment fond you have chosen, how much you invested or for how long.
But those promised return rates are best case scenarios in my experience. They might become true or they might decrease. Twenty years is a long speculation time for ordinary people to bet on something that might turn out to get you underwhelming results after a long period of time.

On the other side, investing into your own property with solar gives you a guaranteed number. No reputable pV-company is calculating your return rate with increasing energy prices. They are all using your own, current rate and set it as fixed for the future. Your energy consumption is also a set value, when in truth it will probably go up as most industry countries are starting to move away from the combustion engine and gas/coal/oil home heating systems.

My "German" mentality is playing a role her; but having the option between betting money on a combined mix of horses on the speculative horse-race that is the stock market or investing into something proven that directly benefits my family, me, my retirement and my environment: I rather take the guaranteed, reliable road that is still giving me significant returns and the option of getting better in the future. Instead of speculating for the chance of even slightly better winnings.

And I say that with all respect, as this is a mentality question indeed: You do what you think is best for your future. I do not try to convince you.
Investing into the stock market is working out for many people. It's for you to weigh options, balance your personal economics and make the decision that you believe in.

I sincerely wish you the best of luck.

FliX · Sep 1, 2021

Isee said:
What size?

3.1kW, 9 panels.

massive said:
I feel like I might be missing something when it comes to the value proposition. The figures I'm seeing are showing "break even" around 10 years and "double your investment" after about 20 years.

If I put $10,000 into a S&P 500 ETF at a 6.86% return (average annual return since the stock market's inception), I'd end up with $34,000 in 20 years which is more than triple my investment.

I think as the systems become cheaper and (if) energy becomes more expensive, there will be a time in the future where it does make sense but right now it seems like an early adopter's market for enthusiasts.

It'a also not only about making money, depending on where you get your energy from it is also just environmentally friendly to generate at least some of your power from the sun.

Isee · Sep 1, 2021

FliX said:
3.1kW, 9 panels.

You could be self sufficient from March till mid November. That's good. You seem to have better sun hours than my "region".
Do you get credit from your energy provider for the energy you put into the net? Or do you need a battery for night hours?

FliX · Sep 1, 2021

Isee said:
You could be self sufficient from March till mid November. That's good. You seem to have better sun hours than my "region".
Do you get credit from your energy provider for the energy you put into the net? Or do you need a battery for night hours?

Yes we get credit from our energy provider. ~~I think I get credit. But I am still unknowledgeable about this whole thing.~~
Will probably leave a batter off for now, and maybe add one at a later date.

Isee · Sep 1, 2021

FliX said:
Yes we get credit from our energy provider. ~~I think I get credit. But I am still unknowledgeable about this whole thing.~~
Will probably leave a batter off for now, and maybe add one at a later date.

That's awesome. If it is a 1:1 ratio (you get 1kWh, for putting 1kWh into the net) you don't even need a battery. Your are quasi using your energy provider as a battery.
But I do not want to overload you with information.

FliX · Sep 1, 2021

Isee said:
That's awesome. If it is a 1:1 ratio (you get 1kWh, for putting 1kWh into the net) you don't even need a battery. Your are quasi using your energy provider as a battery.
But I do not want to overload you with information.

My understanding is I pay consumer prices but get paid in bulk prices. But yea, I think for the most part it could be a wash.

captive · Sep 1, 2021

Meauxse said:
I'm also in this process, and working with the bank right now on loans. I'll quote my post from the homeowner thread. I can't wait to move forward with it!

for installation. for us it was typical workers. You have the master electrician whos the one with the most brain and than one or two workers that are the managers.

but they did stupid ass stuff like oh well its raining today so we're not coming. Im like yes you need to do stuff on the roof that you can't do cause its raining, but you still have a whole shit load of work to do *inside* that can be done regardless of rain. so that shit is just frustrating. Its like they get stuck in 1 track mind.

our roof is standing seam metal roof so its very easy install and doesnt puncture the roof like tar and shingle.

