Posted on 09/30/2023 6:40:44 AM PDT by The_Media_never_lie
This year, during the heat of summer, when temperatures in New York surpassed 90°F, the 22 solar panels on the roof of my house were doing absolutely nothing.
This is not something I learned until September, four months after my husband and I bought this house with a purportedly functional leased solar system in upstate New York, months after logging into a website that inaccurately told us that the panels were working, months after we forked over $6,000 to prepay the remainder of the 20-year lease to the company supposed to be maintaining the solar panels, Spruce Power, which happens to be the largest privately held owner and operator of residential solar in America.
A third-party technician dispatched to our house by Spruce in September blamed squirrels that chewed on some important wires. Spruce blamed the previous owners, who they said fell behind on lease payments; in September, Spruce told us it had disconnected the system previously but that did not explain why they’d taken our money to prepay the lease on the panels in June. The panels are still not working to full capacity. (Made aware that this article was in the works, Spruce said in September that it will repay us for the months the panels were not working.)
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
Did you even read the excerpt? The company they were leasing from either didn’t do the maintenance that was part of the lease contract, or they turned it off because the previous owner stopped paying the lease. You lease ANY appliance and one of these happens it’s gonna stop working, that’s not a problem with the category of appliance, that’s a problem with the company.
Solar panels output decreases as temperature increases.
You guys really should bother to at least read the excerpt:
A third-party technician dispatched to our house by Spruce in September blamed squirrels that chewed on some important wires. Spruce blamed the previous owners, who they said fell behind on lease payments
That’s not a solar panel problem. That’s a Spruce (the lease company) problem.
“Fortunately, we have natural gas to our home despite being a couple of miles outside the nearest town”
We lived in Larkspur, Colorado, halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs, and found when the power goes out longer than 8 hours that the natural gas did too.
We tried to get a 30kw diesel generator herein Florida but companies gouge for them at $30k to $77k in the proposals. So, for now, we’re going with a 9kw quiet generator I rigged a plug in system to power the sewer, well, pool pump, and a backup air conditioner unit for the house. Those little European-style AC units can cool really well for only being 2kw in power consumption.
I would love to get a solar system as a backup but we’re not staying in this house for much longer. I would install batteries, too.
Sadly, that is the case these days. Not banging on Boomers since I might be one depending on your definition, but since 1963, about when they became adults, few organizations remain. They consumed much but didn’t care to keep things going too.
—”If a solar panel solution is not for you, fine, but why trash the idea when it can and does work for quite a few people.”
A friend in Colorado has a large solar array that covers all his daytime needs and now a few years in has a solid R.O.E.
Like most other solar heads he enjoys sharing his data.
IMO some of the twaddlers must have been dropped on their heads at an early age.
They absolutely should. Generators have a “break then make” switch as a necessary safety feature.
Backfeeding into the system during outages could get a lineman killed.
They are all supposed to “test before touch”, but remembering safety protocols during your 7th 16 hour shift is iffy.
“Solar is a technology that needs care and maintenance. It will never compete financially with utility power, but that’s not its purpose. Its purpose is to provide power when the utilities go out or are not available.”
-CodeToad
“I am skeptical, because there is an industry behind the green movement with political power.”
-The_Media_never_lie
CT: Clarification is in order. The OP story outlines a solar installation which is SOLELY designed to feed ‘renewable’ power back into the grid utilizing an array paid for by both the tenants and taxpayers (subsidies). Such a system is a scam designed to foist responsibility for renewables to the consumer under the guise of reduced household power bills. A SOLAR SYSTEM CANNOT PROVIDE POWER TO A HOME WITHOUT A BATTERY BACKUP. Most homeowners neither have the real estate (roof or otherwise) nor the $$ for the solar panel capacity to operate a household solely under sun power, and without batteries that means only when the sun is shining.
TMNL: You have plenty of justification to be skeptical. The results of my own analysis are not good: If you don’t have the $$ to build a full-capacity system with batteries and backups to function fully off-grid (it NEVER pencils out over the panel lifetimes, unless utility power is ASTRONOMICALLY EXPENSIVE), the affordable systems are rooted purely in emotional - rather than practical - reality. Nothing pencils out unless a homeowner is betting on SHTF eventuality. Worse, the electronics at the heart of such systems are unreliable, making spare microcontrollers & inverters ON-HAND compulsory (batteries, too), especially when considering SHTF/off-grid scenarios.
