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Solar Panel Open house


Gergwheel1647545492

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Very cool! I just put $15k into an all-new roof this weekend...wanted to do solar but even with rebates it's thousands more than I could spend.

 

With new shingles and 40 sheets of new plywood (:eek:!!!!) I'm hopeful to install panels a few years down the road!

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Very cool! I just put $15k into an all-new roof this weekend...wanted to do solar but even with rebates it's thousands more than I could spend.

 

With new shingles and 40 sheets of new plywood (:eek:!!!!) I'm hopeful to install panels a few years down the road!

 

Why did you choose to do shingles again over doing a metal roof?

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I may look into this. Wife and I have considered a large ground mount system but consolidated electric has been less than helpful on what we need to do.

 

That's who my parents worked with and Third Sun Solar i believe. My parents live in Ashley and my brother is in Radnor. You should make the drive Saturday and check them out.

 

http://thirdsunsolar.com/

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Why did you choose to do shingles again over doing a metal roof?

 

F52h5a4l.jpg

 

My split level has some valleys and a double-sloped front eave that changes the pitch of the roofline. A metal roof would've been impossible to warranty against water intrusion. It's a little tough to see at this angle, but as the lower roof comes down towards you, it kicks out and shallows its pitch to create a longer overhang, shading the front of the house from the western sun. That change in pitch killed my chance at straight steel panels without a cut, or significant changes to my trusses.

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F52h5a4l.jpg

 

My split level has some valleys and a double-sloped front eave that changes the pitch of the roofline. A metal roof would've been impossible to warranty against water intrusion. It's a little tough to see at this angle, but as the lower roof comes down towards you, it kicks out and shallows its pitch to create a longer overhang, shading the front of the house from the western sun. That change in pitch killed my chance at straight steel panels without a cut, or significant changes to my trusses.

 

Wow!! Yea a metal roof would have been VERY difficult for that

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Fuck dude, who'd you use for a 15k roof?!?! I have rehabbed some really large houses and never paid over 8k.

 

The roofing was $12-13k...exacerbated because they needed to replace 40 plywood sheets @$50/sheet because the 1960s roofing was delaminating and rotten. I'm also getting new 6" gutters and downspouts all around. That's the total cost of the project.

 

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They also added ridge- and hip-vents. Combined with re-tuckpointing and new chimney caps I did over the last couple of weeks, I am comfortable knowing I've got a 25+ year roof to have my family grow under. :)

 

BELIEVE ME...if I could've gotten away with a SolarCity system, or a metal roof, I would've done it, but it would've been double+ the budget. SolarCity's website estimated my roof would've cost $91k to do!

 

https://www.tesla.com/solarpanels?energy_redirect=true

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Did you even call the people we refered!?!?

I'm surprised that you had that much soft plywood, much damage inside?

 

On the solar, do they have solar only or wind as well?

 

I honestly can't remember who I called over the last couple of months...I ended up doing the goddamn chimneys myself with a friend as every mason I contacted was a fucking flake, or wanted a fortune to throw mud at some bricks.

 

Muth Roofing wanted $16.5 for the roof, and another $2900 for gutters. Ross Roofing was $11,300 and I've used them before with excellent results, but Joe won me over. He also did a neighbor's house in the last couple of years and was respectful of me beating him up over price (relative to Ross' quote).

https://www.surehomeimprovements.com/

 

The shingles and felt were still holding up, but I had two spots over the last few years I had to have repaired because of water damage. After traipsing around the roof over the last couple of weekends doing concrete work, I am very happy with the piece of mind I now have replacing what was clearly a roof that ended it's servicable life a while ago. :lol:

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Solar, in Ohio, is most likely a minimum of a 10 year payback. And that's me assuming that prices have come down since I was in the energy space.

 

SolarCity is a good place to reach out as well. We partnered with them in the past, they were good to work with. Most places will work out a "lease" type agreement with you, where you don't have to "buy" the rooftop solar, but instead agree to an electricity price over time, and they do the maintenance and such.

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LOL @ broke-dick sub-division owner thinking they can just slap solar panels on their 1990s roof:

- Quality of roof has to be up to spec to install solar panels (shingles arent old, roofing/trusses are heavy-duty enough for the panel installation)

- Code has to approve the panels

- The cost/benefit analysis for investment has to be there.

 

To DJ's point, #3 is better than it used to be (and keeps getting better), but 1 and 2 are variables homeowners need to be more concerned with.

 

I've got 2x6 roof trusses that are 16" OC, so no worries about structural. I'm better off resetting the roof life in 2018, and install panels - say, 5-10 years from now - when the efficiency is up 10-33% on the cells and the panel installation is down $$$thousands in cost. :thumbup:

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I had a company out at my house recently to discuss solar. He said my location and sky visibility is perfect, as there is no one around me and trees aren't too close to the house. However, it would have been nearly $30K to do panels that I'd be paying on until the panels were paid off (10 years, I think), and that bill would be about $100 higher per month than my current electric bill, and I'd still have to pay part of my electric bill. It's just not worth it right now.
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I had a company out at my house recently to discuss solar. He said my location and sky visibility is perfect, as there is no one around me and trees aren't too close to the house. However, it would have been nearly $30K to do panels that I'd be paying on until the panels were paid off (10 years, I think), and that bill would be about $100 higher per month than my current electric bill, and I'd still have to pay part of my electric bill. It's just not worth it right now.

 

 

I'm surprised these companies don't have this already calculated out to avoid wasting their time, your time, etc. It's not difficult to get the details on usage and costs and build a general ROI before they even go to market in a given area.

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I'm surprised these companies don't have this already calculated out to avoid wasting their time, your time, etc. It's not difficult to get the details on usage and costs and build a general ROI before they even go to market in a given area.

 

That's what I'm wanting, real data not the "buy our panels so you can be awesome” scammy stuff I'm getting. I even bothered to put my info in once thinking I was on a legit site and now I get sales calls constantly that don't provide any help either.

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That's what I'm wanting, real data not the "buy our panels so you can be awesome” scammy stuff I'm getting. I even bothered to put my info in once thinking I was on a legit site and now I get sales calls constantly that don't provide any help either.

 

PM me your email address and I can send you the info my parents have, its from March of 2017, and it'll be real world data for a house that is 100% electric (no gas/propane)

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So, ROI is going to be an issue for a while, boys...but these folks still end up selling to folks who are more interested in being green than $. Some folks prioritize different things. It's a hard sell in the midwest, though. Much easier in the southwest.
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Damn that's a tiny picture, sorry about that, but you can see the panels were installed in March of 2017, they had a few months of "profit" this summer and last summer, but overall they are saving a ton on their electric bill. Not sure what the ROI is.

 

http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=7&pictureid=9203

Things to note:

All electric house

3140 sq ft - added 500sq ft in March of 2017 as well as solar

baseboard heat

2 heat pumps

3 hot water tanks

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That's what I'm wanting, real data not the "buy our panels so you can be awesome” scammy stuff I'm getting.

 

 

Agree. Sadly though, even the legit ones seem to waste a lot of time. It's been a while since I looked at it but unless there's a <10yr ROI payout, I'm out. One of our rentals is solar equipped thanks to the previous owner and it's great but I'm not paying all that money just to be seen as more eco friendly.

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