TylerD said:
Everything was working so well that I stopped looking at the system and didn't notice that I missed 13 days in August 2020 of prime generation when my system was offline.

on your solar edge system, you should have access to the Admin page on the solaredge website, on there you should be able to setup an alert like if production lower than x over y period send email to me.

if you can't do it, call your installer and have them do it.

massive said:
I feel like I might be missing something when it comes to the value proposition. The figures I'm seeing are showing "break even" around 10 years and "double your investment" after about 20 years.

If I put $10,000 into a S&P 500 ETF at a 6.86% return (average annual return since the stock market's inception), I'd end up with $34,000 in 20 years which is more than triple my investment.

i hate these arguments. cause you can essentially do it with everything. I need a new car! but if i took this money and instead put it in an index fund i'd make money over X amount of time. Disregarding the fact that you still need a fucking car.

Like for me, before we put in a pool, the first summer we lived in our house our electric bills were 300-500 bucks a month. At 1500-2000 dollars over a 3 or 4 month period, I would much rather pay for solar panels than be paying that. and the investment is close to 8 years on ROI. Then throw in the fact we charge our EV for free the savings add up real quick.

Cause the other side of financial literacy that invest all your money in stocks! people forget is that you still want to lower your cash out. Lowering your cash out means you can work less or dont have to work as much or as hard. taken to extreme this is the FIRE principal.

whatsinaname · Sep 11, 2021

Seriously considering a system now. There's a group buy in my city neighbourhood (organised by the city) where the discounts are at the 15% range and the 26% federal tax credit makes it very tempting.

DTE in my area has some sort of net metering thing going too so they buy back excess at wholesale rates.

Only problem is my roof faces east/west and I an in Michigan. (My furnace is gas - so electricity usage is on the lower side in winter anyway).

One question I had - can I get a small battery added to supply power during outages to my furnace/refrigerator/sump-pump. Essentially a backup for power loss?

Deleted member 79451 · Sep 11, 2021

In my area I've seen a few people with panels on their homes. But simultaneously I heard on the local news multiple people having disaster stories getting these installed by someone Tesla related and by a local company - basically ending up with a leaky / damaged roof, panels that do nothing, roof damage, and waiting forever for them to stop their homes from getting further damaged.

With that kind of horror story I'll probably end up getting panels when >50% of everyone has em hah

Isee · Sep 11, 2021

whatsinaname said:
Seriously considering a system now. There's a group buy in my city neighbourhood (organised by the city) where the discounts are at the 15% range and the 26% federal tax credit makes it very tempting.

DTE in my area has some sort of net metering thing going too so they buy back excess at wholesale rates.

Only problem is my roof faces east/west and I an in Michigan. (My furnace is gas - so electricity usage is on the lower side in winter anyway).

One question I had - can I get a small battery added to supply power during outages to my furnace/refrigerator/sump-pump. Essentially a backup for power loss?

That can be done, though you need to specifically plan for it. DC to AC converters and batteries often rely on external signals to work, like for example frequency and are not able to provide power into your house without that.
In other words, you need the correct hardware. Just ask your Solar company, they'll know what to do.

whatsinaname · Sep 11, 2021

Isee said:
That can be done, though you need to specifically plan for it. DC to AC converters and batteries often rely on external signals to work, like for example frequency and are not able to provide power into your house without that.

Got it, thanks!

So it is essentially a separate battery back up system I can add later. I was thinking there might be some deals I could get when put in together with the inverters that will go in with the panels.

DBT85 · Sep 11, 2021

So we have had 4x 8kw batteries installed this week in 3 properties. Only 3kw inverters though on each of an 8, 6 and 4kw array. Even though we're now storing so much energy it's galling seeing how much is still pissing back into the grid and I'm already looking at options to help waste less of it. For reference, we're on the FIT scheme, so we get paid on the assumption that half of the generated power is going to the grid anyway.

whatsinaname · Mar 10, 2022

Bumping thread because this was the one that got me looking.

Wow, was only "thinking about it" 6 months back but things moved pretty fast.

System is now installed, waiting for the power company to enable the disconnect and switch my rate plans.

Initially decided on 21 x 405W panels (8.51kW) + 7.6kW Inverter.

But due to availability of panels and having to install an extra one due to shape of the roof/installation layout, ended up at 22 x 410W (9.02 kW).

