[smarino]

We used to live on the Big Island of Hawaii, and the electricity costs were very high. It never made any sense, as nearly nobody I knew had A/C or heat (or insulation for that matter. Good weather there). After looking at that handy chart above, and thanks for the link, now I see why. As for solar not being economical, hey, it's free! How cheap can you get? BUT, you have to know how to work out what panels/meters/batteries/converters that you'll need, and the initial start up cost can be high. A lot of people on our island had solar because it was that or nothing where they lived. You live in the boonies, you have solar. Period. And propane for your fridge and water heater.

We moved to South Daytona a couple of months ago, and were a little surprised at the small amount of solar, but it's just not a good area for that here. Florida gets a fair amount of rainy, sunless days. Lots of rain in the summer, along w/ wind. The trees here are HUGE and old, old, old, so tree limbs coming down in storms can take out many thousands of dollars in panels very quickly. Then there's the pesky hurricane issue. Solar is perfect for places like Arizona and New Mexico where they have low humidity and lots of sun. Not too many weather events in those states either, other than winter snow.

[HarryWho?]

This is cool. I could see it being viable some day.

Solar Roadways - A Real Solution

[annerk]

Almost every home in my neighborhood with a pool has solar panels to heat it with. We don't have a pool but are considering adding solar panels in the near future to get off the grid as much as possible.

[d4g4m]

The cost of electric from FPL is reasonable. It is half the cost per KWH compared to Con Ed [New York City] and LILCO [Long Island NY]
Solar panels to heat water is not cost effective.
A water heater uses about $6-$10 a month. Using the high side - $120 a year. Cost to install panels $10,000+ $10,000 divided by $120 equals 83 years for pay back. Using the low side $10,000 divided by $72 equals 138 years. The roof of your house is not big enough to have electric producing panels to power a house air conditioner, the biggest cost on the residential electric bill.

[boxus]

Granite counter tops, his and her sinks, etc, also do not pay for themselves, but people still fork over the thousands for that stuff and other useless garbage to spend on their house.

Wait, an appraiser will come a state that by magically spending $1500 on a granite counter top, your house is now worth $10,000 more! Just like magic! So I guess those things do pay for themselves! But I guess solar panels would never increase the value of a house like his and her sinks do.

[roadtrip75]

Solar energy is not cost-competitive at the moment. Installing it is a personal financial sacrifice that one makes to help out the world. For the most part, liberals are the only people who will do this. There are very few actual liberals in Florida. Most of the people in Florida are either Republicans or minorities who vote Democrat to keep the handouts coming.

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by roadtrip75

Solar energy is not cost-competitive at the moment. Installing it is a personal financial sacrifice that one makes to help out the world. For the most part, liberals are the only people who will do this. There are very few actual liberals in Florida. Most of the people in Florida are either Republicans or minorities who vote Democrat to keep the handouts coming.

Thats some crazy rationale..
Let me guess; you also hate Obama

[SouthernBelle3]

No way would I spend the money for solar panels. The AC is your biggest draw. However, I use solar power for free. I use a clothesline. Doesn't save a lot but hey, it's the thought that counts. We also run fans a lot. The cost to install panels are too much for those of us on a tight budget, and like other posters have already pointed out, not economically feasible since it takes years to recoup the installation cost.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by jambo101

Thats some crazy rationale..
Let me guess; you also hate Obama

Well, he does live in Macon, Georgia...

[MartinEden99]

Solar panels aren't feasible right now because there isn't the same level of financial commitment there as we have with other energy sources. But solar, along with many other "clean" sources would actually be a net-positive for the economy as a whole.

The problem is buying 1s and 2s. You can't have 105 people in county A, 110 people in county B, 211 people in county C, etc. doing this and expect prices to go down any time soon. But create a subsidy for it and you will (eventually) see the price per kwH go down dramatically. In the short term, however; its likely that the cost would go up a bit as existing solar panel companies would likely see the subsidy as a reason to inflate their price. But a few companies would "get it" and see that there is a product(s) to be capitalized on at the right price point.

If you can get the cost of solar (and throw wind, hydro, etc. into the mix as well) down to twice as much as oil for comparable energy uses...you will have economically benefited the country enormously as the money for solar will be kept in the US and circulate thereafter. And the reason I compare solar to oil in energy use is because it may be the right energy source to actually power an electric car battery if the cost can be driven down by 300 million purchases and not the 10s of thousands it is today.