Community Chat

[drizzellla]

I will start off by saying - We do not have solar panels.

My husband has talked to our local firemen. And the first thing they said to him was Electricity and Water do not mix well.

We saw that in person. A house 4 doors down had solar panels installed on his roof. About a year later there was a fire in his chimney. Unfortunately the solar panels were surrounding the chimney. The firefighters tried their best to put the fire out. But it was a total loss.

And another neighbor had solar panels put on his roof. Did not notice much of a difference. He had all the mature trees cut down on his property so the panels would  get the sun. Now he has to run his air conditioning alot longer because his house no longer has any shade.

Just like with anything there are pros and cons. You just have to figure out which is best for you.

[shoesnbags]

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@deeva wrote:

We've had solar panels since our home was built in 2012. At that time, our builder was offering the panels as free upgrade. It didn't cost us anything. 

Here in Arizona, the sun shines most days. So in the winter we have credits for the extra electricity produced and our electric bill is zero. 
I couldn't imagine living in Arizona without solar panels. 

We have a larger home with two ac units. 

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@deeva 

Are you tied into the grid?

[Desertdi]

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@Meowingkitty wrote:

If you need a new roof there's a cost to remove and reinstall. I live in Arizona where the sun shines just about every day and I wouldn't put them on my house. My electric bill for a 2100 sq ft 2 story house with no pool is $120 a month. On the budget plan so I pay the same every month. By the time I pay for the solar panels I wouldn't be saving much. I've heard it's not a selling point if you decide to sell. 

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@Meowingkitty    All the above....plus the cost of $30,000.....and those storage batteries don't last forever.

The salesman started his spiel with, "Hi little lady....I bet you watch a lot of TV and I can save you MONEY".   Told him I have a LED TV that takes about $8 a YEAR to use, and sent him on his way.

(I have a casita in PHX and my electric bill is not extraordinary)   di

[pieman]

If I may be honest, unless you plan on living in your home 4-ever, I wouldn't do it.

When people do go sell their home, and people see those ugly things on the roof, they are turned off at least down here.

Keep in mind, although they will tell you how much monies you will save, thats not entirely true.

When we purchased our home in FL, the first thing we noticed were the ugly panels.

We figured, no problem, we'll just have the roofing people take them down, only they wanted no part of them, as it is a big deal and they get charged for the special disposal of them...Then there are so many things that must be done to get the roof totally replaced, its quite costly/

Some people only rent them but never tell you that and then you have to keep leasing them till they are paid off.

As I said, here in FL, its been very hot this year and our electric bill has been well over 460 dollars a month. So where are we saving anything? 

All it does is make for an ugly roof and costly expense.

As they said,its your home and you are the one who has to be comfortable with your decision.          I wish you well.... 

[tansy]

@pieman, a lease on the solar panels has to be disclosed to the potential buyer, at least anywhere I have ever bought a home.  

[bonnielu]

Wish I could but live in the woods, too  much shade,. 

[deeva]

@shoesnbags 

Yes, we are tied to the grid. 

[Cats3000]

We inquired.  Were told too many trees around our home.  Wouldn't meet the standard for sun needed for solar power.

[pieman]

Yep. one would assume. tansy

Make sure you ask those questions,,

[sweetee2]

My DIL works for a Solar Power Co that sells all OVER the country. Unless your in your  30's you'll never make your money back. It's very expensive and most people never see a savings.