Weird roof means I have panels facing East, West and South. There are optimisers in each chain to allow for individual panels to perform optimally.

Endymion · Mar 10, 2022

whatsinaname said:
Bumping thread because this was the one that got me looking.

Wow, was only "thinking about it" 6 months back but things moved pretty fast.

System is now installed, waiting for the power company to enable the disconnect and switch my rate plans.

Six months is about how long we've waited from initial appointment (back in September) to finally getting things installed (later this month). We're also getting our electric service doubled from 100 amps to 200 amps so that may have delayed things a bit. Almost there...

Tater · Mar 10, 2022

Super excited for you, solar is a great feeling. I love watching the tech get better as well - my 4 year old panels are 325W, and here you are getting 25% more power out of each one.

One nice thing about that SolarEdge view is that you'll be able to see monthly/yearly/lifetime stats for that view, so you'll be able to see which panels are in the best locations.

Resetta Stone · Mar 10, 2022

How viable are solar panels in a desert climate in terms of them not getting cooked by the heatwaves during the summers?

Nakho · Mar 10, 2022

Wish I could put them here, we have like 300 days of pure scorching sun a year. It's been crazy in Brazil, so many solar companies setting up shop, and a lot of my friends got jobs in the industry. Maybe one of the few things that get me hopeful of the future these days...

whatsinaname · Mar 10, 2022

Resetta Stone said:
How viable are solar panels in a desert climate in terms of them not getting cooked by the heatwaves during the summers?

I think a looooot of Solar installs happen in Australia. So things must have improved a lot on that front.

captive · Mar 10, 2022

Resetta Stone said:
How viable are solar panels in a desert climate in terms of them not getting cooked by the heatwaves during the summers?

They'll be fine. I've seen solar out in Arizona. They operate at peak efficiency at like 72 degrees. But the summers are longer days so you'll produce more anyway.

Ours are in Houston where it gets to 100 degrees regularly.

MrKlaw · Mar 11, 2022

DBT85 said:
So we have had 4x 8kw batteries installed this week in 3 properties. Only 3kw inverters though on each of an 8, 6 and 4kw array. Even though we're now storing so much energy it's galling seeing how much is still pissing back into the grid and I'm already looking at options to help waste less of it. For reference, we're on the FIT scheme, so we get paid on the assumption that half of the generated power is going to the grid anyway.

you capping due to staying within DNO 'inform' rules? Why not apply for permission to increase, might be fine.

I'm looking at batteries - only have a small solar but want to shift away from using peak as much as possible, so a mix of storing excess solar, using generated solar where possible, and charging with offpeak and using that during the day.

Partly curious why some have 2.5-3kw inverters and if that is a limitation - maybe if you're a little careful not running heavy stuff at the same time you'll be fine, but ovens etc won't they push you over that limit so you're using the grid

m_shortpants · Mar 11, 2022

I moved in to my house in Jan. I want to get solar but I want to see how much energy we end up using in Summer, when the AC will be running. Surely it must be more than heating in winter?

Isee · Mar 11, 2022

whatsinaname said:
Bumping thread because this was the one that got me looking.

Wow, was only "thinking about it" 6 months back but things moved pretty fast.

System is now installed, waiting for the power company to enable the disconnect and switch my rate plans.

Initially decided on 21 x 405W panels (8.51kW) + 7.6kW Inverter.

But due to availability of panels and having to install an extra one due to shape of the roof/installation layout, ended up at 22 x 410W (9.02 kW).

Weird roof means I have panels facing East, West and South. There are optimisers in each chain to allow for individual panels to perform optimally.

Having panels east south and west means that you'll have plenty of energy through the day. It's awesome.

Do you plan on getting a battery?

whatsinaname · Mar 11, 2022

Isee said:
Having panels east south and west means that you'll have plenty of energy through the day. It's awesome.

Do you plan on getting a battery?

A bit of a tossup because I have lots of trees around the house and I am also in Michigan…

I might get a battery later. Right now there is no payoff. I am moving to a rate plan that gives me cheaper rates after peak hours, which is when I will draw from the power company. If that changes or if batteries get a little cheaper I might jump.

