I will continue to complain about electric rates and pay the bill. I don't want solar panels on my roof. A recent house fire was made much worse as the firefighters were dealing with solar panel issues while fighting the fire. Solar panels are not forever. They will require maintenance and replacement.

Also, we are too old to regain money spent on a solar panel system and I would not get into leasing them.

 

Lainey,
I'm curious about the maintenance argument. Ray can chirp in.
occasional annual washing,
As for panels. i hate to sound cruel but they will outlast you.
They are good for 30 years plus, they will lose some efficiency but continue to operate.


As for fire risk, that is really low.
https://a1solarstore.com/blog/can-so...edibly%20small.

It's unfortunate, your backyard roof is almost perfect.
It has almost a perfect southerly angle, there are no obstructing trees or structures, and your roof pitch is almost ideal for where we are on earth.
calculators say you would break even after 3 years.

I think you'd be like Ray and never have another electric bill.

 

We would be in a good spot. The risk of fire may be small, however if there is a fire the panels complicate the situation.

Insurance companies likely take that into consideration. They did ask if there were solar panels when we switched companies.

Premium gas, electric bills we will just keep sending money

 

We have PG&E (Actually another company called Pioneer came in and took over but PG&E still runs our solar program) The rates for us go up late afternoon and early evening. Goes down again late night/early morning. Chargers are programmed to take power at the best time and talk to the power company to find that rate. You tell the charger when you expect to blast off and it will try to meet your deadline. Tough noogies if you have to leave a few hours early, perhaps.

Here are my panels, installed in 2009, on my back acres as of this morning. Easy to maintain and clean. Depending on if you have string inverters or one big one like I have, a small thing blocking a panel can have a significant impact on production. My panels have some kind of coating on them, feels kinda rubbery, that makes dirt and bird poop just slide off with only a hose and water. Easy, peasy. They remain very clean in the winter with the rains and I hose them off only in the summer once a month or so. They do not really attract much dust. Once a year I cut weeds on the west side to keep any shadows off the panels and for fire protection.

 

My panels get washed every year along with our house. My contractor knows how to clean them so they are not damaged. We have a southerly angle and no obstructions. The previous owner paid for the initial installation and they are Tesla panels. We don’t worry about longevity. Besides, the savings have added up over the 8 years we have lived here.

 

It all depends on where you live. The worst place to have benefits for solar is good old California. Pay now or pay later.
Seemed great at the beginning if you could fork up 30-50 grand. State and Federal credits made it sweeter. Then you get the gotcha.

 

Lainey,
We might be getting a break
https://fallriverreporter.com/massac...-million-annu/

But, that might just be a small drop in the bucket.

 

No issues here.

 

Let's hope so! Healy is running for re-election. She needs to talk the talk, but can she walk the walk?

The "Dump Healy" signs are out there.

 

Our electric rates will see the largest hike in more than 20 years on May 1st. For the average residential customer the increase in $6.46 a month. Part of it is to make the grid more resilient to ice storms, tornadoes and other extreme weather. I'm ok with that even when many hate the monopoly effect. When I look at my cost per day for heat and lights it's a bargain.