Scotty mixes truth with misinformation to tell a specific narrative. Which is funny because this video is better than many others as he uses more decent stats than normal - except those basically disprove his own points.
Some people say: "It takes years before you recoup your money from solar." - Well you will _never_ recoup it for the standard systems (electricity contract or a generator). It's an investment. A new kitchen, a new floor or a consumer car, will never recoup it's money. It is the best feature ever. It gives you electricity for free without fumes etc. And with batteries it can make you more independent when the grid goes down for a while.
@@That-Guy_ true, actually a friend of mine said they they maybe want to sell the house (as an argument not to invest in solar) but I told him that it ofc increases the houses value too. And now they have solar plus batteries. It's not the biggest system but they will add more with time.
It is true that it takes years to recoup the cost. This is why I warn people considering solar that it mostly makes sense if they plan to remain in their home for an extended period of time - at least financially. For me, my system is a little harder to nail down because it also serves as a whole home (battery) backup for a few hours - which negates most power outages. That's actually a different use case.
@@That-Guy_ You have to be careful. Solar only increases the value of the home _if_ the system is paid off. PPA (leases) or outstanding loans actually are a negative. Ask any real estate agent. Don't believe the BS the solar sales people tell you, do your own research and ask experts. From my experience, I wasn't able to get _more_ for my home, it simply made my home slightly more attractive than other homes in the area at the same price point. Granted, I had to move quickly (contingent sale) and it might have played out differently if I had 6 months to pick the right buyer. Either way, I'm still a huge advocate for solar.
That's mixed. It can also attract vermin, allow mold to get started (during extended cool wet seasons), makes roofing repair more expensive, and might make it more difficult to get insurance. That said, except for the insurance- those are unlikely. You can get mold and vermin in your attic if you don't have solar panels. Proper installation makes these issues less likely. The insurance issue may need to be fixed with regulation or improved installation practices and fixtures.
I have been using solar energy since 1989 with my first solar panel and over the years. I have expanded my solar system to over 11,000 Watts and for the last 12 years I have been recharging my electric car from my off grid solar system. I actually love when the power goes out because it does not affect me. Scotty Kilmer angers me. I wish he wasn’t on TH-cam. Thank you Ben for the truth.
@@Gee90210 I think it was about the time of Covid that he really changed. I spent a couple of years annoyed about his videos until I finally removed myself from his videos.
@@NateDecker1982I think he's commenting on Scotty's statement that solar panels being under the sun could get hot and damage your roof. That's what I thought too. Like, isn't the roof under the sun too without the panels?😅
Scotty's rant about the risk that solar panels, by intercepting the sunlight that might have otherwise been absorbed by the roof directly, will get hot, and thereby damage the roof is so patently absurd that only Scotty's fans would take it seriously.
@@levenkay4468 there may be some truth based on his mention of them sitting directly on the shingles. Like the sun hitting the exterior of your car the interior can get well above ambient temperature if there is no air flow and just mass acting as a heat sink around it. If there is no exchange of air then the heat just builds up behind the panels.
@@jeffnhelen I don't know of any reputable installer that places panels directly on shingles. In fact, the air gap for panels is intentional, as it allows air flow under the panels, cooling the panels. One downside to hot panels is they actually are less efficient at producing electricity than cooler ones. Heck, even Tesla's "solar shingles" come with a small air gap in the design, just for that purpose. It isn't as big of a gap as actual panels on brackets, so the effect is less - and therefore the Tesla shingle's effectiveness is a bit lower than proper panels.
The biggest peoblem with solar in the USA are the scummy door to door sales people pushing sketchy installs. I talked a neighbor out of a system install. Her property is has a lot of trees and her roof never gets any direct sunlight. I ahowed her how the single pine tree in my yard affects my production as its basically nil until 10 am as the sun tracks mostly on the opposite side until then
Panels should go in middle of yard, poking holes in roof and then putting huge panels up there is dumb. To save $20000 over 20 years one risks a $500,000 house. If it raises risk 5% that's a $25000 negative.... Walmart kept having fires from solar wiring, and stopped... Put in yard or not at all, rooftop is worst place ...
@amyself6678 bad take. It's only a problem if they are improperly installed. Literally hundreds of thousands of homes globally have roof top solar without any issues. Also the issues with Walmart was due to shoddy install job by a tesla subsidiary. "Walmart’s lawsuit also noted that Tesla’s most recent month of inspection reports identified 157 “action items requiring repairs or replacement of system components,” such as abraded wires and broken solar panels. These solar system components may pose a higher fire risk than do the solar modules themselves. Tesla appears to have known of issues with SolarCity installations for some time. " "After those fires, Walmart decided it had had enough. “To state the obvious,” the complaint said, “properly designed, installed, inspected and maintained solar systems do not spontaneously combust.”
With thousands of crews SOME will bad jobs on some houses, drilling thru roofs and installing 10000 lbs of metal on top of family and up there to catch the wind. If Walmart couldn't stop defects some old lady can't. Telling a normal persoon to "make sure they are skilled and do good work" is silly. How the F do they know? It's just math, saving $2000/yr is not worth even slight risk to $500,000 house. Here in Houston a hurricane is like thunderous train of wind for 10 hours, the idea of trusting my family to some crew who put up solar panels IS DEEPLY SICKENING TO MY HEART. No decent person should look at these facts and still do it, in anywhere south of line from San Antonio to Atlanta to New York.. Put in yard!!! To be fair most these issues go away if put solar panels in middle of yard on a pergola gazebo thingee, if it leaks or collapses no big problem. But that wouldn't look "cool" so we are asking people to drill thru roof and mount a billboard of panels there..... In Houston we lose PLAIN SMOOTH roofs with nothing to catch wind to hurricanes, low level class 1 hurricanes, solar and class 5 will be disaster for most solar homes... 100mph winds make 40mph thunderstorm seem cute. Hmmm. ADD IN TORNADO ALLEY it may be solar only works in Sunny South West, not the stormy southeast or windy Midwest or dark northeast...... Only in SW is solar proven, a mild weather place. California has 2m solar roofs, Arizona 200,000, and rest of US another 300,000, so the safety of panels outside Southwest has NOT been established... .. weather is a bitch... . ..... Google new construction of homes and see all the defects that occur just doing the plain house......... I know this is not clear cut but it seems rooftop solar is dumb, to me, and it'll cause huge losses as storms roll thru and some work was bad.. I work in law office and proving bad work after a storm rolls thru is NOT simple and most won't try, so homeowner will have $50000 of ruin in upper half and no money, maybe..... Maybe..... WATERBEDS!!!!!! I remember the waterbed craze of 70s, but they were badly built or installed so leaked, and landlords sued avg person for water damage, and eventually banned them as too risky a technology . If we can't build a safe enough waterbed in inside room, it seems likely we can't mount safely a huge solar panel to survive all weather. Right??
@amyself6678 ahh texas...that explains a lot. For one most people don't have the yard space for a full solar array in their yard. I do understand Texans pride themselves on low density suburbs and consider urban spaces to be communism. Also 500k houses? Most houses, new or old, don't cost that much. Median home prices in Texas is 348k, here in virginia it's over 400k but that's largely because of the DC suburbs skewing the metrics. How do you prevent bad installs? Home inspections. If Walmart didn't catch it it's because they were asleep at the wheel. Something that could be easily solved through local regulation and building codes. Also where you getting residential solar arrays consist of 10,000 lbs of metal? I have 17 Rec alpha black panels on my roof and that's a total weight of 765 pounds. The mounting brackets are light enough for a single person to carry up a later. At its worst the install would be no higher than 1,200 pounds on the roof with an additional 150 pounds on the wall near my meter for the breaker and utility hook ups. Lastly texas isn't unique to hurricanes. I live in virginia and we get them as well. In fact we had a category 1 pass through a month ago. My uncle in florida's system jas survived multiple storms over the years. If roofs in Texas are so flimsy that cannot tolerate a category 1 storm then you need to up your building codes, but that would be considered communism by a texan. At the end of the day you just hate solar and refuse to admit it.
