Posted on 11/25/2021 12:45:48 PM PST by Captain Peter Blood
I have been researching putting Solar Panels on my home and would like to know out there who has done this. How did it work out and what suggestions or opinions do you have.
I live in Arkansas and my home seems to be a good candidate for Solar Panels, it is finding the right company and getting the price that makes sense.
So far on Monday I dealt with a company here in Arkansas and I received a estimate for $35,000, without a battery backup system. That would cost and extra $25,000. Well I can't make those numbers work even without the battery backup system.
The recommendation was for about a 9.62 KW system.
The plusses on any Solar System are a 26% Tax Credit on the cost of the system, plus my energy provider, Entergy, would buy my excess electricity and run that as a credit on my monthly Bill.
After talking to this first company I decided to see what Tesla had to offer just as a comparison. Their bid was about $21,000 including the Backup Battery System. Huge difference here and I can make those numbers work for me.
So now I have something to compare to and will look at other installers in my area to see what the average deals are. Not sure Tesla even has a company they affiliate with in my state. Will find out.
I sent the Tesla bid to the first company I talked to and told them if they could match this we might be able to do business. Of course I have yet to hear back and probably will not.
Would love to hear from anyone in Arkansas that has had Solar put in or researched it and what did you find?
You’ll never get your money back during the lifetime of the system.
You answered your own question.
Have you factored in keeping them clean?
At age 66 that is not that big of a consideration for me. The deal spreads over 25 years. Whoever buys my house will end up with most of the benefits I am just interested in the technology.
Given we are looking at 25% rise in Power rates in the next few years I am interested.
If they saved money, they would be on every house in the country, BUT They Aren’t! Are They?
Well what are power washers for then. That is a minor consideration.
Went through the numbers once...Solar panels won't work out for most people because we move on the average of 7 years.
So, doesn’t mean that it is technology that can’t work.
NOT WORTH IT! Don’t mess with it, especially in Arkansas. I live in southern Arizona and it’s still not worth it. You’re throwing money away, unless of course the system is free.
So far all I hearing from is the naysayers, I want to hear from people who actually know something about this and have done it.
A 6.3 kw system cost me $14k, was tax deductible, and saves about $2,500/year.
No system is free. There are offers like that out there except the install company would own the system under their deal and get all the Tax advantages.
Thanks, where do you live? That helps. Did you consider the backup battery.
I will say that a lot of people are surprised to learn that having solar panels on their home does not mean that they will have power during a power failure.
That requires a whole lot more equipment and money.
We have a lot of Solar Farms now in this state, so someone thinks they make sense.
I live in Nevada County, California and did not include the backup battery since we have a 10kw dual-fuel generator.
That is why I would consider the backup battery system.
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