OMDG asks:

I kind of love the idea of solar panels on the new house. Having a smaller carbon footprint and being less dependent on the grid seems like a worthwhile investment. N&M have you ever thought about doing this?

#1:  We haven't changed the roof since we moved here and it's still going strong.  But we assume that it will need to get changed out sooner rather than later.  From what we understand, right after (or during) getting a new roof is the best time to get solar panels since if you're getting roof-based solar panels they'll have to be removed/replaced/etc. when your roof is replaced.

There are online programs that will tell you if it's worth getting solar panels for your particular house using google maps satellite images.  For whatever reason, these have always told us that it's not worth it for our house, and since our roof is still going strong, we haven't investigated further.  (The google project sunroof used to provide more information and be more customizable than it is now.)  We've also missed any local area rebates on solar (those expired over a decade ago and haven't been replaced), there haven't been state rebates, and we haven't much been paying attention to federal rebates.

I had been thinking that when we get a new roof we'd just get fancy Tesla roof tiles because I liked the idea, but it sounds like they're still expensive but not actually delivering on their early promise and there may be concerns with the warranty/customer service.

So... we've thought about it but probably won't pull the trigger until our roof needs replacing and at that point we will re-evaluate.

#2:  Lives in an apartment building, so no.

Grumpy Nation, what has been your experience with Solar Panels?

 

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