WE ARE JUST THINKING ALOUD AND PREDICTING FUTURE. FUN. I WAS RAISED IN MN SO KNOW WEATHER CAN BE MEGA AWFUL AND HOMES MUST SURVIVE AWFUL OF 25 YEARS. OK, solar may be tough to fit on grass yard. But I think in most they'll barely fit, build a pergola gazebo. Or mount VERTICAL facing south, and weirdly this barely decreases efficiency since it seems some photons get thru the backside of panel if you don't paint backside. """" A vertical bifacial solar panel is, simply, a panel with photovoltaic (PV) cells on both sides that is installed upright rather than horizontally to face east and west, so they generate electricity with sunlight that reaches one side in the morning and the other in the afternoon."""""" ITs lazy and dumb to assume a roof is only spot. Google backyard solar and see many examples.... I would yell this at my sister if she considered solar. Be honest it's crazy to say roof is only spot to consider... Ok houses aren't $500000 on avg. But most solar people tend to be richer currently, so I'd bet their avg house is $500000. And the savings truly are small, $2000 a year x 25, and with costs and interest, so net about $25000 total gain. (Virgina power is $2400/yr, solar may net save half this, $1200, yes it's this low). It's not enough to bother and risk it. Math is math. Size matters STORMS SUCK. Outside California less than 1% of houses have solar, so I do think soon we will see panels in storms ripping off roofs and ruining houses and killing people next door or inside house. . I'm pro solar but more pro safety OF CHILDREN AND HOUSES. In Houston after Hurricane Beryl there was piles of wood and shingles in stacks and town was mostly closed for 10 day. Many signs were tilted, Wendy's, liquor store, tipped over from the wind. Hurricane winds are mega powerful IN MY GUT AND BRAIN I KNOW SOLAR TIED TO ROOFS IS AWFUL IDEA. In south and yes Virginia there should not be solar on roofs...... INSPECTIONS AND CARE are hard and slow and usually skipped in practice. Google new home inspections, and see how builders have MANY defects they leave. In Arizona they passed laws saying if noticed the homeowner can demand a fix, so inspectors in Arizona really are helpful, but they must get in there in time and then poke and it's Hard and Time Consuming to inspect. Then it can take a year or more for the fix. US PEOPLE ESPECIALLY CONTRACTORS ARE JERKS AND MORONS. On TH-cam search Cy Porter a Arizona inspector, always finding same problems, broken roof tiles and cracked shower walls, so literally they're too lazy and profit hungry to stop to fix what they contractor notices and hopes will slide by. Truly, just saying "be sure it's done right and have inspectors" is skipping over INSPECTIONS AND CAREFULNESS are rare and dont work well. Walmart didn't spot their issues!!!!! Also, inspectors can't always see the problem. Also, having to wait for inspector can add delay..... In the south when solar rises past 1% we will see disasters and damage and deaths rise. I predict. I live on sailboat, I have a movable solar panel that keeps boat energized when I go out. But no way would I leave panel out during hurricane. Peace. WE WILL REGRET AND STOP ROOF SOLAR SOON, cuz we're being dumb and not putting in grass yard, so dumbness will cause the failure. Humans can be dumb. The tech if done smart would work (yard) but idiots are leading us, so it'll fail. I wish it weren't so, but like home wind power it'll be see as stupid idea.. insurance likely soon will double insurance cost if you do roof solar, maybe. Just like an EV is 50% more to insure , a house with solar will be costlier. By definition having a thing on roof is riskier than not having thing, right? 50%, 90%, 20% more, we soon will see.... Peace
11 years and counting. My system is paid off and it's gravy from now on. We have net metering here in Ohio and my electric bills are some of the lowest in the neighborhood, including charging my Tesla Model 3. Thanks, Ben, for exposing the BS artists that infect TH-cam.
It's not bs. You're in a perfect situation. The avg American can't afford or even get solar panels. P.s. I'm happy you've had a good experience. Also, if you watch Scotty, you'll see he is non biased towards things. You can't seem to ever hear this guy say a single bad thing about solar stuff. But you'll hear about Scottie say bad things and good things. No, Scotty isn't always right. But this guy tends to be VERY wrong towards General America. Don't believe the hype.
@@Bears11422Can you please be a little more specific, what does this mean "you are in a perfect situation"? You mean living in Ohio he's in a perfect geographical location? It seems you're just living in the anti environmental bubble and only willing to listen to the things that are in confirmation with your bias.
Solar may save $20000 over 20 years but slightly increases fire, leak, and wind risk to $500,000 house. Math matters. It's not worth the risk. In fact the panels should go in middle of years
One of the things to note - Some Solar groups have a bad rep due to how they do installations. One group tends to subcontract installers, and sometimes they don't do it necessarily correctly. There have been horror stories in my area about the company due to poor installation. With that said, it is always good to 'shop around' with your installers, particularly ones who have their actual installers. One of the other push points a few years ago was how some areas are doing 'Net Metering'. Like California, NEM 2.0 for people who installed prior to April of 2023, where power from solar being fed back to the grid would be almost 1 to 1 cost wise (IE: You get credit for the kW you feed into the system about the same as when you take it). However, California is now adopting NEM 3.0 where the excess power you are not using and feeding back to the grid is going to be significantly LESS than what you will pay when you ask for power. This now leans to or encouraging people to go Solar + Battery. The battery system is the additional cost that tends to make people 'think twice' because it is a significant boost in price. However, there are benefits to having this paradigm other than 'power backup' as well. Most solar installers who will do the solar + battery system, will give you a system that should power your house at night with the power that you DON'T use from solar. Solar would charge the battery back up, allowing you to use that stored power to mitigate the 'peak hour' usage (Which tends to be 1.8 to 2x what you pay for off-peak). And yes, it will also power the house when the power goes out. As a person who went to Solar after NEM 3.0 for California was pushed, thus making me fall under the new compensation method versus being in the NEM 2.0 compensation (Which those people are locked in for a period of time) the cost of solar is reasonably noticeable when not forced under certain situations. I will say, yes, foggy/overcast days, I am not getting as much power solar wise, but then again, I am also still 'grid tied'. I am not 'off the grid'. But looking at the power bill, solar reduced the bill by over half and that is with the fact that the solar + battery system we have does NOT move over everything. The pre-lim Solar + Battery system focuses on 'critical loads'. Most critical loads for the house will be the 'basic electricity'. The standard outlets and lights in the house. The things NOT usually put over are the double breaker or 40 amp loads. This being like Electric Clothing Dryers, Electric Ovens, HVAC, Electric Dishwashers, Electric Stoves and the like. The basic reason for this is they will pull a lot from the battery. As a note, most battery systems will put about 10-13 kW on the cheap end. You can put more, but the installers often size just enough to get you by for the next day. The stuff that is NOT on the critical load side of things will still be tied to the Grid, so it isn't like you can't use those things, it means you don't necessarily eliminate your electric bill going solar. But it does mean, your peak hour usage can be sized down for things running in the house that is under the critical load part. Most of the good solar installer groups will size your system based on your 'needs', just keep in mind the definition of 'critical load' will not include the high load electrical appliances unless you ask them to add more battery capacity to allow for it if you are going to a Solar + Battery system.
More importantly on the claim to needing a battery backup, that's no more true for having Solar than for being 100% grid dependent. While you can have battery storage it's by no means a requirement, and the vast majority are just grid tied systems w/o battery backup.
He and you forgot to mention that solar combined with an ev will lead to even more benefits in the long term and those fuel savings go into the budget as well
Oddly a rare case where Australia can 1-up the US and say "30% of Australian houses have installed solar" +plus, "Installation costs at least HALF of what it does in the US" I've had 6.6KW of LG panels installed for 10 years ... its awesome and theres no maintenance. Our local power authorities are less "restrictive" in exporting to the Grid (than US it seems), but they don't pay you much. Best savings are from using the solar yourself during the day. i.e. bigger loads like Cooling or Heating via Heat Pumps, also very common in Australia
Another thing folks can look out for are "Solar group buy" events if your city is holding one. Basically a bunch of people in an area sign up with one installer who can order solar equipment in bulk, and then do the installs for likely less than if you tried to get quotes yourself from multiple companies. Another thing to look out for are Community solar programs. Basically the local power company sets up a field with a lot of solar panels, and you can pay to get power from there. Great for folks who live in an apartment or rent, or if their house isn't a good fit for solar due to small roof or say, trees blocking sunlight on your roof. Hopefully they incorporate that with solar canopies where you put solar panels above parking lots to make more use out of that area, and shade cars underneath, lowering how much fuel/electricity they need to use to cool their cabin down on hot sunny days.
I would have thought that this is only possible when the standing charges (all the fixed rates) of your electric bill, are proportionally a small part of your bill. Because you only save on the consumption part of the bill. The greater the proportion of the bill is fixed charges, the harder it is for the saving to be more than the cost of the loan.
Good stuff - facts and data matter. When I purchased my solar system, I did not look at "payback period". I looked at mitigating increasing electrical costs over the next 10 years. Basically I wanted to flatline my electric cost. With that said, I also have 2 EV's which I am not paying gas for I am saving over $600 a month so in my case my payback period is 6 years. I also have battery backup so that I am not without power. If electric goes as I expect it, that payback will narrow quickly. Solar isn't for everybody as where you live has to factor and how many "sun" hours you get. I live in Florida so we do pretty well.
Do forget about the increased value of your home because of the system. My ROI is 11 years just from saving but with the home value increase it's 4 years and I have 2 EVs so if you count the gas savings the solar system has already paid for itself in the first year.
That is a good point. I charted my Electric rate increases over the past 10 years and projected future increases reducing my ROI period for my solar install.
@@Powdermonkey99 I would not recommend Florida, too many hurricanes. Texas is nice. My Class A CDL got me enough to buy a home plus my wife works. Then I got solar panels and powerwalls to save on electricity. Got an EV a few years later that I can charge for free at home. Take it one step at a time.
I dont think Scotty should talk about anything other than cars. He is a mechanic...not an electrical engineer or solar/electrical engineerq. If anything panels can extend the life of a roof and also help with heat in attic thus reducing cooling expenses.
Wow! you pay alot for solar systems in the US. I had a 6.6 kw system installed on my roof 3 years ago in Western Australia, at a cost of $4600 AUD ($3067 USD). After govt rebates. In Summer I can produce approx 42kw per day. Solar panels last 20 years at least. Thx for the video Ben.
I still can't believe how expensive solar systems are in the US. You can get a 12kW system installed for around $10,000 AUD here in Australia. What's going on up there?
my 10.3kw system cost $28k before the 30% federal tax, so $19.6. No Batteries. I get SREC payments, that is about $40/SREC. SREC is 1 mwh. I should produce 13 SREC/year. 13*40 = $520/year. Rate of return should be ~ 8 years.
So Scotty says not to trust anybody that is trying to sell you something like a salesman saying that the solar credits are going away soon? Yet himself he is trying to sell you something so obvious that it's not even funny!