The inverter I got seems to be compatible with the Tesla power wall so that should mostly be plug and play.

Leo · Mar 11, 2022

I live in a city that has sun basically 24/7 the whole year, so I'm definitely getting solar panels in my home when I have one.

Kito · Mar 11, 2022

I've been holding off mainly because the door-to-door salespeople just make turn me off from most of the options. I can't help to feel like there will be better subsidies/pricing/tech soon enough. Any hope for solar shingles in the near future?

Isee · Mar 11, 2022

m_shortpants said:
I moved in to my house in Jan. I want to get solar but I want to see how much energy we end up using in Summer, when the AC will be running. Surely it must be more than heating in winter?

This cannot be answered easily and depends on temperatures, what you are heating with (e.g. heatpump in addition to ac) and other factors.

But I'll say that much: AC cooling during summer and solar panels go hand in hand.
Summer means more hot days, but also more sun hours and shorter nights. Which means more energy from solar.

Kito said:
Any hope for solar shingles in the near future?

Tesla offers them. But not everywhere in the world.

whatsinaname · Mar 11, 2022

Kito said:
I've been holding off mainly because the door-to-door salespeople just make turn me off from most of the options. I can't help to feel like there will be better subsidies/pricing/tech soon enough. Any hope for solar shingles in the near future?

Solar shingles are 3x-4x the solar panels cost at the moment. And unlike metal roofs these have to be replaced in 25 years.

The subsidy is at 30% right now. Don't know of any more on the roadmap currently. Also as prices go down, subsidies have been going down too and various power companies are changing rules to make it more difficult to justify solar. Might as well jump in now and lock-in some plans for a bit.

Tesla seems to be a relatively safe option even if they outsource the final work to a local company. Their prices are very decent actually. They were actually a little bit cheaper than the local company I went with.

whatsinaname · Mar 11, 2022

m_shortpants said:
I moved in to my house in Jan. I want to get solar but I want to see how much energy we end up using in Summer, when the AC will be running. Surely it must be more than heating in winter?

Take a look at your monthly electricity bill. Mine actually has a small chart showing average daily usage over the last 12 months.

I was also able to export a kwh usage table at a per hour granularity over the last 12 months.

If your bill doesn't have that, it might not hurt to request your power company for a usage chart over the last 12 months.

Midas · Mar 11, 2022

Awesome to read about this. Can't wait till these things become even smaller and effective. I have a couple of hours a day of sun hitting my apartment. Maybe I could mount something on my balcony in the future.

Isee · Mar 11, 2022

Midas said:
Awesome to read about this. Can't wait till these things become even smaller and effective. I have a couple of hours a day of sun hitting my apartment. Maybe I could mount something on my balcony in the future.

It's already a thing in a couple euro countries like Netherlands, Denmark, Germany (and probably more).

They come with mini inverters and can be directly plugged into a normal socket (though you are not allowed to put more than 600w here in Germany into your apartment this way).

viandante · Mar 11, 2022

every time i watch a youtube video i'm bombarded with ads for some solar deal or other. like "quick, you must act now before the subsidy runs out!". i'm interested in the concept but these ads feel kind of scammy tbh. where can one find real verifiable information on this stuff?

Mocha Joe · Mar 11, 2022

I have been strongly considering it myself. The front of my house gets ton of sun.

captive · Mar 11, 2022

viandante said:
every time i watch a youtube video i'm bombarded with ads for some solar deal or other. like "quick, you must act now before the subsidy runs out!". i'm interested in the concept but these ads feel kind of scammy tbh. where can one find real verifiable information on this stuff?

I'm working on putting together an official topic for the forum. So if you have any questions feel free to send them my way and I try to over them in the topic.

Deleted member 2595 · Mar 11, 2022

Love this thread. Exciting times.

How exactly do the panels connect into your electrical circuit? Is it trivial or does it require an engineer to mess with the whole property and meter layout?

captive · Mar 11, 2022

Paraside said:
Love this thread. Exciting times.

