4 ms·

I live in colorado and it says i would lose money by going solar. Interesting since at costco, etc the solar guys are pushing pretty hard. I've held off so fa

by bnolsen 11y ago

I live in colorado and it says i would lose money by going solar. Interesting since at costco, etc the solar guys are pushing pretty hard. I've held off so far because I think there's still room for dramatic improvement in solar panel and battery technology in the next few years. Also I seem to get a new roof every 5 or so years due to all the hailstorms we get around here. I suspect solar panels don't like big hailstones very much and I have no idea what would happen if both the roof and panels are damaged. I doubt a roofing company is well equipped to handle the panels.

MSM 11y ago
That's actually pretty surprising to me, I have only visited Colorado a few times but I have always been very (pleasantly) surprised by the amount of sunshine. A quick look on Wikipedia says Denver has sunshine 70% of the time totaling ~3,100 hours a year. I'm from MI where we see sun about once a week so I'm out of touch, but that seems like it should be more than enough to recoup costs. Is the amount of sunshine in Denver significantly different from where you're at, or is there something else I'm missing?
- bnolsen 11y ago
  might be current cost of energy is low here. and yes we get tons of sunshine, amazing amounts.
rogerbinns 11y ago
I'm curious how this is all going to shake out in the housing market. The guys pushing hard have ~20 year contracts. If you go to buy a house in 2020 that had a system installed in 2012, the panels etc would be fairly dated (plus wear and tear), and there would still be 12 years left on the contract. I'd insist on paying less for the house due to being saddled with the obligation, or the homeowner would have pay (a lot) to get out of the contract early. Like you I too see dramatic improvements over the next few years, hence committing now not being a good decision.

4 ms·

I live in colorado and it says i would lose money by going solar. Interesting since at costco, etc the solar guys are pushing pretty hard. I've held off so fa

by bnolsen 11y ago

MSM 11y ago
That's actually pretty surprising to me, I have only visited Colorado a few times but I have always been very (pleasantly) surprised by the amount of sunshine. A quick look on Wikipedia says Denver has sunshine 70% of the time totaling ~3,100 hours a year. I'm from MI where we see sun about once a week so I'm out of touch, but that seems like it should be more than enough to recoup costs. Is the amount of sunshine in Denver significantly different from where you're at, or is there something else I'm missing?
- bnolsen 11y ago
  might be current cost of energy is low here. and yes we get tons of sunshine, amazing amounts.
rogerbinns 11y ago
I'm curious how this is all going to shake out in the housing market. The guys pushing hard have ~20 year contracts. If you go to buy a house in 2020 that had a system installed in 2012, the panels etc would be fairly dated (plus wear and tear), and there would still be 12 years left on the contract. I'd insist on paying less for the house due to being saddled with the obligation, or the homeowner would have pay (a lot) to get out of the contract early. Like you I too see dramatic improvements over the next few years, hence committing now not being a good decision.