Here's an ROI data point for the Portland, Oregon area (where it's supposedly always rainy and cloudy 😀) I got my 8.16kW solar installed in mid-2021. My costs were: Fully installed invoice total: $16,400 Oregon incentive: $2,400 Federal tax credit: $3,614 Net cost: $10,386 Below is my energy generation data for the last full 3 years 8.16kW solar system Year 1: 10,522 kWh Year 2: 10,085 kWh Year 3: 10,891 kWh That is an average of 28.75 kWh / day My electric company is Portland General which has 1:1 net metering and is roughly $0.18/kWh, including all taxes and fees. Based on this rough rate, I have generated almost $5,700 worth of electricity for the last 3 full years. Along with many others, my costs are being offset greatly by having a fully EV household and not paying for gas. So I don’t think I’m doing too bad. 😀
I already spent about $20,000 in Solar Panels, Inverters and Batteries. I will recover that back in 4 years. And while at it, I get to charge my EV for FREE which brings my ROI even shorter. Furthermore, I get to open my AC whole day long for the added living comfort.
9:30 "If you suffer frequent power outages, solar won't cut it, you'll need a backup battery to store energy for any long downtime periods". Well obviously, but that's a statement that applies to every house connected to the grid. Solar panels or not makes no difference.
In my local neck of the woods, there is so much social sentiment against solar and EV etc. Our local fire department said they will not enter a home if it has solar panels on roof for the fear of danger of collapse from the weight of panels. When my PHEV broke down, the tow truck driver gave me a lecture how stupid I was for buying a hybrid.
@@BenSullinsOfficial Yup. I got him to be quiet after I told him how much money I saved anually on gas and the fact that the tow and repairs on my car are all covered under the warranty and not costing me a dime.
I paid $10,773 for my Tesla 3.78 kW solar system in 2019. I got the 30% tax credit so it was about $7500 after the tax credit. I now pay about $300 a year to SDGE for electricity. That covers my house including electric car, electric oven and electric dryer. I believe it paid for itself after the third year. It definitely makes sense here in San Diego. I did get on NEM 2.0 but with the NEM 3.0 change in California you’ll have to get batteries which I think will double the cost and pay back period.
For me, my business needs would justify a battery system alone since a power outage could impact productivity and possibly damage sensitive equipment like computers.
my micro system has run my home and workshop for 20 years. Its grown over the years and is currently just on 1kw panels and 600Ah of lithium batteries - for a cost of under $3000nz - that is $2000 us
In my part of Ontario Canada I got a quote for about $10K installed, my neighbour put panels on his house a few years ago and it was about the same price
@@bossman6174 Just west of Toronto, I cannot remember the size of the system, now as I didnt go thorough with it. , The company was working with Lowes at the time. My house is about 1100 sq/ft. I didnt go thorugh with because shortly after Lowes announced they were leaving Canada.
I've had home solar for the last year and I enjoy it quite a bit. I overdid my system a bit and went with batteries because I was having pretty frequent power outages in my area. Since installing last year I've had 3 blackouts, one for about 10 mins, one for about 4 hours and one for a whole 48 hours. I never lost power and my batteries kept my electricity on the whole time. I'm a huge fan of solar and if you are in the southern part of the US I highly recommend it.
Having survived two week long outages this year, I advise you see what your power generation is like on rainy overcast days. If it 's under your usage, I recommend a small propane backup generator and a couple tanks of propane. If you are generating enough power even on a bad day, then never mind.
@@macmcleod1188 Yea, In the fall and spring I don't use the grid at all. Summer gets close but is about 90% covered. Two weeks would be roughest in winter. The excess demand would use more electricity than I can store up. Every other time of year I have enough battery capacity to cover it. Overcast days usually generate about half of what a full sunny day does, but I don't use that much. The only time I get no generation is on rainy days. Right now I have a bunch of credits stored up just from selling excess power to the grid.
@@Ravespillo The nice thing about propane is that it is easy maintenance and the tanks are good for 10 years. Oh, and my two weeks were one week each. One from a Hurricane and One from a wind storm (Derecho) that knocked many old large trees over a 60 mile by 25 mile area over many power lines. The problem was exacerbated because our power company Centerpoint appears to have been putting money meant for Tree maintenance into executive and stock holder pockets. You could develop a plan to shut down portions of your house and only heat them to 33 degrees. More insulation and better windows might help close the gap. One low extreme risk is taking a lightning strike and losing your panels like that other couple here on TH-cam. But an emergency generator is hard to beat and even a tiny cheap one generates 1000kw per hour (24kwh per day).
@@macmcleod1188 Agreed, I got a buddy down here that has a generac and it kept his home going during that same 48 hour outage. It's a great solution, but I've also considered a wood burning insert for my fireplace as well since 80% of my energy usage is solely coming from heat and a/c. I do like propane but when it gets really really cold here my emergency electric heating can pull up to 25kw per hour in the extreme and about 13kw/h between 10 and 32 degrees and even a good propane generator would struggle with that much draw. I need to swap over to propane heating. If I did, my batteries would last multiple weeks on one charge as I have 52kw of storage in those batteries.
@@macmcleod1188 It's also extremely dangerous. If you really need it then a diesel generator is better. In outback Australia solar/batteries and generator are becoming the norm - no grid connection.
I watched a couple Scotty videos a couple years ago and when he started to talk about EV's I was reminded of this quote "Mr. Scotty, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
These days , good installers , will NOT install an array if you need a new roof.. Lots of folks out there think a solar array will fix their $#itty , leaky roof...
What the hell does someone like Scotty Kilmer know about power-generating devices like solar panels ? He's overstepping his own area of expertise with this one I guess. I remember watching his videos for most of the time back in the days when he was still putting a relatively decent content of actual car repairs not pointless conspiratorial rants.
Solid points as usual. I am not a tax expert, but I did look it up, and in CA you cannot get the 30% tax deduction for reroofing your home unless the roof is damaged, and even then it is just for the material under the solar panels, and doesn't cover roof install labor (just materials).
Among the many factors to consider before installing solar are your age and how long you expect to stay in the home. These can affect your return on investment.
Yes, and another factor to consider is how much you care about your grandchildren, or other people's grandkids. Because, how quickly we stop burning fossil fuels will determine how much food your great grandkids will have to eat for dinner. That's the basic situation we're in.
But your home value will increase, in many cases by the cost of the system. So if you include your home's appreciation in value your ROI could be 1 or 2 years.
I use to watch Scotty's videos way back when but since i got into solar/EV's and since he posted all these bogus videos i dont care for his point of view anymore.
There are so many factors that can add significantly more to the cost. Also, installers often use lower grade equipment to try to maximize the profit. If you can DIY is the way to go.
I used to live in rural upstate Maine. No streetside power. I really don't remember it costing $20,000+. My guess is its contractor costs. I bought all the components in piecemeal. It was maybe $10,000 and I installed it myself. The home was a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, kitchen dinning living room combo, with a 2nd level loft. Pellet stove heat. Are plenty of TY vids on how to
Can't believe how expensive solar is in the US compared to Australia. Payback for me is only about 6 years between no electricity bills and no gas for my car. 24 x 440 W panels, 15 kWh battery and the inverter etc approx US$16k
I literally just priced a pallet of panels, modest set of batteries, a charge controller and all the wiring required for a DC system and it comes out to less than 8,000$ An AC system with inverters at this size would still definitely be under 10k Now, that's without commercial installation, because my system will be off the grid (something anyone can do to power certain appliance even if their house is on grid) and thus I don't have to worry about permits and grid feedback liability.
@@BenSullinsOfficial facts are necessary to bring exaggerations back to reality. I appreciate your approach on calmly debunking guys like Scotty. I'd certainly like to see more discussions with people who have different views, find common ground, and agree to disagree on things. I'd even like to help
Our 6.3kwh system cost $4000 au , In a little over 4 years it has covered its own cost plus about $2000 extra . I think PV panells used in the right way are fantastic . Certianly saved me a lot of money .
@@Powdermonkey99 I can't tell if you are attempting to make a serious point or being sarcastic. Either way it is an opportunity for me to chime in about mining. The mining industry is in the process of converting to battery electric. MacLean, Caterpillar, Sandvik, Epiroc, Liebherr Group, Komatsu, Rokion, Miller Technology, Artisan Vehicles and others make battery electric mining equipment.
I appreciate when you provide resources that we can use to evaluate our own situation. I wonder how fast solar tech is improving nowadays. I don't want to regret getting something that becomes outdated in a year or so.
The trick to peace of mind in the tech era, is to think in terms of what your device is doing for you. And not think about how it compares to every other device. A little research is all it takes to find a good choice that will work well for a long time. Improvements in solar tech are incremental. By the time your equipment is "outdated," it will have saved you tens of thousands of dollars, and even then, it will still be saving you thousands per year. What is already outdated, is giving all your money to your local power monopoly.
I'm on the fence. I have a DIY PV install and the difference between a rainy day vs a sunny day is massive, 280Wh vs 2 kWh where I am in the UK. Overall I'm happy with the returns from the install but its just a hobby thing and it was never designed to payback anything. My smart tariff complicates things significantly too, simply adding batteries to charge when the the grid is green and use when its not would make more sense on a tariff like this.
The panels may be guaranteed for 25 years. However the inverter .... :-). I'm on my 3rd inverter. Still, with my small system, it paid back for itself after 13 years of operation (and that's including the cost of the replacement inverters) and it's still going strong.
Most people are not home during the day when solar power is produced... When using lithium batteries for the needed night time power requirements, the total costs are pretty incredibly expensive.
ok, so you don't know how it works, I will help you. Any excess power you produce that is not used, gets put back into the grid. At the end of the month you are billed based on how much you used MINUS how much you put into the grid. A proper sized systems means you pay zero or close to it.
2:54 Whew! Thanks for warning me that having an opaque panel placed between my shingles and the sun would be more damaging than having the sun broil them directly every day!
