Solar Power around the KC area ***MEGATHREAD!!!!***

[Mephistopheles Janx]

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!

[Red Dawg]

Solar power megathread? Finally happened. Hell has frozen over.

[digger]

Originally Posted by Red Dawg

Solar power megathread? Finally happened. Hell has frozen over.

Devil has got to stay warm...

[scho63]

Posted this chart in another thread. Gives some perspective to the little impact SOLAR and alternative fuels really have

[Mephistopheles Janx]

Originally Posted by Red Dawg

Solar power megathread? Finally happened. Hell has frozen over.

I was thinking of making it a SUPER-MEGATHREAD but I didn't want to come off as reaching.

[Bearcat]

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.

[POND_OF_RED]

Originally Posted by scho63

Posted this chart in another thread. Gives some perspective to the little impact SOLAR and alternative fuels really have

With the competitive pricing in the solar power markets now it will continue to grow and take the place of other diminishing natural energy resources. The cost of solar panels has dropped tremendously over the years and the affordability is increasing it’s use and reducing the use of coal and hydroelectricity. Coal is essentially becoming obsolete now with the rising demand for solar and wind power. Not sure how that is a “little impact”

[Lzen]

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.

[Mephistopheles Janx]

Originally Posted by scho63

Posted this chart in another thread. Gives some perspective to the little impact SOLAR and alternative fuels really have

Impact on what? I’m not making the change for environmentalist reasons. I’d just like to be independent from “the grid” if at all possible.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

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.

I'm pretty interested in getting solar panels soon, but my roof is ~25 years old, and I'm just hanging on in case I can get a random hail storm to help pay for it. (We usually get about one a year in the Denver metro, but somehow my place has been spared all this time.) I'm sure they can remove the panels and replace them, but it seems like a huge hassle.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by scho63

Posted this chart in another thread. Gives some perspective to the little impact SOLAR and alternative fuels really have

Interesting that they are showing hydroelectric as a renewable. Most, if not all, utilities don't consider it to be. Well, THEY do but for other reasons don't call it that.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I'm pretty interested in getting solar panels soon, but my roof is ~25 years old, and I'm just hanging on in case I can get a random hail storm to help pay for it. (We usually get about one a year in the Denver metro, but somehow my place has been spared all this time.) I'm sure they can remove the panels and replace them, but it seems like a huge hassle.

Lol. Same boat. COME ON!!! DO IT!!!

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Lzen

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.

1. Somewhere around 25 years.
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.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I'm pretty interested in getting solar panels soon, but my roof is ~25 years old, and I'm just hanging on in case I can get a random hail storm to help pay for it. (We usually get about one a year in the Denver metro, but somehow my place has been spared all this time.) I'm sure they can remove the panels and replace them, but it seems like a huge hassle.

I was pretty sure they charged the sellers to remove and put the panels back, and yeah.... $3800 for that work.

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.

[scho63]

Originally Posted by POND_OF_RED

With the competitive pricing in the solar power markets now it will continue to grow and take the place of other diminishing natural energy resources. The cost of solar panels has dropped tremendously over the years and the affordability is increasing it’s use and reducing the use of coal and hydroelectricity. Coal is essentially becoming obsolete now with the rising demand for solar and wind power. Not sure how that is a “little impact”

While I agree coal is one the way out in the US, it will take 20+ years or more to leave places like China and Russia.

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.