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AP News had a great article about this. We really need more states to adopt this beyond Utah. https://apnews.com/article/balcony-plug-solar-climate-energy-rene

AP News had a great article about this. We really need more states to adopt this beyond Utah. https://apnews.com/article/balcony-plug-solar-climate-energy-renewable-trump-c162abf520da0fa155dc971270b8684a https://apnews.com/article/balcony-plug-solar-climate-energy...

dmix 1y ago
> The $2,000 plug-in solar system installed on Dwyer’s backyard deck in March consists of two 400 watt panels, an inverter, a smart meter and a circuit breaker. It saves him around $35 per month on his power bill because he is consuming less energy from the grid, but he said reducing his carbon footprint was his primary motivation. so about 5yrs ROI And in germany a similar 5yr ratio (With some german cities subsidizing installation): > Weyland spent around $530 for his 600-watt-capacity system. While he’s happy with how his south-facing panels perform during balmy weather, such days are rare in northern Germany. He estimates that he’ll save around $100 in annual electricity costs and recoup his investment in about five years. The article mentions the main motivation in Germany is also climate change and a feeling of independence, not so much economics
- driverdan 1y ago
  That's way overpriced. An 800W solar system is easily under US$1000 now.
  - kragen 1y ago
    In the US? Where do you buy it from, and are we talking about a system that feeds power back onto the grid?
    - stronglikedan 1y ago
      Not an answer to your question, but I was amazed at how wildly varied the pricing was when I was getting estimates. This was a few years back and I didn't go with it at the time, so I forget what the exact estimates were. But I remember that the highest was literally double the price of the lowest for all the same equipment. All I'm saying is don't trust any pricing you get from folks online, and do get a lot of estimates.
      - kragen 1y ago
        Probably prices now are much lower than they were a few years ago, since solar modules are now at a historically low price that is one third of their price in early 02023.
    - driverdan 1y ago
      You do it yourself. No one will install such a small system, it isn't worth it to them. That's only 3-4 panels.
  - oezi 1y ago
    200-300 EUR without installation is the current best price in Europe + shipping: https://geizhals.de/?cat=bmsesbk&xf=1601_780.50*1200~1603_2&offset=0&sort=p&promode=true https://geizhals.de/?cat=bmsesbk&xf=1601_780.50*1200~1603_2&...
- onli 1y ago
  It's nice that it is both. You do something good and also save money. Everyone with a plug at their balcony is throwing money away when not installing some panels, if there is no roof installation already ofc.

dmix 1y ago

> The $2,000 plug-in solar system installed on Dwyer’s backyard deck in March consists of two 400 watt panels, an inverter, a smart meter and a circuit breaker. It saves him around $35 per month on his power bill because he is consuming less energy from the grid, but he said reducing his carbon footprint was his primary motivation. so about 5yrs ROI And in germany a similar 5yr ratio (With some german cities subsidizing installation): > Weyland spent around $530 for his 600-watt-capacity system. While he’s happy with how his south-facing panels perform during balmy weather, such days are rare in northern Germany. He estimates that he’ll save around $100 in annual electricity costs and recoup his investment in about five years. The article mentions the main motivation in Germany is also climate change and a feeling of independence, not so much economics

driverdan 1y ago
That's way overpriced. An 800W solar system is easily under US$1000 now.
- kragen 1y ago
  In the US? Where do you buy it from, and are we talking about a system that feeds power back onto the grid?
  - stronglikedan 1y ago
    Not an answer to your question, but I was amazed at how wildly varied the pricing was when I was getting estimates. This was a few years back and I didn't go with it at the time, so I forget what the exact estimates were. But I remember that the highest was literally double the price of the lowest for all the same equipment. All I'm saying is don't trust any pricing you get from folks online, and do get a lot of estimates.
    - kragen 1y ago
      Probably prices now are much lower than they were a few years ago, since solar modules are now at a historically low price that is one third of their price in early 02023.
  - driverdan 1y ago
    You do it yourself. No one will install such a small system, it isn't worth it to them. That's only 3-4 panels.
- oezi 1y ago
  200-300 EUR without installation is the current best price in Europe + shipping: https://geizhals.de/?cat=bmsesbk&xf=1601_780.50*1200~1603_2&offset=0&sort=p&promode=true https://geizhals.de/?cat=bmsesbk&xf=1601_780.50*1200~1603_2&...
onli 1y ago
It's nice that it is both. You do something good and also save money. Everyone with a plug at their balcony is throwing money away when not installing some panels, if there is no roof installation already ofc.