Solar Power around the KC area ***MEGATHREAD!!!!***
Wondering if anyone here had any first hand experience in getting solar panels installed onto their home, cost, upkeep, value (are you now independent of the energy co or supplemented by), and if there is anyone you would recommend here locally for that kind of work.
I have a beautifully pitched metal roof that looks east and west with nothing to keep the sun from pounding away at the panels on the roof other than clouds. I'd like a system with a battery bank that can handle about 1,500 kWh per month but can draw from the pole if needed. TIA! |
Solar power megathread? Finally happened. Hell has frozen over.
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Posted this chart in another thread. Gives some perspective to the little impact SOLAR and alternative fuels really have
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I have a rental that came with a Sunrun lease when I bought the house... it doesn't seem to save the renters much, as they still have to pay the electric company fees and what not every month. Seems like the electric company is in their pockets so they don't lose money.
Sunrun is also one of the worst companies I've ever worked with... it took them like 2 months to transfer the lease (and only 6 weeks to buy the house) because I'd have to call and sit on hold for at least 90 minutes each time just to get a "we'll let you know". Had the roof replaced and it took weeks and several calls for them to setup time to remove the panels and put them back. They randomly credited the account like $4000 months later and it took them three weeks, several emails, and a few calls to figure out why THEY credited it. They will also send like 10 emails for every interaction to remind you to to fill out surveys.... I mean, at least be self aware like Luxottica and simply don't give a shit, don't understaff to the point of 2 hour wait times and never answer email and then ask me 10 times how you did. So, I'm not saying don't use solar nearly as much as **** Sunrun in particular. |
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Great thread! I have been considering getting solar panels for awhile. I just don't know what company is best. And, of course, if you go to their website, it's all flowers and unicorns. I want to know the facts.
- How long are these expected to last? Need to know if I'm going to invest money in something like this that it is going to save me money over the long haul. - How much will the energy company charge to do this? - What does this do to my insurance? I don't know if they can do that in Kansas (Evergy) but I think I saw something awhile back where they were trying to get the KCC to allow them to charge some kind of fee to customers who had alternative energy. Such BS but I wouldn't put it past our legislature to allow this at some point. |
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2. Your energy company shouldn't charge anything to do the install (that will be on the company you go with). However, your utility may add some extra fees on an ongoing basis. It's essentially to help cover the cost of the lines, as you basically use the power grid as a "battery" when you have solar panels. 3. I don't think it should change anything, but others may know that one better than I do. The panels are covered under a warranty, so insurance doesn't have to mess with it. To expand on #2 and your final point, most utilities credit you for the cost of the excess energy you generate and put back onto the grid, so in a hypothetical scenario where you generate exactly what you need (but not at the exact TIME you need it), you could end up with a $0 bill from your utility even though you actually used their infrastructure a ton (e.g., giving the grid power during the day and draining it at night). So they add those fees to help compensate for that. Not all utilities do it, but I don't necessarily have an issue with those who do. Note that most of the places I've seen structure the solar panel costs as a long-term loan rather than having you pay the entire cost up front. The idea is that the cost of the loan payments is usually less than you were paying for electricity, so you see immediate cash flow savings even though there's a huge cost for the panels. |
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Also forgot to mention... when they originally sent the agreement, it was for a different address and it wasn't obvious at all in the paperwork. I thought they owned the panels due to that, but later found it was a lease. Seriously, **** Sunrun. |
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They spew all dirty forms of energy. Solar and alternative fuels have been on the drawing board and in action for 25-30 years but still only 10%, some of which is FORCED usage. The cleanest energy of all is nuclear but no one wants to go there. If alternative can get to 33% that would be a miracle and help a lot but that is decades away, especially for China, Russia and India, three places with 3 billion people and the biggest 3 polluters on Earth. |
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