Anyone have solar?
- Thread starter Zorba
- Start date
Three salesmen I am not talking to:
Insurance
Amway
Solar
I spreadsheet everything.
My electric bill the past 60 months averages $140.97/mo. My home is all electric, no gas.
When the solar twins showed up at the door claiming that they could save me hundreds of dollars a month, I sent them packing.
Same as the ADT guy who tried to convince me that my property and life were in danger by not having security.
I'm pretty confident that my semi-auto 12 gauge with a 19 round magazine is all the security I need.
Insurance
Amway
Solar
I spreadsheet everything.
My electric bill the past 60 months averages $140.97/mo. My home is all electric, no gas.
When the solar twins showed up at the door claiming that they could save me hundreds of dollars a month, I sent them packing.
Same as the ADT guy who tried to convince me that my property and life were in danger by not having security.
I'm pretty confident that my semi-auto 12 gauge with a 19 round magazine is all the security I need.
19? That has to be one hell of an extension. Probably as tall as a door and impossible to move inside a house.
The 19 round mag is a bit cumbersome, that's why I am going with the 20 round.
https://grabagun.com/pmi-mka-1919-12-ga-2-3-4-20-rd.html
https://grabagun.com/pmi-mka-1919-12-ga-2-3-4-20-rd.html
CreepinDeth
TJ Addict
CreepinDeth
TJ Addict
Ewwwww pics???
Im a huuuuuge scattergun enthusiast
DP12, and Keltec KSG12 are my personal 2 favs
Is this an AK based or something else??
FYI, if you install the solar panels on top of a pergola, the cost of the pergola can be claimed as part of the total cost of your solar install. This means if the federal tax credit for solar is 30%, you can write off 30% of the cost of the pergola. It is considered the solar mounting structure and perfectly legal and IRS approved. I have 8 panels mounted on top of my pergola.
What if one mounts solar panels to the roll bar of a Jeep.
If it’s a 4xe, I’d give it a shot. LoL
Some solar power news from my state. It seems like Duke Power is wanting to renege for some reason.
"The rules dictate how much Duke can charge, or pay, solar customers. The arguments Wednesday focused on “net metering,” a process through which utilities pay a flat rate to buy back excess power its solar customers send into the grid."
"The new rules will end net metering by 2027 and instead allow Duke to pay different rates at different times of day, with the lowest rates during the day when solar panels are typically producing the most power."
New rules will increase energy bills for NC solar customers.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...stomers-should-the-courts-step-in/ar-BB1hWHAG"The rules dictate how much Duke can charge, or pay, solar customers. The arguments Wednesday focused on “net metering,” a process through which utilities pay a flat rate to buy back excess power its solar customers send into the grid."
"The new rules will end net metering by 2027 and instead allow Duke to pay different rates at different times of day, with the lowest rates during the day when solar panels are typically producing the most power."
In 2021 I had a carport built and solar panels installed.
Both were eligible for the tax credit at the time.
My utility company installed a dual meter, no charge.
They reimburse 100% of the energy generated
at the same rate they charge for kilowatts of energy used.
One month, the total bill was a $7 credit.
(They also have a monthly flat charge
and a separate smaller infrastructure charge
based on kilowatts used.)
To be honest, will it ever pay for itself?
Probably not.
I only generate about $30 a month
and my electric bill in my all electric home
averages around $120 a month
before the credit.
The installer recommended
a modest $11,000 installation.
I opted to upgrade to a $14,000 array
in order to cover the two car carport.
My belief was that utility rates would increase.
(The carport was $7,000 but I wanted it anyway
so it really does not factor into the return.)
Over a 15 year period he projected it would pay for itself
even if rates remain unchanged.
The problem is that it is a wasting asset.
The installer reassured that the wiring, converter and switch
will still be good though the panel array
may have reached the end of its life.
By then though solar panels should be cheaper
and more efficient.
At the time, I had money to invest
and CDs were paying a tiny fraction of 1%.
So I figured what the heck.
It was easier than hugging whales.
The perverse thing about the 30% tax credit
is that the people who need the solar panels the most,
the bottom half of the population,
can not use a tax credit because they pay no income tax.
The rich who need no tax credits
are the ones who benefit from tax credits.
You can carry it forward however until it is used up.
(Getting off my soapbox, now.)
Oops, not so fast Mad Mac.
If solar panels are so great
why doesn't every business
install them in their parking lots?
Specially in the south.
If one store has shade and another does not
which store would you shop at in August
or most any other time of year?
Specially car dealers.
Who wants to test drive a car
with an interior temperature of 140 degrees?
Solar panels do not require a deck but
my installer would not build without a deck.
He also did not offer batteries.
Too expensive to pay for themselves he said.
Preppers may have a different opinion.
By the way, solar panels work better in the winter.