I pay 7.6c per kW. That makes solar about a 20+ year ROI. Yes I would be hedging against energy price increases in the future; however, by waiting I could also get newer, better, and potentially cheaper tech when it becomes more reasonable. It also helps that my grid is surprisingly green. Having two nuclear plants nearby helps a ton with that.
My solar panels paid for themselves in 5 years - thanks to PG&E's crazy rates. In some areas where electricity is cheaper, it might not make sense. Where I live it is a no-brainer.
Scotty is pretty much right. I have them with reputable company and installer and have issues . Hurricane debbie loosened panels. If bird poops on panel or just needs a good cleaning your up in roof a few times a year . One small cloud will drop almost 30pct in watts. Maybe a smaller investment in solar panels and is good for a supplement but the payback isn’t there yet
@@davidmenasco5743 Yes. Many people don’t think critically. I’m my opinion rooftop solar can definitely provide all the energy needed to run a home and an EV can pretty much serve all your transportation needs with a couple of exceptions. The cost to do this was pretty high and may not be in the reach of many but the prices are coming down. I believe TH-cam monetizes video watching and so there are a lot of semi bogus reviews out there. But I do really like Ben Sullins and his considerate presentation of the observations
Why is he saying you need $25,000 for a solar system. A 10kW solar system costs $25,000 but a home doesn't need that much solar panels. 6kW is more than enough. Which is only 12,000-15,000 dollars.
I _highly_ recommend buying (purchase) your solar install. Don't sign up for a PPA as long as there is a federal incentive program in place. Also, ask about financing options and fees associated - try to get a "cash" price if possible. Those often require high interest rates - like a car loan. But, to get the "low" interest rates you are often paying an enormous loan origination fee - sometimes an extra $15k. Not all solar installers will tell you about this and lure you in with an amazing interest rate. Buyer beware. Most decent solar installers warrant their work, including any potential roof damage from installation. I would check with your home owner's insurance to make sure they are still good with it or change companies - don't make assumptions here. The rack does mitigate heat generated by the panels, but make sure your installer puts a skirt around it so birds don't nest under them. Warranty - some solar installers warranty beyond the manufacturer. For example, the company I used covers both the panels and battery for the full 25 years - although the battery's warranty from the manufacturer is only 10 years. So, there is a possible 15 gap if my installer isn't around in 10 years. It's a fair point, but I understand this. Like you point out, creating anything damages the planet in some way. The stuff you ordered off Amazon 2-day prime has an environmental cost - because _everything_ does. My understanding, the environmental "break even" point for solar panels is about 3 years. For me, I work from home and run a small business here too, so the battery backup was a huge perk that I could have justified half the cost on its own. My last system in another state was entirely grid-tied, which meant that I could not benefit from solar when the power was out because it might shock the linemen. For me, if you _plan_ to be in your home for 10 years or more, solar can make a lot of sense - especially if you live in a high sunshine state and your electrical rates are close the national average or higher. It might still make sense in other areas but you will likely have a much longer ROI. Then, there are really cheap electricity areas - like my father lives in SE Alabama and his rate is about 9 cents per kWh. So, for him, the financial RIO would be super long (15+ years). For me, my current rates are actually below the national average (14 cents per kWh) but I don't expect that to be the case for much longer. The other utilities in my state are switching to a time-of-day usage model and thus it is just a matter of time before that happens here. I installed a decent system that covers about 60% of my current usage, but I do plan to expand my system in the next few years - which I worked out with my installer.
Scotty is a fast talker and frustrating to listen to his voice (cadence) . Thanks for the translating and the good information. Solar panels is on my list of projects for the coming months.
The craziest part of this is Scotty lives in MA just like me, but there's no mention that we have 100% net metering for up to 10kw, with up to 2MW of rollover credit, and typical power rates of ~$0.33/kwh. It's very easy to breakeven in 3yrs. I installed my own 10kw system and my breakeven will be 1.5yrs. The only folks here who buy home batteries are those who want back up power. We have no TOU rates. IMHO....the people who are getting screwed are those who can't or won't get solar.
I've been a regular viewer of Scotty's. it's apparent by the images he inserts in videos he leans right and when it comes to certain topics, a Luddite. It's best to just take him as a good explainer at how to fix your ICE car. Everything else he's a fish trying to operate an elevator.
Thank you very much, Ben, for this video. I wonder what is motivating Scotty, whether it’s just the TH-cam audience or whether someone is compensating him for this BS. I do have a question for you, though: As I would likely have to take out a loan, how might this affect my time till I’ve broke even and what’s left is free energy?! Keep up the good work!
Installed my Solar Panels in 2011 - 12 panels 3.2KWh peak. cost £9000. Paid for themselves in saved electricity and export rebate in 4.5 years. They are 13 years old and still provide over half my used power. Inefficient compared to modern panels, but still running at about 95% of original input. Superb Investment.
This is pretty timely since Sunpower is going bankrupt. Our solar system uses Maxeon panels, but Sunpower installed monitoring hardware and software. We have to now upgrade to Maxeon hardware and software at a cost of $1200 in order to be able to continue monitoring our system and provide warranty coverage. Not a huge deal, but certainly an unexpected cost that will drive our payback schedule up another 6 months or so.
From my personal experience, if anyone is curious, the federal solar tax credit is not refundable, but a credit, that means that you can only be refunded what you paid in. So for instance, if I paid in 8k to the fed for income tax and I bought a system for 50k, then I would get that 8k back since the credit is 30%. The remainder can be carried over, year over year. I just used up the last of my credit last tax year for example. I know services like HR Block online will automatically carry it forward for you if you use them for those years in a row, making it easy.
Scotty is a dinosaur looking up at the sky with fear as he watches the meteor of renewable energy and EVs about to hit.
Ah, If only Toyota made solar panels. Scotty would be all over that!
They do (now) make an EV, so... maybe he'll become an advocate? lol
Scotty, not telling the truth about Solar and EV's? I'm shocked... Shocked!
Scotty mixes truth with misinformation to tell a specific narrative. Which is funny because this video is better than many others as he uses more decent stats than normal - except those basically disprove his own points.
Some people say: "It takes years before you recoup your money from solar." - Well you will _never_ recoup it for the standard systems (electricity contract or a generator).
It's an investment. A new kitchen, a new floor or a consumer car, will never recoup it's money. It is the best feature ever. It gives you electricity for free without fumes etc. And with batteries it can make you more independent when the grid goes down for a while.
If you include the increase in home value for having solar, the ROI can be almost instant.
@@That-Guy_ true, actually a friend of mine said they they maybe want to sell the house (as an argument not to invest in solar) but I told him that it ofc increases the houses value too. And now they have solar plus batteries. It's not the biggest system but they will add more with time.
@@byGDur
Did you get your CyberTruck yet or are you wanting for the price to drop?
It is true that it takes years to recoup the cost. This is why I warn people considering solar that it mostly makes sense if they plan to remain in their home for an extended period of time - at least financially. For me, my system is a little harder to nail down because it also serves as a whole home (battery) backup for a few hours - which negates most power outages. That's actually a different use case.
@@That-Guy_ You have to be careful. Solar only increases the value of the home _if_ the system is paid off. PPA (leases) or outstanding loans actually are a negative. Ask any real estate agent. Don't believe the BS the solar sales people tell you, do your own research and ask experts. From my experience, I wasn't able to get _more_ for my home, it simply made my home slightly more attractive than other homes in the area at the same price point. Granted, I had to move quickly (contingent sale) and it might have played out differently if I had 6 months to pick the right buyer. Either way, I'm still a huge advocate for solar.
Actually it's a selling feature that it actually keeps the roof cooler and lasting longer
That's mixed. It can also attract vermin, allow mold to get started (during extended cool wet seasons), makes roofing repair more expensive, and might make it more difficult to get insurance.
That said, except for the insurance- those are unlikely. You can get mold and vermin in your attic if you don't have solar panels. Proper installation makes these issues less likely. The insurance issue may need to be fixed with regulation or improved installation practices and fixtures.
I've had pigeons under my panels but I've wired it up like Stalag Luft X.II . They are a much better than digging shit up and burning it.😊
@@macmcleod1188 most systems these days are wired off
Scotty is usually wrong with his automotive opinions, I don't know why anyone would be surprised he could be wrong about solar as well...
I have been using solar energy since 1989 with my first solar panel and over the years. I have expanded my solar system to over 11,000 Watts and for the last 12 years I have been recharging my electric car from my off grid solar system. I actually love when the power goes out because it does not affect me. Scotty Kilmer angers me. I wish he wasn’t on TH-cam. Thank you Ben for the truth.
You own property that will support 20+ panels? The median income (2010) for solar adopters was $140,000.
You 'love' when the power goes out, because it doesn't affect you? You sound like a jerk.
I must be lucky...My solar panels have been on my roof for eleven years and there is actually no sign of degradation.
All our hot water was solar from late 1978. Was still working when the house was sold in the late 90s
Scotty has really lost all of his integrity, proving to be questionably dubious as to pushing an agenda.
His integrity was lost years ago.
He’s selling scanners and other products, EV owners wouldn’t be interested.
@@wookieecantina yes he did. He used to be sane until trump.
@@wookieecantina he’s doing the same with EVs. I wonder who’s paying him.
@@Gee90210 I think it was about the time of Covid that he really changed. I spent a couple of years annoyed about his videos until I finally removed myself from his videos.
Last time I checked, roofs are normally exposed to the sun
My brother has large trees that shade his roof. So not always.
