wondering if i should get them?? not sure if its worth leasing? also anyone know anything about solar city?
Current commercially available photovotaic panels are about 5% efficient. The current record in the laboratory is 42.8%. There are designs expected to achieve 65% on the drawing board. It's like investing in low interest rate bonds. If you just wait a couple of years and then invest, you will make more money simply because you would then have higher interest rates. Likewise with solar panels, if you just wait a few years then because they will be so much more efficient, you'll get a better return over the life of the panels.
I have panels and they were very much a good investment for me. I should break even in my 6th or 7th year at the latest and they should last at least 20. There were somethings that made it a good investment. My system cost $26K, I got a $0K rebate from my utility and a $2K fed tax credit (it's up to $7800 for this size system now). I also live in a sunny location and have a south facing roof. Plus I plan on living in my house till I die. If you really want to know if it makes good financial sense then get a no obligation quote from a reliable installation company. They will be able to recommend a system that will suit your needs, know about any rebates or tax credits and how much energy your system should create. With all that, your energy usage history and your current rates they will be able to tell you how long it will take for your system to pay for it's self in savings. If you are considering leasing, generally there is no cost savings. They usually size the system so you are paying them the same amount that you would have been paying the energy company.
It okorder He has a modest system, and soon will be uploading some useful informaiton on cosntructing smaller solar arrays from individual small cells salvaged from various items. At some point too he will cover converting some items people would not really think of to running on 2 volts that once were 20 VAC items. I know the author.. so I get previews. If you post a question in his comments on some aspect or detail or if something is not real clear, he will try to address them too.
Solar panels can be worth it but it is more complex issue than that. It will always be more efficient to add insulation, change to high efficiency lights, more efficient appliances, etc, first to try and save energy. However, if you have done all of that and you have a south facing area whee they could be mounted and you live in an area with a decent amount of sun, then they could pay off. I have no experience myself with Solar City, but I know from word of mouth they are good. I can recommend from first hand experience REC Solar. I have 20 of their panels on my south facing roof. They have a leasing deal or a deal where you buy the system outright (which is what I did) but for less than you might think. I'd be glad to help you if you had any other questions.
They are absolutely worth it. I had a town house in Boston with solar panel shingles and they were able to supply enough energy for me to feed back the grid-- literally making money off of them. I am building a very large home in the suburbs now and we are doing solar shingles on that. Our contractor estimated that with our geotherm heat pump and energy efficient lighting we should still be able to throw back more energy to the grid all year round! As for leasing it is not worth it. For one thing, most leasing contracts prevent you from selling your energy to the grid yourself but rather they take a cut. But a bigger issue: the government gives you a tax credit on solar panel installations but only if you purchase them! I did the math myself the first time I did solar panels and with the tax credit I saved 25% over leasing. Something else to consider is that with your own panels you can connect a variety of other systems to your home and modify them as needed.