How exactly do the panels connect into your electrical circuit? Is it trivial or does it require an engineer to mess with the whole property and meter layout?

it requires a certified electrician. Its not overly complicated, but you need an emergency shut off switch. The panels produce DC energy so the inverter is need to convert to AC and then that is hooked up to your service with the emergency shut off switch in line.

It can get complicated if your house wiring is old, or your service can't handle it, you also need a smart meter to do feedback for credits.

Isee · Mar 11, 2022

Paraside said:
Love this thread. Exciting times.

How exactly do the panels connect into your electrical circuit? Is it trivial or does it require an engineer to mess with the whole property and meter layout?

Simplified
You connect the solar panels to an inverter (transforms solar DC power to AC power) and connect the inverter via your fuse box to your home wiring.

You need a couple extra fuses between the inverter and panels over here etc.
There are different safety rules in different parts of the world.

It's not complex, but needs to be done professionally. I did a lot of the preparations myself, but the essential parts were done by an electrician.

whatsinaname · Mar 11, 2022

Paraside said:
Love this thread. Exciting times.

How exactly do the panels connect into your electrical circuit? Is it trivial or does it require an engineer to mess with the whole property and meter layout?

captive and Isee have covered it but yep. Definitely professionally in the US. Most places you will need to make an application with your power company and city too. In our case we had to merge two meters that were on our property.

Another important thing is how the panels will be arranged on the roof. For some people it might not be straightforward and some modeling goes into that which considers your location, roof angles and surrounding tree heights.

captive said:
I'm working on putting together an official topic for the forum. So if you have any questions feel free to send them my way and I try to over them in the topic.

captive - It might make sense to have a "hidden costs" section in the OP. Costs that might not affect everyone but will hit some users.

for example

- if your roof is mid-cycle
- if you are in a state where the panels could raise your property taxes
- tree trimming costs if the prime spots on your roof get shade

Deleted member 2595 · Mar 11, 2022

captive said:
it requires a certified electrician. Its not overly complicated, but you need an emergency shut off switch. The panels produce DC energy so the inverter is need to convert to AC and then that is hooked up to your service with the emergency shut off switch in line.

It can get complicated if your house wiring is old, or your service can't handle it, you also need a smart meter to do feedback for credits.

Isee said:
Simplified
You connect the solar panels to an inverter (transforms solar DC power to AC power) and connect the inverter via your fuse box to your home wiring.

You need a couple extra fuses between the inverter and panels over here etc.
There are different safety rules in different parts of the world.

It's not complex, but needs to be done professionally. I did a lot of the preparations myself, but the essential parts were done by an electrician.

whatsinaname said:
captive and Isee have covered it but yep. Definitely professionally in the US. Most places you will need to make an application with your power company and city too. In our case we had to merge two meters that were on our property.

Another important thing is how the panels will be arranged on the roof. For some people it might not be straightforward and some modeling goes into that which considers your location, roof angles and surrounding tree heights.

captive - It might make sense to have a "hidden costs" section in the OP. Costs that might not affect everyone but will hit some users.

for example

- if your roof is mid-cycle
- if you are in a state where the panels could raise your property taxes
- tree trimming costs if the prime spots on your roof get shade

Thanks! Makes a lot of sense.

My property is an apartment halfway up a large-ish block, so it's probably not an immediate option for me unless I had a way to connect panels affixed outside my windows to the circuit inside, which seems unlikely without a ton of expensive work.

Isee · Mar 11, 2022

captive
Do you plan to make the OT specifically about solar in the US?
Or plan to make it wider, and more general?

captive · Mar 11, 2022

Isee said:
captive
Do you plan to make the OT specifically about solar in the US?
Or plan to make it wider, and more general?

it was going to be a general solar/wind thread. I was going to include some information i know about other countries, like i know in england its no longer beneficial to do feedback because they pay you so little for it. I'm happy to include any information you have for US or international stuff.

whatsinaname said:
captive - It might make sense to have a "hidden costs" section in the OP. Costs that might not affect everyone but will hit some users.

for example

- if your roof is mid-cycle
- if you are in a state where the panels could raise your property taxes
- tree trimming costs if the prime spots on your roof get shade

definitely going to have a considerations section.

I've installed solar panels, and I'm addicted to them now.

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