Anyone have solar?

Zorba

Zorba

"The Veiled Male"
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Joined
Apr 2, 2020
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Location
Merritt Island, Fl
Esp. in Florida?

Had a guy from an apparently reputable solar installation company come by to give me his spiel. He asked me up front if his numbers were lower than the utility company, if that would make me happy. I don't like salesmanship BS to start with - so I told him "it might" but that there were other considerations. One of those is insurance - but show me your numbers, I want to know what the bottom line is.

He immediately wanted to know who my InsCo was. I can only assume that he then wanted to discuss the many insurance issues with me - or maybe give me some shuck-and-jive on the subject, I really don't know. For some reason, I didn't answer him directly - I told him "With a house this old? There's only ONE insurance company who will cover me." I really expected him to respond with "Oh, its Citizen's." He did not. He professed that he didn't know who it could possibly be. My spidey senses went on full alert at this point. I asked him "Who is the InsCo of last resort in the state of Florida?" - EVERYBODY in the state who has ever dealt with insurance will know this. He did not. I even asked him how long he'd lived here - "my whole lifetime."

So - if this guy wants to discuss insurance issues with me, and doesn't even know the facts of life regarding Florida homeowner's insurance, he's wasting my time. "I think we're done here..." We never did discuss his solar system, but I knew exactly what insurance was going to cost me as I emailed my agent about it yesterday - about $1,500/yr extra. That badly skews the numbers away from a solar solution, but I was willing to listen to the guy, but he obviously doesn't know all the considerations yet pretends that he does. I told him that I "suggest you get an education on the subject..." - he could poke his nose into ANY InsCo office in the state and get the answer immediately...

Ya wanna sell me something this expensive, ya better have ALL your ducks in a row...
 
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It was going to cost $1500 extra a year to add solar? Did your insurance company say why?
 
MountaineerTom said:
It was going to cost $1500 extra a year to add solar? Did your insurance company say why?
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L J said:
Hurrycanes?
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LJ got it in one! Insurance here in Florida is completely out of control - I expect to drop hurricane coverage in the next year or two. The electric utility, FPL, also requires a 1 million dollar liability policy - I already have one, and it isn't an unreasonable requirement, but I don't know much more adding the solar liability to that policy would be.
 
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Zorba said:
. The electric utility, FPL, also requires a 1 million dollar liability policy - I already have one, and it isn't an unreasonable requirement, but I don't know much more adding the solar liability to that policy would be.
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I work daily on the grid

From my perspective, requiring an average home owner to carry a $1 million liability policy is WAAAY BEYOND ABSURD. Theres gotta be missing information here, because I cant believe anyone would rationalize that as “ok”
 
5632 said:
This is all new to me. Why does solar increase the cost of insurance? Does solar increase the possibility of future clams?
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Adding expensive panels to a policy plus costs of labor will be a liability addition to any insurance policy. So naturally , they take that into account for RISK and charge accordingly

Especially in hurricane country where high winds can rip these things off and send them flying at people, houses, cars, etc

Then theres the added risk of fires from open electrical lines and DC is faaar worse then AC is. No storms, you still have the fire hazard risks these bring with questionable installations and sun damage over X time
 
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CreepinDeth said:
I work daily on the grid

From my perspective, requiring an average home owner to carry a $1 million liability policy is WAAAY BEYOND ABSURD. Theres gotta be missing information here, because I cant believe anyone would rationalize that as “ok”
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I think its in case you back feed a dead grid. (??)
 