@@NateDecker1982 still, roofs are generally built to withstand sunlight, so acting like solar panels would damage the roof because heat is ridiculous
@@NateDecker1982I think he's commenting on Scotty's statement that solar panels being under the sun could get hot and damage your roof.
That's what I thought too. Like, isn't the roof under the sun too without the panels?😅
since when?
@@NateDecker1982Then a solar system on the roof is no different than having a large tree shading a portion of it...
Scotty's rant about the risk that solar panels, by intercepting the sunlight that might have otherwise been absorbed by the roof directly, will get hot, and thereby damage the roof is so patently absurd that only Scotty's fans would take it seriously.
@@levenkay4468 there may be some truth based on his mention of them sitting directly on the shingles. Like the sun hitting the exterior of your car the interior can get well above ambient temperature if there is no air flow and just mass acting as a heat sink around it. If there is no exchange of air then the heat just builds up behind the panels.
@@jeffnhelenhot air doesnt sink it rises or in your example for the car hot air doesnt contract it expands
@@ganymede6535 I think you are referring to convection, but I’m talking about radiation.
@@jeffnhelen oh sorry my bad
@@jeffnhelen I don't know of any reputable installer that places panels directly on shingles. In fact, the air gap for panels is intentional, as it allows air flow under the panels, cooling the panels. One downside to hot panels is they actually are less efficient at producing electricity than cooler ones.
Heck, even Tesla's "solar shingles" come with a small air gap in the design, just for that purpose. It isn't as big of a gap as actual panels on brackets, so the effect is less - and therefore the Tesla shingle's effectiveness is a bit lower than proper panels.
The biggest peoblem with solar in the USA are the scummy door to door sales people pushing sketchy installs.
I talked a neighbor out of a system install. Her property is has a lot of trees and her roof never gets any direct sunlight. I ahowed her how the single pine tree in my yard affects my production as its basically nil until 10 am as the sun tracks mostly on the opposite side until then
Panels should go in middle of yard, poking holes in roof and then putting huge panels up there is dumb. To save $20000 over 20 years one risks a $500,000 house. If it raises risk 5% that's a $25000 negative.... Walmart kept having fires from solar wiring, and stopped... Put in yard or not at all, rooftop is worst place ...
@amyself6678 bad take. It's only a problem if they are improperly installed. Literally hundreds of thousands of homes globally have roof top solar without any issues.
Also the issues with Walmart was due to shoddy install job by a tesla subsidiary.
"Walmart’s lawsuit also noted that Tesla’s most recent month of inspection reports identified 157 “action items requiring repairs or replacement of system components,” such as abraded wires and broken solar panels. These solar system components may pose a higher fire risk than do the solar modules themselves.
Tesla appears to have known of issues with SolarCity installations for some time. "
"After those fires, Walmart decided it had had enough. “To state the obvious,” the complaint said, “properly designed, installed, inspected and maintained solar systems do not spontaneously combust.”
With thousands of crews SOME will bad jobs on some houses, drilling thru roofs and installing 10000 lbs of metal on top of family and up there to catch the wind. If Walmart couldn't stop defects some old lady can't.
Telling a normal persoon to "make sure they are skilled and do good work" is silly. How the F do they know?
It's just math, saving $2000/yr is not worth even slight risk to $500,000 house.
Here in Houston a hurricane is like thunderous train of wind for 10 hours, the idea of trusting my family to some crew who put up solar panels IS DEEPLY SICKENING TO MY HEART. No decent person should look at these facts and still do it, in anywhere south of line from San Antonio to Atlanta to New York..
Put in yard!!! To be fair most these issues go away if put solar panels in middle of yard on a pergola gazebo thingee, if it leaks or collapses no big problem. But that wouldn't look "cool" so we are asking people to drill thru roof and mount a billboard of panels there.....
In Houston we lose PLAIN SMOOTH roofs with nothing to catch wind to hurricanes, low level class 1 hurricanes, solar and class 5 will be disaster for most solar homes... 100mph winds make 40mph thunderstorm seem cute.
Hmmm. ADD IN TORNADO ALLEY it may be solar only works in Sunny South West, not the stormy southeast or windy Midwest or dark northeast......
Only in SW is solar proven, a mild weather place. California has 2m solar roofs, Arizona 200,000, and rest of US another 300,000, so the safety of panels outside Southwest has NOT been established... .. weather is a bitch... . .....
Google new construction of homes and see all the defects that occur just doing the plain house......... I know this is not clear cut but it seems rooftop solar is dumb, to me, and it'll cause huge losses as storms roll thru and some work was bad..
I work in law office and proving bad work after a storm rolls thru is NOT simple and most won't try, so homeowner will have $50000 of ruin in upper half and no money, maybe..... Maybe.....
WATERBEDS!!!!!! I remember the waterbed craze of 70s, but they were badly built or installed so leaked, and landlords sued avg person for water damage, and eventually banned them as too risky a technology . If we can't build a safe enough waterbed in inside room, it seems likely we can't mount safely a huge solar panel to survive all weather. Right??
@amyself6678 ahh texas...that explains a lot.
For one most people don't have the yard space for a full solar array in their yard. I do understand Texans pride themselves on low density suburbs and consider urban spaces to be communism.
Also 500k houses? Most houses, new or old, don't cost that much. Median home prices in Texas is 348k, here in virginia it's over 400k but that's largely because of the DC suburbs skewing the metrics.
How do you prevent bad installs? Home inspections. If Walmart didn't catch it it's because they were asleep at the wheel. Something that could be easily solved through local regulation and building codes.
Also where you getting residential solar arrays consist of 10,000 lbs of metal? I have 17 Rec alpha black panels on my roof and that's a total weight of 765 pounds. The mounting brackets are light enough for a single person to carry up a later. At its worst the install would be no higher than 1,200 pounds on the roof with an additional 150 pounds on the wall near my meter for the breaker and utility hook ups.
Lastly texas isn't unique to hurricanes. I live in virginia and we get them as well. In fact we had a category 1 pass through a month ago. My uncle in florida's system jas survived multiple storms over the years. If roofs in Texas are so flimsy that cannot tolerate a category 1 storm then you need to up your building codes, but that would be considered communism by a texan.
At the end of the day you just hate solar and refuse to admit it.
WE ARE JUST THINKING ALOUD AND PREDICTING FUTURE. FUN. I WAS RAISED IN MN SO KNOW WEATHER CAN BE MEGA AWFUL AND HOMES MUST SURVIVE AWFUL OF 25 YEARS.
OK, solar may be tough to fit on grass yard. But I think in most they'll barely fit, build a pergola gazebo. Or mount VERTICAL facing south, and weirdly this barely decreases efficiency since it seems some photons get thru the backside of panel if you don't paint backside. """" A vertical bifacial solar panel is, simply, a panel with photovoltaic (PV) cells on both sides that is installed upright rather than horizontally to face east and west, so they generate electricity with sunlight that reaches one side in the morning and the other in the afternoon."""""" ITs lazy and dumb to assume a roof is only spot. Google backyard solar and see many examples.... I would yell this at my sister if she considered solar. Be honest it's crazy to say roof is only spot to consider...
Ok houses aren't $500000 on avg. But most solar people tend to be richer currently, so I'd bet their avg house is $500000. And the savings truly are small, $2000 a year x 25, and with costs and interest, so net about $25000 total gain. (Virgina power is $2400/yr, solar may net save half this, $1200, yes it's this low). It's not enough to bother and risk it. Math is math. Size matters
STORMS SUCK. Outside California less than 1% of houses have solar, so I do think soon we will see panels in storms ripping off roofs and ruining houses and killing people next door or inside house. . I'm pro solar but more pro safety OF CHILDREN AND HOUSES. In Houston after Hurricane Beryl there was piles of wood and shingles in stacks and town was mostly closed for 10 day. Many signs were tilted, Wendy's, liquor store, tipped over from the wind. Hurricane winds are mega powerful IN MY GUT AND BRAIN I KNOW SOLAR TIED TO ROOFS IS AWFUL IDEA. In south and yes Virginia there should not be solar on roofs......
INSPECTIONS AND CARE are hard and slow and usually skipped in practice. Google new home inspections, and see how builders have MANY defects they leave. In Arizona they passed laws saying if noticed the homeowner can demand a fix, so inspectors in Arizona really are helpful, but they must get in there in time and then poke and it's Hard and Time Consuming to inspect. Then it can take a year or more for the fix. US PEOPLE ESPECIALLY CONTRACTORS ARE JERKS AND MORONS. On TH-cam search Cy Porter a Arizona inspector, always finding same problems, broken roof tiles and cracked shower walls, so literally they're too lazy and profit hungry to stop to fix what they contractor notices and hopes will slide by.
Truly, just saying "be sure it's done right and have inspectors" is skipping over INSPECTIONS AND CAREFULNESS are rare and dont work well. Walmart didn't spot their issues!!!!! Also, inspectors can't always see the problem. Also, having to wait for inspector can add delay.....
In the south when solar rises past 1% we will see disasters and damage and deaths rise. I predict. I live on sailboat, I have a movable solar panel that keeps boat energized when I go out. But no way would I leave panel out during hurricane. Peace. WE WILL REGRET AND STOP ROOF SOLAR SOON, cuz we're being dumb and not putting in grass yard, so dumbness will cause the failure. Humans can be dumb. The tech if done smart would work (yard) but idiots are leading us, so it'll fail. I wish it weren't so, but like home wind power it'll be see as stupid idea..
insurance likely soon will double insurance cost if you do roof solar, maybe. Just like an EV is 50% more to insure , a house with solar will be costlier. By definition having a thing on roof is riskier than not having thing, right? 50%, 90%, 20% more, we soon will see.... Peace
An ICE mechanic talking about electricity . . . NOT AUTHORITATIVE!