That is counter intuitive.
It is not the heat but the solar radiation that powers them.
Cold dry air is thinner than hot humid air
and allows more radiation.
(Did you ever get sunburned snow skiing?)
And electronics work better in the cold than in the heat.
One mistake I made was confusing passive solar south
with geographic or solar south.
My carport was aimed at passive solar south,
where there is the most solar heat gain.
Not to be confused with solar energy.
I had a roof that was "ideally" situated aimed solar south
but was reluctant to have hundreds of holes
drilled into the roof over a living area.
It is a metal roof and should last longer than I do.
At age 74 at the time, the solar panels should too.
Another error was that the carport roof
was almost flat, merely pitched 5 degrees.
Ideally the roof should be pitched the same degrees
as the latitude where you live, in my case 40 degrees.
That "ideal" location has a healthy pitch
and is now no longer shaded by a large tree.
If another hail storm comes through,
not unusual in my neck of the woods,
will I replace my solar panels
and move them to the "ideal" location?
I will burn that bridge when I get to it.
And by the way, my home insurance increase
was negligible.
Both were eligible for the tax credit at the time.
My utility company installed a dual meter, no charge.
They reimburse 100% of the energy generated
at the same rate they charge for kilowatts of energy used.
One month, the total bill was a $7 credit.
(They also have a monthly flat charge
and a separate smaller infrastructure charge
based on kilowatts used.)
To be honest, will it ever pay for itself?
Probably not.
I only generate about $30 a month
and my electric bill in my all electric home
averages around $120 a month
before the credit.
The installer recommended
a modest $11,000 installation.
I opted to upgrade to a $14,000 array
in order to cover the two car carport.
My belief was that utility rates would increase.
(The carport was $7,000 but I wanted it anyway
so it really does not factor into the return.)
Over a 15 year period he projected it would pay for itself
even if rates remain unchanged.
The problem is that it is a wasting asset.
The installer reassured that the wiring, converter and switch
will still be good though the panel array
may have reached the end of its life.
By then though solar panels should be cheaper
and more efficient.
At the time, I had money to invest
and CDs were paying a tiny fraction of 1%.
So I figured what the heck.
It was easier than hugging whales.
The perverse thing about the 30% tax credit
is that the people who need the solar panels the most,
the bottom half of the population,
can not use a tax credit because they pay no income tax.
The rich who need no tax credits
are the ones who benefit from tax credits.
You can carry it forward however until it is used up.
(Getting off my soapbox, now.)
Oops, not so fast Mad Mac.
If solar panels are so great
why doesn't every business
install them in their parking lots?
Specially in the south.
If one store has shade and another does not
which store would you shop at in August
or most any other time of year?
Specially car dealers.
Who wants to test drive a car
with an interior temperature of 140 degrees?
Solar panels do not require a deck but
my installer would not build without a deck.
He also did not offer batteries.
Too expensive to pay for themselves he said.
Preppers may have a different opinion.
By the way, solar panels work better in the winter.
That is counter intuitive.
It is not the heat but the solar radiation that powers them.
Cold dry air is thinner than hot humid air
and allows more radiation.
(Did you ever get sunburned snow skiing?)
And electronics work better in the cold than in the heat.
One mistake I made was confusing passive solar south
with geographic or solar south.
My carport was aimed at passive solar south,
where there is the most solar heat gain.
Not to be confused with solar energy.
I had a roof that was "ideally" situated aimed solar south
but was reluctant to have hundreds of holes
drilled into the roof over a living area.
It is a metal roof and should last longer than I do.
At age 74 at the time, the solar panels should too.
Another error was that the carport roof
was almost flat, merely pitched 5 degrees.
Ideally the roof should be pitched the same degrees
as the latitude where you live, in my case 40 degrees.
That "ideal" location has a healthy pitch
and is now no longer shaded by a large tree.
If another hail storm comes through,
not unusual in my neck of the woods,
will I replace my solar panels
and move them to the "ideal" location?
I will burn that bridge when I get to it.
And by the way, my home insurance increase
was negligible.
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I installed a small system (4Kw - 10 panels) on my roof last year (turned it on in Sep). It wasn't difficult. The hardest part was going through the permitting process and the SCE paperwork. Wiring is actually pretty simple and the inspector only dinged me on a couple of small items. I'm running microinverters so that may be easier or harder than a single inverter, I don't know. Since I did it myself, if I need a new roof at some point I know how to take them down then put them back. I can also add a couple of more panels pretty easily too. Took me about 2 weeks for the actual install.
Huge scams going on in florida over solar.
https://www.fox13news.com/news/florida-attorney-general-solar-energy-scam-sunshine-state-guide
Similar has been happening here in NC. Our AG released a statement about it last summer, but I don't think much has happened since.