"Looking forward to the day builders are required to incorporate solar into new homes and buildings." California did that. Now their high housing costs has led to many homeless. And where are these solar arrays made? Buy one and you are helping the Chinese economy. You want cheap energy - GO NUCLEAR. Hundreds of American Military ships do so with no negative consequences. And new technology handles the nuclear waste.
According to Homeadvisor, "Installing a solar panel system costs an average of $23,487." The economy is good but spending over $23K is a bit steep. Then there's panel maintence, storage battery replacement. And expect your homeowner's insurance to rise with that addition especially in storm prone areas. Cloudy skies leads to less energy production.
Carlos, what makes these things stupid right now is that they don't use storage batteries. They produce during the day, and that's fine to augment your cooling load, but at night they just sit there. Battery technology is just now getting to point to make them feasible, but feasible comes with a huge cost. 90% of the installations you see have zero storage capability. The ones that have storage are usually homeowner installed and designed.
There was a story on NPR this morning about Californians installing solar panels with Tesla batteries to weather the PG&E blackouts. Nothing drives innovation like an unreliable product.
The article isn’t about the quality of the investment. That’s for the homeowner to decide. It’s about allowing the panels to be visible in the historical district. A different issue.
If "KEEPING UP APPEARANCES" is important, solar shingles maybe what's needed. They look like shingles and produce electricity.
"Although solar shingles and traditional solar panels perform the same function, each system has differences that come with pros and cons. Aesthetics is the most prominent difference between a solar shingle and a solar panel. Solar panels are often bulky, unseemly additions to your roof, whereas solar shingles can perfectly blend into the existing roof design." https://www.solarpowerauthority.com/guide-to-solar-shingles.
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(10) comments Back to story
Solar energy in Texas, is a no.-brainer. Looking forward to the day builders are required to incorporate solar into new homes and buildings.
"Looking forward to the day builders are required to incorporate solar into new homes and buildings." California did that. Now their high housing costs has led to many homeless. And where are these solar arrays made? Buy one and you are helping the Chinese economy. You want cheap energy - GO NUCLEAR. Hundreds of American Military ships do so with no negative consequences. And new technology handles the nuclear waste.
According to Homeadvisor, "Installing a solar panel system costs an average of $23,487." The economy is good but spending over $23K is a bit steep. Then there's panel maintence, storage battery replacement. And expect your homeowner's insurance to rise with that addition especially in storm prone areas. Cloudy skies leads to less energy production.
Carlos, what makes these things stupid right now is that they don't use storage batteries. They produce during the day, and that's fine to augment your cooling load, but at night they just sit there. Battery technology is just now getting to point to make them feasible, but feasible comes with a huge cost. 90% of the installations you see have zero storage capability. The ones that have storage are usually homeowner installed and designed.
There was a story on NPR this morning about Californians installing solar panels with Tesla batteries to weather the PG&E blackouts. Nothing drives innovation like an unreliable product.
https://www.npr.org/2019/11/03/775818694/what-power-outages-means-for-solars-potential
Tesla recommends 2 Powerwalls for your home adding $14,100 to your cost.
The article isn’t about the quality of the investment. That’s for the homeowner to decide. It’s about allowing the panels to be visible in the historical district. A different issue.
Simple. Put them on the ground. Installing on the roof is stupid to begin with. So, Gary, this issue is solved.
That works if you have sufficient unobstructed space in your back yard. I’m not sure many homes in the historical district have that.
If "KEEPING UP APPEARANCES" is important, solar shingles maybe what's needed. They look like shingles and produce electricity.
"Although solar shingles and traditional solar panels perform the same function, each system has differences that come with pros and cons. Aesthetics is the most prominent difference between a solar shingle and a solar panel. Solar panels are often bulky, unseemly additions to your roof, whereas solar shingles can perfectly blend into the existing roof design." https://www.solarpowerauthority.com/guide-to-solar-shingles.
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Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.