11 years and counting. My system is paid off and it's gravy from now on. We have net metering here in Ohio and my electric bills are some of the lowest in the neighborhood, including charging my Tesla Model 3. Thanks, Ben, for exposing the BS artists that infect TH-cam.
Congrats Ken! Love hearing these stories...
It's not bs. You're in a perfect situation. The avg American can't afford or even get solar panels.
P.s. I'm happy you've had a good experience. Also, if you watch Scotty, you'll see he is non biased towards things.
You can't seem to ever hear this guy say a single bad thing about solar stuff. But you'll hear about Scottie say bad things and good things. No, Scotty isn't always right. But this guy tends to be VERY wrong towards General America.
Don't believe the hype.
@@Bears11422Can you please be a little more specific, what does this mean "you are in a perfect situation"?
You mean living in Ohio he's in a perfect geographical location?
It seems you're just living in the anti environmental bubble and only willing to listen to the things that are in confirmation with your bias.
If scotty is non bias then i am a tree @@Bears11422
@@sagm33 More specific?? The avg American can't afford or even get solar panels. Did you read this part ? Who's bias 🤡?
Installing solar panels may damage your roof when not done right. In fact, installing your roof may damage your roof when not done right. 😂😂
Solar may save $20000 over 20 years but slightly increases fire, leak, and wind risk to $500,000 house. Math matters. It's not worth the risk. In fact the panels should go in middle of years
One of the things to note - Some Solar groups have a bad rep due to how they do installations. One group tends to subcontract installers, and sometimes they don't do it necessarily correctly. There have been horror stories in my area about the company due to poor installation.
With that said, it is always good to 'shop around' with your installers, particularly ones who have their actual installers.
One of the other push points a few years ago was how some areas are doing 'Net Metering'. Like California, NEM 2.0 for people who installed prior to April of 2023, where power from solar being fed back to the grid would be almost 1 to 1 cost wise (IE: You get credit for the kW you feed into the system about the same as when you take it). However, California is now adopting NEM 3.0 where the excess power you are not using and feeding back to the grid is going to be significantly LESS than what you will pay when you ask for power.
This now leans to or encouraging people to go Solar + Battery. The battery system is the additional cost that tends to make people 'think twice' because it is a significant boost in price. However, there are benefits to having this paradigm other than 'power backup' as well.
Most solar installers who will do the solar + battery system, will give you a system that should power your house at night with the power that you DON'T use from solar. Solar would charge the battery back up, allowing you to use that stored power to mitigate the 'peak hour' usage (Which tends to be 1.8 to 2x what you pay for off-peak). And yes, it will also power the house when the power goes out.
As a person who went to Solar after NEM 3.0 for California was pushed, thus making me fall under the new compensation method versus being in the NEM 2.0 compensation (Which those people are locked in for a period of time) the cost of solar is reasonably noticeable when not forced under certain situations.
I will say, yes, foggy/overcast days, I am not getting as much power solar wise, but then again, I am also still 'grid tied'. I am not 'off the grid'. But looking at the power bill, solar reduced the bill by over half and that is with the fact that the solar + battery system we have does NOT move over everything.
The pre-lim Solar + Battery system focuses on 'critical loads'. Most critical loads for the house will be the 'basic electricity'. The standard outlets and lights in the house.
The things NOT usually put over are the double breaker or 40 amp loads. This being like Electric Clothing Dryers, Electric Ovens, HVAC, Electric Dishwashers, Electric Stoves and the like. The basic reason for this is they will pull a lot from the battery. As a note, most battery systems will put about 10-13 kW on the cheap end. You can put more, but the installers often size just enough to get you by for the next day.
The stuff that is NOT on the critical load side of things will still be tied to the Grid, so it isn't like you can't use those things, it means you don't necessarily eliminate your electric bill going solar.
But it does mean, your peak hour usage can be sized down for things running in the house that is under the critical load part.
Most of the good solar installer groups will size your system based on your 'needs', just keep in mind the definition of 'critical load' will not include the high load electrical appliances unless you ask them to add more battery capacity to allow for it if you are going to a Solar + Battery system.
More importantly on the claim to needing a battery backup, that's no more true for having Solar than for being 100% grid dependent. While you can have battery storage it's by no means a requirement, and the vast majority are just grid tied systems w/o battery backup.
Yes you are correct but a battery is worth having both for storage and because if the grid goes down you will still have power.
Unless you have really good net metering rates, kinda dumb not to go battery backup. Really maximizes the payback, not to mention outage backup.
He and you forgot to mention that solar combined with an ev will lead to even more benefits in the long term and those fuel savings go into the budget as well
Oddly a rare case where Australia can 1-up the US and say "30% of Australian houses have installed solar" +plus, "Installation costs at least HALF of what it does in the US"
I've had 6.6KW of LG panels installed for 10 years ... its awesome and theres no maintenance.
Our local power authorities are less "restrictive" in exporting to the Grid (than US it seems), but they don't pay you much. Best savings are from using the solar yourself during the day. i.e. bigger loads like Cooling or Heating via Heat Pumps, also very common in Australia
Another thing folks can look out for are "Solar group buy" events if your city is holding one. Basically a bunch of people in an area sign up with one installer who can order solar equipment in bulk, and then do the installs for likely less than if you tried to get quotes yourself from multiple companies.
Another thing to look out for are Community solar programs. Basically the local power company sets up a field with a lot of solar panels, and you can pay to get power from there. Great for folks who live in an apartment or rent, or if their house isn't a good fit for solar due to small roof or say, trees blocking sunlight on your roof.
Hopefully they incorporate that with solar canopies where you put solar panels above parking lots to make more use out of that area, and shade cars underneath, lowering how much fuel/electricity they need to use to cool their cabin down on hot sunny days.
If his hands are flailing, he’s probably not telling the whole truth😂
Actually, it's really easy to tell whether he is lying. You can see his lips move.
@@humnpwr lol
I noticed a lot of older people are like this. They want nothing to change. I also believe fossil fuel are paying some of these people 😮
im young, and they are trying to reinvent the wheel but with broken glass.
I'm one of those older people and yes I thought this was true but I've noticed that most drivers of EVs are old.
A bit is coming from the fact that EVs basically spy on everything you do, and there’s no option of getting one which is basic
@@candaceilove id sell all the tesla shares before it flops, its going to be impossible to insure EV's
@@misham6547Chevy Bolt & Nissan Leaf are very basic
My solar payment plus the cost of electricity is less than what I paid for electricity before I got solar.
Sounds like financial windfall. What is your household income & what state do you live? Thanks
I would have thought that this is only possible when the standing charges (all the fixed rates) of your electric bill, are proportionally a small part of your bill. Because you only save on the consumption part of the bill.
The greater the proportion of the bill is fixed charges, the harder it is for the saving to be more than the cost of the loan.
Good stuff - facts and data matter.
When I purchased my solar system, I did not look at "payback period". I looked at mitigating increasing electrical costs over the next 10 years. Basically I wanted to flatline my electric cost. With that said, I also have 2 EV's which I am not paying gas for I am saving over $600 a month so in my case my payback period is 6 years. I also have battery backup so that I am not without power.
If electric goes as I expect it, that payback will narrow quickly. Solar isn't for everybody as where you live has to factor and how many "sun" hours you get. I live in Florida so we do pretty well.
Do forget about the increased value of your home because of the system. My ROI is 11 years just from saving but with the home value increase it's 4 years and I have 2 EVs so if you count the gas savings the solar system has already paid for itself in the first year.
That is a good point. I charted my Electric rate increases over the past 10 years and projected future increases reducing my ROI period for my solar install.
So buy 2 EV, move to Florida, make north of 100k per year. "Solar isn't for everybody" agreed
@@Powdermonkey99
I would not recommend Florida, too many hurricanes. Texas is nice. My Class A CDL got me enough to buy a home plus my wife works. Then I got solar panels and powerwalls to save on electricity. Got an EV a few years later that I can charge for free at home. Take it one step at a time.
I dont think Scotty should talk about anything other than cars. He is a mechanic...not an electrical engineer or solar/electrical engineerq. If anything panels can extend the life of a roof and also help with heat in attic thus reducing cooling expenses.
Our Solar Panels make our electricity cheaper, including the loan repayments, than the electric bill as it would have been.
Our 10 kwh system was $17000 for a prepaid 20 year lease. It paid for itself in 4.5 years. This was in 2013. Been free electricity since.
Wow! you pay alot for solar systems in the US. I had a 6.6 kw system installed on my roof 3 years ago in Western Australia, at a cost of $4600 AUD ($3067 USD). After govt rebates.
In Summer I can produce approx 42kw per day.
Solar panels last 20 years at least. Thx for the video Ben.
I still can't believe how expensive solar systems are in the US. You can get a 12kW system installed for around $10,000 AUD here in Australia. What's going on up there?
To get the tax rebates, you have to use a "licensed solar installer". Guess how that happened.
In Australia, you can get a 10 kw system for 7 thousand AUD.
my 10.3kw system cost $28k before the 30% federal tax, so $19.6. No Batteries. I get SREC payments, that is about $40/SREC. SREC is 1 mwh. I should produce 13 SREC/year. 13*40 = $520/year. Rate of return should be ~ 8 years.
My solar panels are awesome and would never go back. I actually got lucky to rent mine from Tesla. Best deal ever.
So Scotty says not to trust anybody that is trying to sell you something like a salesman saying that the solar credits are going away soon?
Yet himself he is trying to sell you something so obvious that it's not even funny!
