Home Solar

Beer & Queso
1

I’m pulling this out of the Asheville Flooding thread because it’s very off-topic in that thread. Also, Waldo has been missing all the fun and I know he has a solar system so he can weigh in with real world knowledge.

Anyway, for shits and giggles I ran some numbers on solar-estimate.org. FYI, I got this estimate without having to give anything more than my home address, so while I may get some junk mail out of it I should be free of phone or email spam.

The site asked some basic questions about my home. I have a two-story townhome with a south-facing roof that gets uninterrupted sun and has Lugo-esque levels of rake; all of which I believe is ideal for getting optimal performance from solar.

Based on my current usage (~1,000kWh/month), the site recommended a solar system size of 15.2kW. I opted to include a battery system because the whole point here is to alleviate DERPCOT’s unreliability.

TRIGGER WARNING: Here comes the math.

My last bill: $170 (9/28-10/28)
Estimated bill with solar/battery system: $4 (yes…four dollars and zero cents)
Estimated savings: $166

Estimated monthly payment net of tax credits: $193
[based on 100% financing, zero down]
Net monthly cost of system purchase: $27

Now, there are a lot of unknowns in these numbers. They estimate the system cost (after incentives) at $23k to $33k. That’s a big variance. If the $193 finance charge is based on $23k (most likely), then it could balloon up to $283 assuming that it goes up in a straight line with the system cost.

Speaking of the rate, what is it? Not disclosed; neither is the loan term. I am assuming 25 years on the loan term because they do provide the total expected savings over 25 years: $60,972 in my case.

So, theoretically, worst case for me to have a solar/battery system capable of essentially zeroing out my utility bill is $283. My average utility bill for the last 12 months has been $154. So the overpowered system the site recommends is going to cost me $129 net per month to buy, or $38,700 over 25 years.

That math doesn’t math. But, as I said, I think this is an overpowered system and I’m not even sure my roof has enough square footage to host 15.2kW of solar panels. There is also no explanation as to the size of the battery system either.

I am sure that with a more efficiently-planned system and some negotiation, those prices will come down. Would I make the investment for, say, a net $100/month. Maybe. I would need to do some research as to the resale value of home solar, i.e. how much of a value bump do I get for having the solar system? Because if I’m paying $100/month but I’m going to get it all back when I sell, then it becomes a much better bet.

For the record, it would take me 9 years to pay off a $7,000 generator at $100/month (at 10% interest).

2

There’s a lot of words in that post.

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3

I write insurance policies for a living.

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4

Maybe I should’ve checked my community’s HOA policies first:

Screenshot 2024-10-12 at 5.00.56 PM

One quirk of my community is that homeowners own their own roof. This caused my a lot of trouble with getting Homeowners coverage sorted because with townhome communities the roofs are usually community property. All the quotes kept coming in excluding the roof and I had to keep getting that corrected.

Anyway, I may actually show up at the next AGM to discuss the matter. After all, if I own the roof, I should be able to put a solar panel on it.

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I can tell you from my daughter’s experience that roof repairs (e.g., for wind or hail damage) become more complicated when there are panels up there.

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If they won’t let you install solar panels put a giant Kip’s Big Boy up there and tell them to kiss your ass.

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7

Sure. But I’m responsible for repairs to my roof, so…

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I’m just saying that’s a bit of a hidden cost for (roof-mounted) solar.

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9

Only if you read them.

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10

How long does a solar panel last on a roof.

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Of course. And putting, say, $15k of solar panels on the roof is going to increase my insurance cost too.

There is also the possibility that Hurricane Katayanagi comes through and rips the entire roof off, rendering my storm survival system moot.

12

These folks say 25-30 years. A warranty of similar length seems to be de rigueur.

https://www.anker.com/blogs/solar/how-long-do-solar-panels-last?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAABVgOKlCIbgjtUYeBzomko9p-Ob2p

On that basis you’re going to replace the roof before you replace the solar panels.

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HOA are fucked, the best part of selling my townhouse, besides the profit made, was getting out from under a HOA. BTW, in my HOA, the roof was considered community property.

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14

My HOA seems well run from what I can tell, and a necessary evil in a townhome community.

It is my third experience of an HOA and is the only positive one. The other two were FUBAR.

15

In my HOA I can do whatever the hell I want on my roof but sadly I cannot park my 18 wheeler on the street for weeks at a time or run a flea market from my front yard.

Excuse me I thought this was America.

There’s an idiot down the way from me that keeps his giant towable Jesus Loves Trump sign out in front of his house. Try that in an HOA, see how long it takes before you get a sternly worded letter.

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Doing at bit more research, I found this statement:

Texas Property Code Section 202.010 forbids
HOAs and property owners associations from
prohibiting outright a property owner from
installing a solar energy device as defined by
Texas Tax Code Section 171.107.

I looked up the referenced Property Code and, barring a few things that are prima facie stupid or unneighborly, the HOA cannot prohibit the installation of solar panels on my roof. I am still subject to the rigors of any Architectural Committee though.

So unless I want to get into a protracted fight in the courts with the HOA, I think it’s still best to ask them to amend the rules to comply with the law and deal with the Architectural Committee after that. Making enemies of the HOA would not further my goals here, and bifurcating the fight seems like a sensible strategy.

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There’s alway the option to replace the shingles with solar tiles. They are indistinguishable from slate. Pretty much.

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18

The smooth surface probably discourages squirrels, too, which is a big win.

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Lol.

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I was catching up and posted a response to the solar stuff in the Asheville flooding thread. Limey, if you’re serious about solar, I highly recommend Solar United Neighbors. It creates purchasing coops, and they work surprisingly well.

Also, if you have to finance, the financing costs are ridiculous.

Also, as I recall the City of Austin subsidizes solar installation. Waldo’s experience will be very different than what you get in Houston, which does not.