does anybody have solar panels? would love some real life info

[mtemm]

Just had a guy come buy from 1st light energy talking about solar panels. I couldn't talk long, said I would look into it and call with questions/chat with engineer if interested. I believe they lease the panels in this case. I'm just wondering if anybody has any experience with adding these to their homes. looking for pros/cons.

 

[Albort]

i did a huge research on it when i was first approached by it.

If you have the capacity to take a loan, that is the best way to go. You should be able to get your investment worth within 5-6 years.

If they are leasing you the panels, make sure thats the case. There is another type of loaning where they put solar panels on your roof and you basically pay to make energy. Totally not worth it.

Also, what type of panels are they using? Can your roof support as many panels? There are some high quality panels out there, if you have a smaller roof or want to hide them, you may want to consider those too... ie SunPower...

 

[jiminyC_fan]

We've had solar since about 1982. Do not regret it. It heats the house and the hot water. I just heard on the news that the type that pays you for the electric you don't use is funded for another year but that may go away. So if you are interested in that I would be a bit leary.

 

[BunsenH]

We have a 5K PV Solar array on the roof of our new house. It went on line in October. Production was slow at first due to our nasty winter. In March, the sun kicked in and our electric bill was $14. In April, our bill was -$14 (a credit).

The purchase price of the system was about $18K. A 30% federal tax credit can be carried forward if not used completely. The state of Mass rebated $1K(?). For each 1 kWh generated, a credit is earned that can be sold for $250-$300 (estimated 4-5/year). Payback should be around 6 years.