Republicans put Solar Cells on their house?!

@faethor

Speaking for myself, I am a huge fan of solar. Personally I hope to do a solar install by 2015 at my house. What I hate is crony capitalism and Obama give hundreds of millions to his friends in failing solar businesses so they can bonus it to themselves. These industries have to live on their own merit. Before you ask, yes I am for getting rid of oil subsidies and yes I am for getting rid of corn subsidies. Level the playing field and let the chips fall where they may. Solar is now becoming cost effective.
 
Speelgoedmannetje said:
power is power.
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No, not really. In the 1970's the cost per watt was about $100. Today solar is as low as $1 per watt. The cost of solar is becoming cost effective, in the 1970's it was a terrible waste of money.
 
faethor said:
Well GWBush did it to the White House.
http://www.theatlantic.com/technolo...ut-solar-panels-on-the-white-house-too/64151/

That commie fascist!
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Wrong, Bush put it on a facility near the White House. Carter had it installed directly on the White House till Reagan had it removed.

Under President George W. Bush, the National Park Service installed solar photovoltaics and a solar hot-water heater on smaller White House facilities near the main building.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-...-removed-by-reagan-to-return-under-obama.html
 
redrumloa said:
@faethor

Speaking for myself, I am a huge fan of solar. Personally I hope to do a solar install by 2015 at my house. What I hate is crony capitalism and Obama give hundreds of millions to his friends in failing solar businesses so they can bonus it to themselves. These industries have to live on their own merit. Before you ask, yes I am for getting rid of oil subsidies and yes I am for getting rid of corn subsidies. Level the playing field and let the chips fall where they may. Solar is now becoming cost effective.
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First of all, when are you leaving FL? Solar cells in a hurricane prone area is a BAD idea. Second, there are no subsidies for oil, especially for Big Oil. What Obama and the Progressives are hot about is a deduction for medium size drilling companies since the Big Oil was banned from using it since 1978 (1976?) by Congress. What this deduction is for, when the wild cat operators hit a dry hole (ie won't produce oil), it's a business expense. Taking away that deduction is going to limit the amount of drilling done in the US, which is what the Progressives want since it's going to dry up the venture capital of risky oil drilling.
 
redrumloa said:
No, not really. In the 1970's the cost per watt was about $100. Today solar is as low as $1 per watt. The cost of solar is becoming cost effective, in the 1970's it was a terrible waste of money.
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Solar is still a huge waste of money, it will take to recoup the investment longer then what the solar cells will last. Last I read, it took about 25 years for it to pay for themselves but the panels only last 10-12 years. I dream of going off the grid, but solar, especially in FL is not the answer, neither is wind.
 
:lol:

I love it when people say solar is a waste of money. I just asked a friend who had solar panels installed on his house in Aug. he's some of what he said:

"My electric bill was about $105. per month before the panels. Since August I haven't had a bill and Con Ed owes me $127. So in less than a year I saved about $1,000 (there is a $14 a month charge to use Con Eds electric lines). So in addition to having no bill, the $14. charge has also been covered."

Since his cost was about 6000 he will have recouped that in no time. True, we have rebates in this State but frankly we use a LOT of energy here and need to encourage people to switch to something intelligent.
 
cecilia said:
:lol:

I love it when people say solar is a waste of money. I just asked a friend who had solar panels installed on his house in Aug. he's some of what he said:

"My electric bill was about $105. per month before the panels. Since August I haven't had a bill and Con Ed owes me $127. So in less than a year I saved about $1,000 (there is a $14 a month charge to use Con Eds electric lines). So in addition to having no bill, the $14. charge has also been covered."

Since his cost was about 6000 he will have recouped that in no time. True, we have rebates in this State but frankly we use a LOT of energy here and need to encourage people to switch to something intelligent.
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I would love to see his itemized costs and did he do the electrical work himself? And what kw hours was he using on the grid vs now? And was the $6K before or after rebates or tax deductions?
 
redrumloa said:
No, not really. In the 1970's the cost per watt was about $100. Today solar is as low as $1 per watt. The cost of solar is becoming cost effective, in the 1970's it was a terrible waste of money.
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The solar panels cost very much back in those days, yes, but that price you state is a very rough estimate of the durability of solar panels and the price of the solar panel. After being bought and installed, the most costly thing one can do is to remove them. This removal by Reagan cannot be something else than a statement in favor of the oil companies.
 
Dammy said:
Solar is still a huge waste of money, it will take to recoup the investment longer then what the solar cells will last. Last I read, it took about 25 years for it to pay for themselves but the panels only last 10-12 years. I dream of going off the grid, but solar, especially in FL is not the answer, neither is wind.
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Get with the times Dammy, payback is about 10 years now ;)

First of all, when are you leaving FL? Solar cells in a hurricane prone area is a BAD idea.
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If a storm comes, you take down the panels. Hurricanes give you enough warning.
 
redrumloa said:
Get with the times Dammy, payback is about 10 years now ;)
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The quotes I've seen for Minnesota is about 15 years. However, that assumes the price of electricty remains the same for the next 15 years, which we know isn't going to happen. So I wouldn't be too surprised to see an assumed modicum of increase in electricity cost would improve the solar payback year estimate.
 
faethor said:
The quotes I've seen for Minnesota is about 15 years. However, that assumes the price of electricty remains the same for the next 15 years, which we know isn't going to happen. So I wouldn't be too surprised to see an assumed modicum of increase in electricity cost would improve the solar payback year estimate.
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If enough people put up solar then everybody will save money. Power rates are jacked up to whatever the market will bare. If the market starts installing solar it keeps a lid the electricity rates.
 
faethor said:
The quotes I've seen for Minnesota is about 15 years. However, that assumes the price of electricty remains the same for the next 15 years, which we know isn't going to happen. So I wouldn't be too surprised to see an assumed modicum of increase in electricity cost would improve the solar payback year estimate.
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I'm looking at cut rate wholesale parts and self install.
 
faethor said:
The quotes I've seen for Minnesota is about 15 years. However, that assumes the price of electricty remains the same for the next 15 years, which we know isn't going to happen. So I wouldn't be too surprised to see an assumed modicum of increase in electricity cost would improve the solar payback year estimate.
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my friends' recoup is way less than that (as you can see). and if he hasn't had a bill since August, saved $1000 so far, trust me, HE'S happy. He's not poor by any means, but he's also not foolish with his money.

if I calculate how long to recoup the rest of his $5000 based on the first $1000 it could be 3.3 years. That's nothing.
 
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