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Thread: Solar power - WTF?
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11-13-2020, 08:26 AM #101
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11-23-2020, 12:24 AM #102
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11-23-2020, 06:44 AM #103man of ice
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They were introduced while we were building this house but then their introduction and early production ran into some snags so we went with panels. Back then they were pitching that several different looks would be available but it looks like there's only one style now?
If you're comfortable with the look and the pricing's good I don't see too many objections. They claim the panels are 3x stronger than standard roofing tiles and they may well be, but I don't think I'd put solar panels on a tile roof anyways (never looked into it but tiles are fragile so it seems like panel installation would be a very difficult job), but how do they compare to other roofs? We installed a standing-seam metal roof and I guarantee the tiles aren't more durable than that, and we can update the panels as tech improves pretty easily without tearing the roof off. They offer a 25 year warranty but you can buy asphalt shingles with better warranties than that at Home Depot.
So I wouldn't say it's a slam dunk, but given the right circumstances it could be pretty cool.
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11-23-2020, 11:11 AM #104
Solar power - WTF?
I was looking at the metal roof options that look like shake shingles but they were about the same price as the Tesla roof. Noted that Tesla’s forever warranty is gone. Most roof warranties are basically worthless once the building defect time has elapsed anyways. They are typically for the prorated value of the materials, no labor. So if your $25k roof fails with a 25 year warranty after 20 years and the cost of the shingles was $15k you get $3k towards the new roof.
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11-23-2020, 11:14 AM #105
Truckee is fighting the state mandate for solar on all new residential construction--apparently there are no panels on the market rated for our snow load. (400 psf where we live, less as you go east in town.) Wonder what the rating is for the Tesla roof. The web site doesn't say and I'm not about to get on their spam list by asking.
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05-12-2021, 10:29 PM #106
Got the letter from Tesla that they are “recalculating” my quoted price. They are “giving me” a power wall for the trouble. Currently waiting on a real quote but I’m guessing my $51k quote for a 10kw 40 square roof is more like $70k now. Starting to look at standard roofs with panels.
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06-15-2021, 11:10 AM #107
Tesla can back and said I was on indefinite hold because I have a round eve. The eve actually isn’t round it is 7 straight cuts. Regardless, they said it probably won’t be until next year. At the end of the day it looks like we will be getting a 10kw solar system, with a 18kwh battery, and a comp shingle roof, for the same price as the original quote for the Tesla roof (which would have come with 30kwh of battery). Guessing the new quote was going to be quite a bit higher anyways.
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06-15-2021, 11:24 AM #108man of ice
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I'm happy with the panels. If tech makes a jump and solar gets substantially more efficient it will be pretty easy to trade the panels out, all the wiring and hardware is in place. I was all about the Tesla roof when it came out but I think we jumped the right way.
Remember that an electric car (at least a Tesla, and I assume others) should soon easily be able to act as a battery system for your house, basically all you would need is an adaptor. If you were gonna buy an electric car anyways, or if you already have, think twice about spending the money on battery storage.
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06-15-2021, 11:36 AM #109
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06-15-2021, 11:45 AM #110man of ice
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True but a Model S has ~100kwh of storage, you could leave yourself a cushion pretty easily. Or just drive your gas car
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06-15-2021, 11:47 AM #111
It wouldn’t be hard for them to program it to avoid that...
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06-15-2021, 01:07 PM #112glocal
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Don't fuck around. Go to the source.
https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/77324.pdf
If you have electric cars there are batteries that are a fuckton cheaper than Musks's.Last edited by splat; 06-15-2021 at 03:01 PM.
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06-15-2021, 01:11 PM #113Banned
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I'm going to be looking into installing panels and battery storage at the place I just bought. With my southerly exposure, I should be well positioned for it. It seems like a much better option than a generator for situations where you may be without power for an extended period.
I love the idea of having a place that is on the grid, but can function independent of it for extended periods of time.
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06-15-2021, 01:24 PM #114Registered User
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Any ideas on how accurate this is?
https://www.google.com/get/sunroof
They recommend a 9kW size for me and my breakeven is over 20 years out. I'm in Seattle so not surprising as we only get ~1200 hours of sunlight in a good year, though a lot of my neighbors with similar size/shape roofs have them so who knows.
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06-15-2021, 04:41 PM #115
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06-15-2021, 06:01 PM #116Registered User
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Recent article on solar installs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/b...sultPosition=1
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06-15-2021, 07:09 PM #117
Phish lyrics? Nobody? Jeesh. Tough crowd.
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06-15-2021, 07:57 PM #118
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06-15-2021, 08:36 PM #119
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06-16-2021, 12:32 AM #120
We are going with a generac 18kwh battery. Battery part of system is about 12k, but that includes the hookup to the breakers and all the other equipment. We will be able to have a plug in for a small generator so we can charge the battery on generator if needed (a 3500 watt is enough). The battery will produce 50a peak and 30a continuous. We will have panels facing E and W, so pretty good coverage throughout the day.
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06-16-2021, 05:49 AM #121Banned
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Nice, I appreciate the information. I'm just starting to kick the tires on installing a setup like that; there are a bunch of smaller projects I want to get taken care of around the house first.
I'll have to look into options for battery storage, as I would like to avoid giving Tesla my money at all costs.
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06-16-2021, 07:42 AM #122
To some with means, solar is a status symbol / greenwash / political statement. The reason you see it on roofs in Seattle is similar to the reason you don’t see it on roofs in Phoenix or Orange County…… to some, making a statement is more important than logic and economics…
I built large project for a DOD client and we put $5mil of solar on top of the building. The client had a crazy reduced rate from the local energy provider so the payback time was huge, like 40+ years… our MEP team had a dozen other suggestions on how to spend that $5mil and get better performance/economy/efficiency; ie better boilers, chillers, air handlers, etc… The client wanted the solar because it’d be on the roof visible from a major highway….
I’m in Seattle as well, mine calcs similar….
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06-16-2021, 07:54 AM #123man of ice
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Depends where you are and what the rules there are. My 10kw system in Massachusetts was installed in 2016 and has completely paid for itself through renewable energy credit sales alone, never mind the low/often no bills.
I generally only owe anything if we ran the AC that month. I'm way ahead over all. Shit if I had more roof I'd put more solar up in a minute. Having a hard time convincing the wife we should cover the whole yard with panels but I'm working on it.
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06-16-2021, 08:22 AM #124
10kw on a home is huge.
I have 25kw and 125kw on commercial flat roofs.
Looking at five year paying the loan. And free money after that.
My down payment came back instantly as a federal tax credit.
The larger one did 23MWh last month.. . .
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06-16-2021, 09:41 AM #125man of ice
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It's two installations, one on the house and the second on an outbuilding, but yeah it's substantial.
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