Still - even then, just as I outline to angst of those who hear/see my words - when society does eventually fall [denial of reality is not keeping with either SHTF or Conservative thinking] and the have-nots are roaming the countryside, I have a rhetorical question for others who think that solar offers a level of security to permit some normal life function:
Where do you think the have-nots will go when they see that your lights are on?
So, then, my advice to Conservatives who have migrated over to the ‘renewable’ dark side: You better invest in maintaining society NOW and reject this hard-leftist movement (Cloward-Piven) intent upon destroying our Republic and recognize ‘renewables’ - which includes EVs under the leftist assault - for what they really are.
The left is at WAR with us and the Republic and ‘renewables’ is merely one front (a distraction, in part); the sooner we collectively respond accordingly, the sooner we can restore order and preserve the Republic & the Constitution.
Well big hail is almost like a bullet and for my experience hail was not an issue (Hawaii). I’ve seen some pretty serious damage to panels from hail on the web - ouch! Big holes in windshields huge dents in cars...
But the panel is pretty strong as we could and would walk on them if necessary, though I myself would try to avoid that at 225lbs, and leave that to that skinny guy on the team.
I did do an install - 2600 panels that were frameless, ie. no aluminum frame, just glass. These panels were heavy at about 70lbs (2 man lift). Walking on those was no problem.
Since 2,000 wiring has been insulated with soy based products which is food to a lot of creatures. That is why the wiring in cars is often eaten.
There are ways to avoid this problem. Put in a small ozone machine and plug it in like a engine heater at night.
Somebody got ripped off big time in this transaction. I just put all new solar panels on the roof of my well house,8 350 watt 24 volt, $125 each. I had to install. For $10K I could put enough panels on my house to run everything but the AC, but it would take an additional $10K-$15K for the inverters and batteries to make it useful after hours.
I understand the backfeed issue, so I guess they simply design for cost and cutoff the solar if utility power cuts out.
In the long term we are all dead. Meanwhile I am saving 20% on my electricity, and there is no way for them to scam me. The most I can pay is 80% of any solar credit I receive.
Will solar ever our current grid power of coal, natural gas or nuclear, probably not anytime soon unless there is a quantum leap in technology, but certain cases especially for rural areas and people wanting to live off grid it’s very viable
I love the ROE claims by the doubters, if ROE was the ultimate deciding factor about half of everyone’s life would be eliminated
How many people drive really expensive cars when far cheaper models exist, how many bass fisherman have tricked out bass boats when boats significantly cheaper models exist
Same goes for golf, hunting you name it
If solar and off grid living is your desire what influence does ROE play in the decision, probably none
Don't you believe it. The "Great Texas Winter" (which happened the year after I moved to San Antonio) proved that...windmills and solar cells are NOT sufficiently reliable to power an "always working" grid.
—”how many bass fisherman have tricked out bass boats “
NO!
Not the bassboat, that’s a very sacred cow and American tradition!
Also, they must be kept covered in the drive until the trailer tires are flat; time to sell.
I would never fall into that trap! OH NO!
I have a large garage and basement clogged with most of the tools known to man, from screwdrivers to a large metal lathe.
Last year my wife and I installed a mini split heat pump.
This year I bit the bullet and paid to have our two-story house roofed for the first time, I did it the previous three times...and my wife carried up many loads through the skylight.
My dusty tool collection is not visible from the road.
It should be known, and published by every utility company, conditions between contractors and the utility. The document is public, and is approved via the PUC.
In PA, the Tariff is the agreement between Utility and customer.
The utility I used to work for published a Builder’s Guide.
It was in compliance with said tariff.
I am looking to install a grid connected "whole home battery" WITHOUT SOLAR, for those short periods when the grid is down here in San Antonio. I have natural gas heat, water heating, and stove. I need backup/replacement for lights, fridge/freezer, stove, ceiling fans internet, etc. Like you, I would need to kill the AC compressor.
scam form the start, its free! you get free electricity! bullsh##
I spoke with someone who has a solar roof this week. He claims his panels have a 50-year warranty. Full replacement, no pro-rate.
50 years? I have my doubts.
Is there anything that even lasts 25 years?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.