Solar Panels...anyone have them or getting them? (credit, loan)

[JerseyG]

We're a few weeks away from having ours installed. I was just wondering if anyone else here has them and how all the rebates ended up working out and did you take the PSE&G loan or pay out of pocket?

Thanks!

[tahiti]

May I ask how much you're paying? This intrigues me but I think it may be cost prohibitive.....how long b4 you "make back" your investment?

[BobKovacs]

For the most part, the payback on solar is still too long, even with all the rebates. Unless you're able to pile rebates on top of rebates, you're still looking at a 7-10 year payback, and you're still going to have a power bill to contend with. You can't generate enough power to completely go off-grid with the amount of sun you get in NJ, unless you've got a huge array and a massive battery pack.

[MoorestownResident]

Yep, in a town near me Lumberton Twp, they wanted to put solar on each school in the town funded by taxpayers, the payoff was like 15 years, assuming the rebates held. Morons. Fortunately, it was voted down.

[JerseyG]

Originally Posted by tahiti

May I ask how much you're paying? This intrigues me but I think it may be cost prohibitive.....how long b4 you "make back" your investment?

The system costs $74,225K. The NJCEP rebate WAS $1.75 per watt when we signed up. When my brother got on board it was $3.25/watt. So the company we're using takes off the state rebate and "deals with the state" on their own so it comes to $56,900. The Federal rebate is 30 % of the net cost which is $56,900 which comes to $17, 070. That leaves the cost to be $39,830. PSE&G seems to qualifies everyone for a loan which comes to (for big systems - we're getting 44 panels) $35K for a 9.9 KW system. The PSE&G loan is a 10 year stint where they own your SREC's for 10 years and at year 11, they are yours to sell. Right now the SREC's are averaging about $500/SREC...and they are considered income so it is taxable.

So, at the end of the day, if you take the PSE&G loan, it comes to around $4,830.00.

We happen to have big time, unobstructed southern exposure. The average "excellent" exposure should produce about 10 SCREC's (9.9) per year. We're probably going to produce (from the engineer's estimates) around 14.

[JerseyG]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

For the most part, the payback on solar is still too long, even with all the rebates. Unless you're able to pile rebates on top of rebates, you're still looking at a 7-10 year payback, and you're still going to have a power bill to contend with. You can't generate enough power to completely go off-grid with the amount of sun you get in NJ, unless you've got a huge array and a massive battery pack.

NJ gets sun all day long no matter the season...unless it's cloudy with rain or meatballs...like in any other state that isn't in the grim PNW.

They don't want you to go off the grid. Energy companies in NJ either have to produce so many renewable energy credits or they will penalized. That is WHY the state of NJ is offering a rebate.

The Federal rebate isn't really a "rebate" it's a tax write off. I pay quarterly tax payments. I will be reducing my payment by $17K over the first year. If you don't make quarterly payments you'll be getting a nice return. So by my math, and at the end of the day, it's costing me approx $4,800K.

[JBrown]

Let me play devils advocate here for a minute. I know the sellers have somewhere in their literature that the panels have a life expectancy of about 18 years..and that's a real stretch...btw...anything more than that is BS. But do you also know that they "degrade over time ?? ie.. a 10 year old panel, although still within it's 'lifetime' and still "functioning" is NOT putting out the same amount of power per square area as it did when it was new ?? You need to think about that. The power output values given to you are new panels under optimum circumstances. SO...after 10 years they're yours huh ?? I wonder why that is....

I'm not an expert on the topic but I have worked on a number of research projects (mostly aerospace )over the last 30 years that either used solar voltaics or in 2 cases actually worked on the arrays themselves.


IMHO....in situations such as a space platform, a small very remote location, or as a battery recharge system on a sail boat etc solar voltaics make sense.
The only way they make sense is if you can get everyone else to pay for them....but that's not the REAL thrust behind going GREEN is it ??

[JerseyG]

Originally Posted by JBrown

Let me play devils advocate here for a minute. I know the sellers have somewhere in their literature that the panels have a life expectancy of about 18 years..and that's a real stretch...btw...anything more than that is BS. But do you also know that they "degrade over time ?? ie.. a 10 year old panel, although still within it's 'lifetime' and still "functioning" is NOT putting out the same amount of power per square area as it did when it was new ?? You need to think about that. The power output values given to you are new panels under optimum circumstances. SO...after 10 years they're yours huh ?? I wonder why that is....

I'm not an expert on the topic but I have worked on a number of research projects (mostly aerospace )over the last 30 years that either used solar voltaics or in 2 cases actually worked on the arrays themselves.


IMHO....in situations such as a space platform, a small very remote location, or as a battery recharge system on a sail boat etc solar voltaics make sense.
The only way they make sense is if you can get everyone else to pay for them....but that's not the REAL thrust behind going GREEN is it ??

Huh?

My parents had solar panels on their roof (4 big and ugly things) back in the 80's. Heated the water for the house. 25 years later my father took them off the roof and mounted them on his fence and hooked them up so they NOW heat the pool.

The panels WE are getting, in 2009, are warrented for 25 years of power. We will pay the system off in less than 2.5 years. So...worse case scenario..it's already paid for and still saving me money.

And when I live in space, I might care about space and all the other issues that go on but right now, I live on EARTH.

Making my little space on EARTH as green as I can.

[JerseyG]

Originally Posted by JBrown

If you didn't think they were similar than why bring it up; clearly up until now you had no clue that there was any difference..what ..Wikipedia help you out ?? You can not draw ANY comparisons between solar panels designed to heat water etc and those that produce electricity...they truly have NOTHING in common....not EVEN their life expectancy.



And to tell you the truth...I don't care what you have to say.

If you don't want inputs from people that clearly know a heck of a lot more about it than you do than why post the question Hmm ??


You sound more jealous than anything else.






Sounds to me your only intention was to brag about your soon to be new panels, but upon hearing a bit of down side news you're not too happy...sorry about your poor choice.



Just trying to help a clearly uninformed ,science neophyte into the light (pun intended).

I was asking about the cost after rebates and how they worked out and if anyone took the PSE&G loan.

Bragging? So trying to be green is now bragging. Maybe you should let Obama know that. But anyway, Mr. Jealous, you apparently missed the cost of the system after it's all said and done for and BEFORE I sell my srecs. I'm not 25 years old. I didn't hide in school until I was 35 and I don't work in space.

I don't need "inputs" from people who have nothing to offer other than a bunch of non-validated spew.

Thanks anyway.

[JBrown]

Good luck to you....