Zorba said:
I think its in case you back feed a dead grid. (??)
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Anyone can do that with a generator. There’s millions of them out there and their rates arent jacked up

Generating electricity isnt detrimental to the grid
Its only a danger to the workers that dont isolate and test before touching. Its a bigger liability to the homeowner, and their insurer

Some of the outages we deal with are rodents. As a generation aspect you also face those same risks and liabilities. Squirrel chews, etc now ya got live DC exposed on a roof with dry leaves in dry climates or fall…imagine the possibilities
 
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Even if the solar is not damaged but just the roof, the solar will have to be removed and reinstalled for repair.
We looked at solar but being in our 60s and the amount of power we use it does not make monetary sense. Also your warranty is only as good as the company that supports it. MANY solar companies have gone out of business leaving owners fucked and still making payment to who ever bought their assets. Most of the time its a financial company not a solar company that buys them with no responsibility for the waranty.Also solar is not maintenance free and the amount of output diminishes over time. Solar salespeople are just Time Share salespeople reincarnated. Hefty commissions on both. Crunch your numbers not the ones they give. If you have large daytime usage, such as a pool, it might be beneficial. Otherwise you need to add the cost of a battery system. Solar does not increase the value of a home especially if you lease it or have 10 yrs of payments left and you have to pay it off if the buyer does not officially take the payments over. Solar pans out for some but not for all.
 
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bucky said:
Even if the solar is not damaged but just the roof, the solar will have to be removed and reinstalled for repair.
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I love the idea of solar, but this has always been my biggest question. I can’t imagine it’s cheap for a R&R .
 
I wouldn’t touch solar in that state with a 10 foot pole, nor would I expect the $1,500 increase to premium quote TODAY to be the same next year when it may be $3,000, or $6,000, or “sorry we can’t cover you anymore due to the solar panels” after they’re already bolted to your roof…

The Florida homeowner’s insurance situation is bordering on catastrophic, the weather in the state is too volatile, the cumulative losses from past storms too great, the probability of future storms too certain, and the fraud in the system too deep rooted for too long for this to be playing out any other way.

Private carriers have no choice but to charge ever increasing premiums to be profitable, and in many cases that’s proven not to be enough as they leave, fold, or go into receivership which of course is pushing more and more people to state run ‘Citizens’

insurance.jpg


And this will all be further complicated when the new condo inspection law kicks in on January 1, 2025
 
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We have dual solar installations on our roof and we are quite happy with it.

Now granted I inherited a 20 year lease with 4 years of the lease already paid off, but I've done the math and we are saving quite a bit, especially in the summer months.
 
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CreepinDeth said:
Anyone can do that with a generator... Generating electricity isnt detrimental to the grid
Its only a danger to the workers that dont isolate and test before touching.
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I have a friend who is a line worker. He told me solar systems are more of a concern than a generator simply because you can't hear a solar system.
 
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I frequently see/talk to homeowners with solar systems around here, and I've only heard of one or two that made sense. The average price for a system around here seems to be $60,000. Most homeowners will wrap that into a 30-year mortgage, which is 10 years longer than the system lifetime. :rolleyes: At an optimistic 5% apr, that adds in roughly $300/month. :oops: That system cost alone is 2x my monthly power bill. The best that I've heard is one guy claiming his system knocked $100 off of his summer time bill. Around here, solar generally doesn't make any sense, and is a financial drain.
 
BlueC said:
I have a friend who is a line worker. He told me solar systems are more of a concern than a generator simply because you can't hear a solar system.
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Hmmm….

You cant hear a generator either when your not near the house thats running it. 34Kv , 12Kv distribution lines run miles. Even 4Kv circuits runs miles
 
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CreepinDeth said:
Hmmm….

You cant hear a generator either when your not near the house thats running it. 34Kv , 12Kv distribution lines run miles. Even 4Kv circuits runs miles
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I'm not sure I'll ever install solar with TVA's hold on the market. It is nice that they keep rates low but I'd rather not have to install a huge amount of batteries just from a cost standpoint. What happens if the line is down and you have batteries at max capacity and it's the middle of the day and you are pulling in more energy than you can use?
 
CreepinDeth said:
Hmmm….

You cant hear a generator either when your not near the house thats running it. 34Kv , 12Kv distribution lines run miles. Even 4Kv circuits runs miles
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Generators, if done correctly, have to have an interlock or an ATS, right? So for them to back feed the grid requires some asshole to rig up a cord with two male ends to plug into an outlet and then leave his main breaker closed.

I thought solar back feeding the grid is just the normal way they install it.
 
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