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Surur t1_ivcmnit wrote

Reply to comment by VdomanFla in Rooftop solar trumps all fossil fuels as renewables smash more records on main grid [Australia] by EnergyTransitionNews

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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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VdomanFla t1_ivn96bx wrote

Florida… it’s corrupted all to hell here.

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_AndyJessop t1_ivf09hg wrote

Have you thought about just buying the kit yourself and running a system that isn't grid-tied?

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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.

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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!

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improbablyatthegame t1_ivfqr8i wrote

Just had a quote run here in Texas. $45,000…no storage battery included.

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randomusername8472 t1_ivfxra6 wrote

For an amount comparable to 2.2kWh!? That's insane!

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improbablyatthegame t1_ivgrq0a wrote

19kWh system, 49 panels.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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ChildrenAreOurDoom t1_ivf5hyu wrote

Well yes, you are adding load to an existing structure. That should be required everywhere.

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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.

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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.

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seanflyon t1_ivg1m4c wrote

I didn't say anything about skipping the permitting process, I was talking about the permitting process itself.

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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.

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