Solar Power

RXN · Nov 11, 2018

Anyone take advantage of that solar panel rebate?

one of my facebook friends posted a Solar ninjas energy solutions ad.

So that got my wheels turning, how much can I save if I went solar?

With out looking at my place they told me projects range from $15,000.00 to $65,000.00, most being around $35,000.00
This is only supplying 50 - 80% of a homes annual electrical use. and about 15% - 20% during winter months (December/January)

They mentioned the government rebate (which I would have to use, as no way do I have any money tucked away for this, or anything) The rebate program they said will end in 2019. Looks like the rebate is only up to $10,000.00???

Looking at my past 12 month power consumption, in a year i use roughly 10,000kWh, about $1,500.00 a year in power.

Is it worth it to go into debt to try and save a little? Has anyone done this? is it worth it?

FastFarmer · Nov 11, 2018

RXN said:
Anyone take advantage of that solar panel rebate?

one of my facebook friends posted a Solar ninjas energy solutions ad.

So that got my wheels turning, how much can I save if I went solar?

With out looking at my place they told me projects range from $15,000.00 to $65,000.00, most being around $35,000.00
This is only supplying 50 - 80% of a homes annual electrical use. and about 15% - 20% during winter months (December/January)

They mentioned the government rebate (which I would have to use, as no way do I have any money tucked away for this, or anything) The rebate program they said will end in 2019. Looks like the rebate is only up to $10,000.00???

Looking at my past 12 month power consumption, in a year i use roughly 10,000kWh, about $1,500.00 a year in power.

Is it worth it to go into debt to try and save a little? Has anyone done this? is it worth it?

simple answer is no, unless you have a tiny home and are a snow bird then it would help if your kWh cost paid back to you was fair...I’ll leave it at that for now.

slededjr · Nov 11, 2018

I don’t think so. Those govt rebates are dicey too. They had one this year for converting lights (fixtures) over to LED. It took almost 4 months from start to finish for the one and then found out once we completed the first about to do a few more the program was now cancelled we were told. Try make it very difficult during the entire process to get anywhere. Probably were hoping they’d piss me off enough so that I’d quit and forget about it? Nope, hung in there and finally got the rebate cheque a couple weeks ago.
Not to say the solar panels would be the same BS but it may be.

FastFarmer · Nov 11, 2018

slededjr said:
I don’t think so. Those govt rebates are dicey too. They had one this year for converting lights (fixtures) over to LED. It took almost 4 months from start to finish for the one and then found out once we completed the first about to do a few more the program was now cancelled we were told. Try make it very difficult during the entire process to get anywhere. Probably were hoping they’d piss me off enough so that I’d quit and forget about it? Nope, hung in there and finally got the rebate cheque a couple weeks ago.
Not to say the solar panels would be the same BS but it may be.

it just doesn’t work in Canada, parts and pieces and if you want something cool for yard lighting or to big wheel some smile from friends then absolutely it’s cool.. but to save energy costs, it’s a minimal market that can do it and make it work. We do a ton of solar...just nothing on top of a house because it’s a big cost even with the reduction on materials and improvements on panels. Now an illuminated path for the kids to catch the bus hooked up to motion sensors and multi change lights...cool for sure. Soffit lighting that sets the mood or yard and garden stuff, you betcha.

drew562 · Nov 11, 2018

My friend heads up the Alberta solar for a huge energy supplier. He’s selling millions of dollars in subsidized solar to counties,city’s and businesses. He doesn’t have a care In the world about money as he has been stinking rich for many years. He still doesn’t have solar on his own home. That’s proof to me it’s not worth it.

FastFarmer · Nov 12, 2018

drew562 said:
My friend heads up the Alberta solar for a huge energy supplier. He’s selling millions of dollars in subsidized solar to counties,city’s and businesses. He doesn’t have a care In the world about money as he has been stinking rich for many years. He still doesn’t have solar on his own home. That’s proof to me it’s not worth it.

Its just something neat to do, and a good way to spend some cash.

ferniesnow · Nov 12, 2018

If I am correct, you may get a T4 slip for the grant money. That's something not a lot of people think about.

This was a few years ago, but my dad did windows and blown-in insulation on a brick house with a Federal program. Sure enough the following spring along came a T4 for the full amount of the grant.

Caper11 · Nov 12, 2018

What about the power thats sold back to the grid, I think thats what fernie was getting at by the t4 slip???

I still dont think its worth it. 40g to 80g to put in a decent system. Then to find space for the battery bank and converters.
The municipality of wood buffalo has carports built out of solar panels, which I thought was neat.

DUS · Nov 12, 2018

I wouldn’t do it. Don’t forget about maintenance costs as well. At some point in its life you’ll definitely need to spend money on maintaining and or fixing something that breaks or doesn’t work properly. Those panels also have a life span and don’t last forever. I think some people don’t factor in some of these extra costs it will take down the road. Don’t think of it as a one time install price and you’re done.

ferniesnow · Nov 12, 2018

Caper11 said:
What about the power thats sold back to the grid, I think thats what fernie was getting at by the t4 slip???