Here's an ROI data point for the Portland, Oregon area (where it's supposedly always rainy and cloudy 😀)
I got my 8.16kW solar installed in mid-2021. My costs were:
Fully installed invoice total: $16,400
Oregon incentive: $2,400
Federal tax credit: $3,614
Net cost: $10,386
Below is my energy generation data for the last full 3 years
8.16kW solar system
Year 1: 10,522 kWh
Year 2: 10,085 kWh
Year 3: 10,891 kWh
That is an average of 28.75 kWh / day
My electric company is Portland General which has 1:1 net metering and is roughly $0.18/kWh, including all taxes and fees.
Based on this rough rate, I have generated almost $5,700 worth of electricity for the last 3 full years.
Along with many others, my costs are being offset greatly by having a fully EV household and not paying for gas. So I don’t think I’m doing too bad. 😀
Scott's channel is just entertainment to me. I never have took him serious.
I already spent about $20,000 in Solar Panels, Inverters and Batteries. I will recover that back in 4 years. And while at it, I get to charge my EV for FREE which brings my ROI even shorter. Furthermore, I get to open my AC whole day long for the added living comfort.
9:30 "If you suffer frequent power outages, solar won't cut it, you'll need a backup battery to store energy for any long downtime periods". Well obviously, but that's a statement that applies to every house connected to the grid. Solar panels or not makes no difference.
Installation costs are a ripoff. It is far less expensive to buy used solar panels & set them on the ground.
In my local neck of the woods, there is so much social sentiment against solar and EV etc. Our local fire department said they will not enter a home if it has solar panels on roof for the fear of danger of collapse from the weight of panels. When my PHEV broke down, the tow truck driver gave me a lecture how stupid I was for buying a hybrid.
We've got work to do!
A tow truck driver you say.
@@BenSullinsOfficial Yup. I got him to be quiet after I told him how much money I saved anually on gas and the fact that the tow and repairs on my car are all covered under the warranty and not costing me a dime.
@@johnnyquid-xj4kk Yea, I bet that loser makes less than 50K a year 🤣🤪
@@BenSullinsOfficial Smell like regulation: Roof load ratings, fire suppression system , thermal runaway drywall, Solar system insurance 👍
I paid $10,773 for my Tesla 3.78 kW solar system in 2019. I got the 30% tax credit so it was about $7500 after the tax credit. I now pay about $300 a year to SDGE for electricity. That covers my house including electric car, electric oven and electric dryer. I believe it paid for itself after the third year. It definitely makes sense here in San Diego. I did get on NEM 2.0 but with the NEM 3.0 change in California you’ll have to get batteries which I think will double the cost and pay back period.
For me, my business needs would justify a battery system alone since a power outage could impact productivity and possibly damage sensitive equipment like computers.
my micro system has run my home and workshop for 20 years. Its grown over the years and is currently just on 1kw panels and 600Ah of lithium batteries - for a cost of under $3000nz - that is $2000 us
In my part of Ontario Canada I got a quote for about $10K installed, my neighbour put panels on his house a few years ago and it was about the same price
Where in Ontario and how big a system? Kinda curious as I am in the Ottawa area and just have a heat pump installed.
@@bossman6174 Just west of Toronto, I cannot remember the size of the system, now as I didnt go thorough with it. , The company was working with Lowes at the time. My house is about 1100 sq/ft. I didnt go thorugh with because shortly after Lowes announced they were leaving Canada.
I got solar on my roof in Tampa in 2017, I drove a Chevy VOLT, then a full electric BOLT, and my roof has powered my car the entire time.
I've had home solar for the last year and I enjoy it quite a bit. I overdid my system a bit and went with batteries because I was having pretty frequent power outages in my area. Since installing last year I've had 3 blackouts, one for about 10 mins, one for about 4 hours and one for a whole 48 hours. I never lost power and my batteries kept my electricity on the whole time. I'm a huge fan of solar and if you are in the southern part of the US I highly recommend it.
Having survived two week long outages this year, I advise you see what your power generation is like on rainy overcast days. If it 's under your usage, I recommend a small propane backup generator and a couple tanks of propane. If you are generating enough power even on a bad day, then never mind.
@@macmcleod1188 Yea, In the fall and spring I don't use the grid at all. Summer gets close but is about 90% covered. Two weeks would be roughest in winter. The excess demand would use more electricity than I can store up.
Every other time of year I have enough battery capacity to cover it. Overcast days usually generate about half of what a full sunny day does, but I don't use that much. The only time I get no generation is on rainy days. Right now I have a bunch of credits stored up just from selling excess power to the grid.
@@Ravespillo The nice thing about propane is that it is easy maintenance and the tanks are good for 10 years.
Oh, and my two weeks were one week each. One from a Hurricane and One from a wind storm (Derecho) that knocked many old large trees over a 60 mile by 25 mile area over many power lines.
The problem was exacerbated because our power company Centerpoint appears to have been putting money meant for Tree maintenance into executive and stock holder pockets.
You could develop a plan to shut down portions of your house and only heat them to 33 degrees. More insulation and better windows might help close the gap.
One low extreme risk is taking a lightning strike and losing your panels like that other couple here on TH-cam.
But an emergency generator is hard to beat and even a tiny cheap one generates 1000kw per hour (24kwh per day).
@@macmcleod1188 Agreed, I got a buddy down here that has a generac and it kept his home going during that same 48 hour outage. It's a great solution, but I've also considered a wood burning insert for my fireplace as well since 80% of my energy usage is solely coming from heat and a/c.
I do like propane but when it gets really really cold here my emergency electric heating can pull up to 25kw per hour in the extreme and about 13kw/h between 10 and 32 degrees and even a good propane generator would struggle with that much draw. I need to swap over to propane heating. If I did, my batteries would last multiple weeks on one charge as I have 52kw of storage in those batteries.
@@macmcleod1188 It's also extremely dangerous. If you really need it then a diesel generator is better. In outback Australia solar/batteries and generator are becoming the norm - no grid connection.
I watched a couple Scotty videos a couple years ago and when he started to talk about EV's I was reminded of this quote "Mr. Scotty, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
Scotty’s been inhaling to much exhaust fumes from his ICE vehicle, you can’t take him seriously, he’s only online for entertainment purposes.
The simple truth is FUD makes money and Scotty doesn’t have a moral compass to guide him. Either that or he REALLY doesn’t want a real job
I like the direction your channel is going. Thank you for the helpful info.
Scottie, I can slip and fall and crack my head open in the shower. Yes, it's true!
These days , good installers , will NOT install an array if you need a new roof.. Lots of folks out there think a solar array will fix their $#itty , leaky roof...
My panels have paid from the self after 2 years Ground mount i share the data with anyone who wants to see it...
What the hell does someone like Scotty Kilmer know about power-generating devices like solar panels ? He's overstepping his own area of expertise with this one I guess. I remember watching his videos for most of the time back in the days when he was still putting a relatively decent content of actual car repairs not pointless conspiratorial rants.
I bought an EV precisely because I was tired of dealing with mechanics like Scotty.
Solid points as usual. I am not a tax expert, but I did look it up, and in CA you cannot get the 30% tax deduction for reroofing your home unless the roof is damaged, and even then it is just for the material under the solar panels, and doesn't cover roof install labor (just materials).
Among the many factors to consider before installing solar are your age and how long you expect to stay in the home. These can affect your return on investment.
Yes, and another factor to consider is how much you care about your grandchildren, or other people's grandkids.
Because, how quickly we stop burning fossil fuels will determine how much food your great grandkids will have to eat for dinner. That's the basic situation we're in.
But your home value will increase, in many cases by the cost of the system. So if you include your home's appreciation in value your ROI could be 1 or 2 years.
Scotty, why even bother with him?
Across the pond the cheaper solar systems cost around £5k but we have lower consumption.
I use to watch Scotty's videos way back when but since i got into solar/EV's and since he posted all these bogus videos i dont care for his point of view anymore.
Here in the UK you can get 4kw installed for under £5k. My panels generate around £1000 worth of electricity per annum.
There are so many factors that can add significantly more to the cost. Also, installers often use lower grade equipment to try to maximize the profit. If you can DIY is the way to go.
I used to live in rural upstate Maine. No streetside power. I really don't remember it costing $20,000+. My guess is its contractor costs. I bought all the components in piecemeal. It was maybe $10,000 and I installed it myself. The home was a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, kitchen dinning living room combo, with a 2nd level loft. Pellet stove heat. Are plenty of TY vids on how to
Can't believe how expensive solar is in the US compared to Australia. Payback for me is only about 6 years between no electricity bills and no gas for my car.
24 x 440 W panels, 15 kWh battery and the inverter etc approx US$16k
But all this assumes you can have that money up front
My solar 24 panels + battery 10 Kw cost about 17.600 USD with installation. But I live in Denmark.
I literally just priced a pallet of panels, modest set of batteries, a charge controller and all the wiring required for a DC system and it comes out to less than 8,000$ An AC system with inverters at this size would still definitely be under 10k
Now, that's without commercial installation, because my system will be off the grid (something anyone can do to power certain appliance even if their house is on grid) and thus I don't have to worry about permits and grid feedback liability.
I'd be really interesting to see Scotty in a debate or even a discussion with someone like yourself.
Probably not very useful - Scotty will just make stuff up off the cuff.
I'd love to bring people on to have a fact based discussion. It's tough tho as not many people base their views on facts :(
@@BenSullinsOfficial facts are necessary to bring exaggerations back to reality. I appreciate your approach on calmly debunking guys like Scotty. I'd certainly like to see more discussions with people who have different views, find common ground, and agree to disagree on things.
I'd even like to help
One lesson I learned from my attending during residency was to not engage “dumb” people, yelling at the wall is just as useful.
