4 ms·

I wish that were true, but I suspect more people are doing it to be trendy/appear "green" than basing it on a system lifetime ROI calculation vs. alternatives.

by xnx 6mo ago

wat10000 6mo ago
People are rarely willing to spend five figures on something just to be trendy or green.
- xnx 6mo ago
  Maybe a better word would've been "status"? Rich people spend all kinds of money to show off how rich they are. They like to use "green" as a fig leaf so they can pretend it's not about status (e.g. $100K+ electric SUVs).
  - wat10000 6mo ago
    Can't possibly just be because they like those fancy SUVs. I own an electric car (albeit not an SUV) that cost nearly that much and I can tell you that I didn't give a crap about status, and while the green part was a nice aspect, the main thing is just that I like the car a lot. When people accuse others of buying something just because it's "green" it's usually actually a case where the thing is just actually good in some way, and the buyer likes it, but the accuser can't accept this. I lost a friend over this when I bought a Prius. It's a genuinely good car that was cheap to drive, but he could not get over his idea that I was a smug "green" asshole merely for owning one and liking the fuel efficiency.
tasty_freeze 6mo ago
You should take this as a data point where your gut intuition has failed you. It is really condescending to dismiss their choice as motivated by vanity rather than assuming that other people might have done their homework and made a rational decision. It might very well be that you have done your own homework and it doesn't make sense for your situation, but other people face different tradeoffs which make it worthwhile.
onlypassingthru 6mo ago
You need only have read the HN front page 4 days ago to have seen one reason why 50,000 people may be motivated to get solar. Nothing trendy going on there, just poor regional planning. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48123090 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48123090
evilduck 6mo ago
What alternatives do you have in mind that also have an ROI for the homeowner?
- Marsymars 6mo ago
  I'm not the one to whom you asked the question - I can think of plenty of things, but by and large most of the home things with ROI make the most sense to invest in when you're buying a new thing anyway - e.g. solar panels when you need a new roof, EV when you need a new car, ventless dryer when you need a new dryer, heat pump when you need new heating/AC, etc. Off the top of my head the only thing that's really doable without replacing a depreciating asset are certain kinds of insulation upgrades. (And I guess potentially ceiling fan installs.)
venzaspa 6mo ago
Just looking into it for my house in the UK (read, not very sunny) and it'll pay for itself in around 6 years. Seems like a no brainer for a house I'm not planning on moving out of.

I wish that were true, but I suspect more people are doing it to be trendy/appear "green" than basing it on a system lifetime ROI calculation vs. alternatives.

by xnx 6mo ago

I wish that were true, but I suspect more people are doing it to be trendy/appear "green" than basing it on a system lifetime ROI calculation vs. alternatives.

wat10000 6mo ago

People are rarely willing to spend five figures on something just to be trendy or green.

xnx 6mo ago
Maybe a better word would've been "status"? Rich people spend all kinds of money to show off how rich they are. They like to use "green" as a fig leaf so they can pretend it's not about status (e.g. $100K+ electric SUVs).
- wat10000 6mo ago
  Can't possibly just be because they like those fancy SUVs. I own an electric car (albeit not an SUV) that cost nearly that much and I can tell you that I didn't give a crap about status, and while the green part was a nice aspect, the main thing is just that I like the car a lot. When people accuse others of buying something just because it's "green" it's usually actually a case where the thing is just actually good in some way, and the buyer likes it, but the accuser can't accept this. I lost a friend over this when I bought a Prius. It's a genuinely good car that was cheap to drive, but he could not get over his idea that I was a smug "green" asshole merely for owning one and liking the fuel efficiency.

tasty_freeze 6mo ago

You should take this as a data point where your gut intuition has failed you. It is really condescending to dismiss their choice as motivated by vanity rather than assuming that other people might have done their homework and made a rational decision. It might very well be that you have done your own homework and it doesn't make sense for your situation, but other people face different tradeoffs which make it worthwhile.

onlypassingthru 6mo ago

You need only have read the HN front page 4 days ago to have seen one reason why 50,000 people may be motivated to get solar. Nothing trendy going on there, just poor regional planning. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48123090 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48123090

evilduck 6mo ago

What alternatives do you have in mind that also have an ROI for the homeowner?

Marsymars 6mo ago
I'm not the one to whom you asked the question - I can think of plenty of things, but by and large most of the home things with ROI make the most sense to invest in when you're buying a new thing anyway - e.g. solar panels when you need a new roof, EV when you need a new car, ventless dryer when you need a new dryer, heat pump when you need new heating/AC, etc. Off the top of my head the only thing that's really doable without replacing a depreciating asset are certain kinds of insulation upgrades. (And I guess potentially ceiling fan installs.)

venzaspa 6mo ago

Just looking into it for my house in the UK (read, not very sunny) and it'll pay for itself in around 6 years. Seems like a no brainer for a house I'm not planning on moving out of.