I was getting at the fact that the "grant money" was taxed. I am not familiar with it but it is just my feelings about what happened to my dad and one of the sneaky ways the government acts.

drew562 · Nov 12, 2018

West Ed mall is getting a huge solar package done as soon as they can Weasel more subsidized money from the city and province. Since we all pay taxes for the city and province we already have done our part. Lol

Dawizman · Nov 12, 2018

It's a green hype at this point. You'll never get your money out of it in our climate, especially if you have someone else putting it in. I've built out my fair share of remote solar sites, and they are worth it just for the cost savings of building power out to a site. For a home, however, its going to have to come down another 50% or more before you will see any financial benefit.

52weekbreak · Nov 12, 2018

From what I have gathered, it is less expensive to just be hooked to the grid at the current price of electricity. Generally speaking the price of electricity will go up and the cost of solar has come down but still a marginal proposition at best and a loser at worst.

If you are running power into a rural property it might make more sense at the cost of installation of grid hook up. The biggest challenge is storage and that is far from "fixed" and where all of the maintenance is. The panels themselves apparently last 20 to 25 years or better. http://sroeco.com/solar/solar-efficiency-losses-over-time/

Like every other piece of technology, improvements in the product seem to go hand in hand with lower costs. I just picked up a 65" HD flat screen TV with everything I could possibly want and even more stuff I will never use for about $1,100. My brother bought a 42 inch Sony plasma screen around 2001 and paid about $13,000 at that time so the intervening 17 years lots changed.

I imagine this will come around eventually.

DaveB · Nov 12, 2018

If you dig into solar power “projects” done over the years, most are abandoning as soon as the gov’t funding goes away. There’s projects in Nevada (and Arizona?) sitting un-used because the kickbacks ended making them not feasible....and these are sunny parts of the world.

doorfx · Nov 12, 2018

Talk to a realtor or three. Most home values increase 5-8% with a solar system in the $18,000 installed , price range. $500,000 x 5-8% = nice equity. That is without the rebate factored in.
You can do a lot of the labor yourself as well to cut costs.
Solar panels perform better up to 22c than at 30c so hot climates are not the best for solar.
With micro inverter technology the power is converted from DC to AC on your roof. Each panel has its own micro inverter so it’s simple to add to your system down the road. No more expensive wiring or string inverters. You don’t store electricity ( no batteries required), it is fed back into the grid.
Solar is not there yet, but it will be soon. It will be interesting to see what happens to power costs once the NDP is GONE!

Lunch_Box · Nov 12, 2018

Unless you can get completely off the grid there is no point to solar or geothermal or any of these clean energy sources in my opinion. Look at your monthly electric or gas bill, you are spending more is transfer fees, line charges, administration fees... then the actual product being used. So if you can get off give grid completely then m I'd say go for it, otherwise you won't save anything.

Cdnfireman · Nov 12, 2018

pretty much a bad idea all around....the power generated and fed back into the grid goes into a "bank" for energy companies to buy should they feel the need to... they don't have to, and its at a much lower rate than what you pay the utilities for their electricity....
there's insurance considerations as well.... if you don't get an engineering inspection certifying that your roof structure is capable of supporting the load, your insurance will not cover any failures....drilling a bunch of holes Into your roof is never a good idea.... and when it comes time to re- roof your house, you can double the cost as you have to remove and then re-install the solar system, and the roofer probably won't guarantee his work because someone came behind him and put a bunch of holes in the roof.....and the list goes on.....

RXN · Nov 12, 2018

Dawizman said:
It's a green hype at this point. You'll never get your money out of it in our climate, especially if you have someone else putting it in. I've built out my fair share of remote solar sites, and they are worth it just for the cost savings of building power out to a site. For a home, however, its going to have to come down another 50% or more before you will see any financial benefit.

yeah thats what i gather, over 20years before i start to see any cost savings. really not wroth it

Cdnfireman · Nov 12, 2018

doorfx said:
Talk to a realtor or three. Most home values increase 5-8% with a solar system in the $18,000 installed , price range. $500,000 x 5-8% = nice equity. That is without the rebate factored in.
You can do a lot of the labor yourself as well to cut costs.
Solar panels perform better up to 22c than at 30c so hot climates are not the best for solar.
With micro inverter technology the power is converted from DC to AC on your roof. Each panel has its own micro inverter so it’s simple to add to your system down the road. No more expensive wiring or string inverters. You don’t store electricity ( no batteries required), it is fed back into the grid.
Solar is not there yet, but it will be soon. It will be interesting to see what happens to power costs once the NDP is GONE!

So what's the advantage if you can't use your own electricity? and I wouldn't be to sure about believing that factoid about return on investment from a realtor.....ask yourself if you'd pay 8% more for a house with solar panels on it....personally I would walk away from a house with a solar system, not pay more for it....

gunner3006 · Nov 12, 2018

You also need to read the fine print. Most solar panels have a relatively short life span. A costly endeavour that most people lose on. There are a select few that make it work.

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