Quote:
Originally Posted by jyl
I live in rainy climate (Portland OR) and was skeptical when my friend/neighbor installed solar panels on his house. Turns out he is now a net zero utility electricity user (on a 1 year basis) and that includes charging his Leaf car. Our electricity rates are low ($0.11 kWh) but he says this has made financial sense even so. I haven't checked his #s but he is a detail-oriented penny pincher and is tracking all this in a spreadsheet . . .
I will probably install solar when I replace the roof, probably in the next several years.
One thing I wonder is, how you deal with fallen leaves on the panels? My roof is three stories above the ground and no way am I going up there to sweep / blow off leaves. My friend has a one-level house.
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I would probably need to see the full math on your neighbor's install. So much confirmation bias and false assumptions creep into these comparisons it is difficult to get a clear and honest ROI. LED lighting and efficient appliances are so much less $$ up front than panels. No way the #s would work for me at $0.11/kwh. I currently pay $0.19/kwh but heavy users in SoCal pay tier 3 @ $0.40/kwh.
Leaves and partial shade are death to solar panels, quickly cutting production by 50% or more. Here these guys test both tilt and shading for a boat install:
https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/Sailboat-Solar-Series-Parallel-Shading