9 replies to this topic

[Hydrotopia]

Solar Systems of Louisiana offers 250 watt panels for $239 a piece. That's for what they call "mono-like" crystalline, which is a new process that isn't exactly pure ingot silicon but is a hybrid process that produces the benefit of monocrystalline cells at much less cost. The site offers polycrystalline panels as cheap as 63 cents a watt in bulk. These panels are ridicluously cheap and now manifest cost effectiveness towards coal.

[Phil]

You think that's great?   Check these prices out!

http://www.sunelec.com/

That's where I bought mine.

[eds]

Phil, on 25 February 2013 - 08:19 AM, said:

You think that's great?   Check these prices out!

http://www.sunelec.com/

That's where I bought mine.

Phil, did you check the panels with a multimeter.
. . . there's a set of youtube video's (1 thru 6 ) that test the panels and
. . . show that they didn't produce the claimed energy.
. . . here's the first video of the set.

[Phil]

Mine produce the full 8KW that the inverter is capable of in the summer,  My sistem is performing much better than expected.  There are different grades you can buy.  A and B are warranteed full ouput and full warrantee.  B means cosmetic flaws only.  I don;t know what C or below grades consist of.

What I ended up with were grade A Evergreen, now Sovello.

[eds]

WOW!  Annually you paid for electricity,
$1,600. before solar (Plus the TAX's you pay for earning that money)
-$228. after solar (Plus the TAX's you pay for earning that money)
----------
$1,372. you made (Plus the TAX's you Don't have to pay for earning that money)
. . . (Plus whatever the price of electricity increases are, for the next 25 to 30 years and that TAX's)
. . . (Plus Freedom from grid power outages, their costs and that TAX's)

That was a very clever financial move.
. . . You bought an ASSET, that keeps on giving.

[Phil]

I paid $1200/yr before solar, $250 afterwards.  Payback about seven years.  That was also before I switched to LED's.

[eds]

Phil, on 02 March 2013 - 12:02 AM, said:

I paid $1200/yr before solar, $250 afterwards.  Payback about seven years.  That was also before I switched to LED's.

Annually you paid for electricity,
$1,200. before solar (Plus the TAX's you pay for earning that money)
-$250. after solar (Plus the TAX's you pay for earning that money)
----------
$950. you made (Plus the TAX's you Don't have to pay for earning that money)
. . . (Plus whatever the price of electricity increases are, for the next 25 to 30 years and that TAX's)
. . . (Plus Freedom from grid power outages, their costs and that TAX's)

That was a very clever financial move.
. . . You bought an ASSET, that creates energy, where it's used,
. . . cutting out distribution and maintenance costs.
But then, you balanced the systems, energy generation with usage, by switching to LED's,
. . . improving the total efficiency, and paying yourself a sweet dividend,
. . . for the next 25 to 30 years.(also not taxable)

As a retirement package,
. . . that would stack up nicely against most 401K's (With their Tax's and FEE's)

I paid $800. a year for electricity last year,
. . . using power strips to shut off the appliances that use electricity when their turned off, and
. . . florescent lights instead of incandescent lights.
For most people, doing what you have done, would be ideal,
. . . the stumbling block is, getting all the money up front.

[Phil]

The up front cost is definitely the one stumbling block for solar.  That's why I advocate dropping the 30% tax credit and using the money to fund zero interest conversion loans instead.  Solar is cheap enough now that the federal incentive isn't really needed, a decent state incentive combined with net metering will do the trick.  Anyone building a new home should definitely load up on solar, the minor increase in monthly mortgage payments will be more than made up for in monthly electric bill savings.

[eds]

Phil, on 02 March 2013 - 08:29 AM, said:

I advocate dropping the 30% tax credit

30% Tax credit doesn't work for BabyBoomers,
. . . who are retiring by the thousands daily, and
. . . their the largest segment of the population,
. . . who will need to lower their energy bills the most.

[Phil]

I agree.  I think solar would explode if people were given the option to make a loan payment instead of an electric bill payment.  As you said, the loan payment would go towards owning an asset.  Electric bills are just money out the window.