This is a discussion with Scotty. The only difference it avoids the inevitable name calling and evasions that would occur.
Our 6.3kwh system cost $4000 au , In a little over 4 years it has covered its own cost plus about $2000 extra . I think PV panells used in the right way are fantastic . Certianly saved me a lot of money .
Producing Toyotas doesn't create any pollution at all, I thought.
on if they are 1994 Celicas.
😅
Do they make non-polluting excavator for strip mining 😅
@@Powdermonkey99 I can't tell if you are attempting to make a serious point or being sarcastic. Either way it is an opportunity for me to chime in about mining. The mining industry is in the process of converting to battery electric. MacLean, Caterpillar, Sandvik, Epiroc, Liebherr Group, Komatsu, Rokion, Miller Technology, Artisan Vehicles and others make battery electric mining equipment.
I appreciate when you provide resources that we can use to evaluate our own situation. I wonder how fast solar tech is improving nowadays. I don't want to regret getting something that becomes outdated in a year or so.
Solar panels and inverters are pretty mature at this point. After all they were invented in 1881!
The trick to peace of mind in the tech era, is to think in terms of what your device is doing for you. And not think about how it compares to every other device.
A little research is all it takes to find a good choice that will work well for a long time.
Improvements in solar tech are incremental. By the time your equipment is "outdated," it will have saved you tens of thousands of dollars, and even then, it will still be saving you thousands per year.
What is already outdated, is giving all your money to your local power monopoly.
I'm on the fence. I have a DIY PV install and the difference between a rainy day vs a sunny day is massive, 280Wh vs 2 kWh where I am in the UK. Overall I'm happy with the returns from the install but its just a hobby thing and it was never designed to payback anything.
My smart tariff complicates things significantly too, simply adding batteries to charge when the the grid is green and use when its not would make more sense on a tariff like this.
The panels may be guaranteed for 25 years. However the inverter .... :-). I'm on my 3rd inverter. Still, with my small system, it paid back for itself after 13 years of operation (and that's including the cost of the replacement inverters) and it's still going strong.
My 6kw system before tax incentives was 10k
Most people are not home during the day when solar power is produced... When using lithium batteries for the needed night time power requirements, the total costs are pretty incredibly expensive.
It depends on where you live. I have had my system for 4 years and it has already paid for itself.
ok, so you don't know how it works, I will help you. Any excess power you produce that is not used, gets put back into the grid. At the end of the month you are billed based on how much you used MINUS how much you put into the grid. A proper sized systems means you pay zero or close to it.
You don't have to buy lithium batteries you can buy deep cycle lead acid batteries instead.
@@paulc6766
But those require regular maintenance and can leak. LFP batteries are the best option for stationary storage.
Makes me wonder if he is being paid by the fossil fuel industry!
Maybe but he's worth 10 million. I think he's just biased.
most probably true
How much is a solar system? How long is a piece of string?
Get a quote!
2:54 Whew! Thanks for warning me that having an opaque panel placed between my shingles and the sun would be more damaging than having the sun broil them directly every day!
I pay 7.6c per kW. That makes solar about a 20+ year ROI. Yes I would be hedging against energy price increases in the future; however, by waiting I could also get newer, better, and potentially cheaper tech when it becomes more reasonable.
It also helps that my grid is surprisingly green. Having two nuclear plants nearby helps a ton with that.
My solar panels paid for themselves in 5 years - thanks to PG&E's crazy rates. In some areas where electricity is cheaper, it might not make sense. Where I live it is a no-brainer.
Scotty is pretty much right. I have them with reputable company and installer and have issues . Hurricane debbie loosened panels. If bird poops on panel or just needs a good cleaning your up in roof a few times a year . One small cloud will drop almost 30pct in watts. Maybe a smaller investment in solar panels and is good for a supplement but the payback isn’t there yet
I've tried to watch Scotty Kilmer's videos before and I just can't do it. He's an alarmist, usually with flawed data.
Scotty just seems to rant. Little he’s said about EVs or energy is correct based on my own experience
It's really sad that he feels the need to spread this bogus info.
@@davidmenasco5743 Yes. Many people don’t think critically. I’m my opinion rooftop solar can definitely provide all the energy needed to run a home and an EV can pretty much serve all your transportation needs with a couple of exceptions. The cost to do this was pretty high and may not be in the reach of many but the prices are coming down.
I believe TH-cam monetizes video watching and so there are a lot of semi bogus reviews out there. But I do really like Ben Sullins and his considerate presentation of the observations
My comment above is for California
Systems from 3.5k here in Europe, 1 day install before incentives
We paid 120.000 SEK equals 10.000 USD for a 10 kWp setup in 2021. Including a 10 kWh battery. Sweden based.
Why is he saying you need $25,000 for a solar system. A 10kW solar system costs $25,000 but a home doesn't need that much solar panels. 6kW is more than enough. Which is only 12,000-15,000 dollars.
I _highly_ recommend buying (purchase) your solar install. Don't sign up for a PPA as long as there is a federal incentive program in place. Also, ask about financing options and fees associated - try to get a "cash" price if possible. Those often require high interest rates - like a car loan. But, to get the "low" interest rates you are often paying an enormous loan origination fee - sometimes an extra $15k. Not all solar installers will tell you about this and lure you in with an amazing interest rate. Buyer beware.
Most decent solar installers warrant their work, including any potential roof damage from installation. I would check with your home owner's insurance to make sure they are still good with it or change companies - don't make assumptions here. The rack does mitigate heat generated by the panels, but make sure your installer puts a skirt around it so birds don't nest under them.
Warranty - some solar installers warranty beyond the manufacturer. For example, the company I used covers both the panels and battery for the full 25 years - although the battery's warranty from the manufacturer is only 10 years. So, there is a possible 15 gap if my installer isn't around in 10 years. It's a fair point, but I understand this.
Like you point out, creating anything damages the planet in some way. The stuff you ordered off Amazon 2-day prime has an environmental cost - because _everything_ does. My understanding, the environmental "break even" point for solar panels is about 3 years.
For me, I work from home and run a small business here too, so the battery backup was a huge perk that I could have justified half the cost on its own. My last system in another state was entirely grid-tied, which meant that I could not benefit from solar when the power was out because it might shock the linemen.
For me, if you _plan_ to be in your home for 10 years or more, solar can make a lot of sense - especially if you live in a high sunshine state and your electrical rates are close the national average or higher. It might still make sense in other areas but you will likely have a much longer ROI. Then, there are really cheap electricity areas - like my father lives in SE Alabama and his rate is about 9 cents per kWh. So, for him, the financial RIO would be super long (15+ years).
For me, my current rates are actually below the national average (14 cents per kWh) but I don't expect that to be the case for much longer. The other utilities in my state are switching to a time-of-day usage model and thus it is just a matter of time before that happens here. I installed a decent system that covers about 60% of my current usage, but I do plan to expand my system in the next few years - which I worked out with my installer.
LOL - 7kw is about $3500 in Australia. Full installed.
> solar is expensive, tell that to 3 million families in Australia
While here in Australia we have roof top solar. I have one on my roof for the last 15 years. The most amazing invention and charges my Teslas.
Scotty is a fast talker and frustrating to listen to his voice (cadence) . Thanks for the translating and the good information. Solar panels is on my list of projects for the coming months.
The craziest part of this is Scotty lives in MA just like me, but there's no mention that we have 100% net metering for up to 10kw, with up to 2MW of rollover credit, and typical power rates of ~$0.33/kwh. It's very easy to breakeven in 3yrs. I installed my own 10kw system and my breakeven will be 1.5yrs. The only folks here who buy home batteries are those who want back up power. We have no TOU rates. IMHO....the people who are getting screwed are those who can't or won't get solar.
I've been a regular viewer of Scotty's. it's apparent by the images he inserts in videos he leans right and when it comes to certain topics, a Luddite. It's best to just take him as a good explainer at how to fix your ICE car. Everything else he's a fish trying to operate an elevator.
Good to see that Scotty actually knows what he’s talking about. Thanks.
I wonder what the payback time is for, say a gas boiler? anyone?
Thank you very much, Ben, for this video. I wonder what is motivating Scotty, whether it’s just the TH-cam audience or whether someone is compensating him for this BS. I do have a question for you, though: As I would likely have to take out a loan, how might this affect my time till I’ve broke even and what’s left is free energy?! Keep up the good work!
Scotty has turned into just another old fart yelling at clouds for clicks. That’s about it.
There's a whole lot of things being left unsaid😮😢
Solar panels can save your roof because the roof is not exposed to the sun or rain.
Installed my Solar Panels in 2011 - 12 panels 3.2KWh peak. cost £9000. Paid for themselves in saved electricity and export rebate in 4.5 years. They are 13 years old and still provide over half my used power. Inefficient compared to modern panels, but still running at about 95% of original input. Superb Investment.
This is pretty timely since Sunpower is going bankrupt. Our solar system uses Maxeon panels, but Sunpower installed monitoring hardware and software. We have to now upgrade to Maxeon hardware and software at a cost of $1200 in order to be able to continue monitoring our system and provide warranty coverage. Not a huge deal, but certainly an unexpected cost that will drive our payback schedule up another 6 months or so.
From my personal experience, if anyone is curious, the federal solar tax credit is not refundable, but a credit, that means that you can only be refunded what you paid in. So for instance, if I paid in 8k to the fed for income tax and I bought a system for 50k, then I would get that 8k back since the credit is 30%. The remainder can be carried over, year over year. I just used up the last of my credit last tax year for example. I know services like HR Block online will automatically carry it forward for you if you use them for those years in a row, making it easy.