Anybody have solar panels?

[woodisgood]

I am interested in learning more about them. I know how they work and I know about cost. Is anybody actually using them?

[Joe G]

my uncle has them on his roof in Orlando, they are only set up to heat/run his pool and have more than paid for themselves at this point. I know he loves em.

[Van Westervelt]

There are some massive rebates and tax incentives for the purchase and installation of them. PV panels are pretty common nowadays.

[Dave McLaren]

No room on my roof for the electric ones. Solar for the pool came first. It does a lot of the work, then the gas heater is used to bump it the rest of the way to 90-92 degrees. My wife won't even go in unless it's 90+.

[TexasTerp]

I use mini solar panels for battery charging, etc. nothing for the house just yet

[priapism]

I keep almost doing it. It's expensive. The payout is anywhere from 8-20 years depending on how you do it. The technology keeps moving forwards and the panels keep getting more efficient--or so I hear, I never see anything for sale but the good old photovoltaic panels that have been around since like, the 50s. You have to clean them off every so often to maintain the efficiency. And it's rare to get 100% coverage of your electric bill-and even if you do, you won't be getting a check from the utility (or MY utility, at least).

[e34john]

My friend did solar when they rebuilt the house. They have huge aquariums and a pool, meter still goes backwards. Their house is really efficient though, really good vinyl windows, 6 inch studs, everything is heavily insulated. Plus they have the tankless water heater and really good AC and heating units.

[priapism]

My friend did solar when they rebuilt the house. They have huge aquariums and a pool, meter still goes backwards. Their house is really efficient though, really good vinyl windows, 6 inch studs, everything is heavily insulated. Plus they have the tankless water heater and really good AC and heating units.

All that stuff helps a ton. My house was built in 1958 and leaks like a sieve.

[imsotyerred]

everyone living in florida does

[Sagaris]

Check into Nanosolar powersheets. A new take on solar technology, looks to be promising. Thin flexible solar cells, yes please! http://www.nanosolar.com/technology

[woodisgood]

Nobody doing anything cooler than heating their pool.....?

[s0urce]

I've been using solar panels since I was a small child.

Personally, I love them. Math class would have been a pain in the ass without them.

[z31maniac]

Nobody doing anything cooler than heating their pool.....?

Energy is too cheap in my part of the country, so the payback is usually longer than the life of the panels themselves. Especially when you add in the severe weather we regularly receive here.

I'd love to do a solar water heater, but even with an old water heater $10/month in gas to run makes the payback too long.

My electricity bill for this month is $55. And I don't do the open windows keep the house uncomfortably warm to save money crap.

And once we do Thermal Windows and get some real insulation in the attic, I expect our heating and cooling to drop dramatically. Our house was built in the late 70s with poor windows and nearly no insulation.

[dsobering47]

A guy that lives down the street from me has them. My father also spoke with him about his setup, but I believe its a 4x4 grid that more than covers his electrical bill. He feeds power back into the system and gets a check every month, instead of writing one. I'll take a picture this weekend and upload to this thread, if youre that interested.

[e30e]

Everybody in Az is doing it, for obvious reasons. If you live in sunny area, do what need to get all the tax credits and subsidies and keep the house for a couple years to break even.