RADAR: Is it wise to purchase solar panels now?

[rangerrebew]

RADAR: Is it wise to purchase solar panels now?
 

From one of our correspondents.

Increasing feed-in costs and an end to the netting scheme have a huge impact on the payback period for solar panels.

Is it smart to purchase solar panels at this time? More and more energy companies charge feed-in costs to customers with solar panels. And that has a significant impact on the return time of solar panels, according to calculations that Radar requested from energy comparison companies Independer, Pricewise and Energievergelijk.nl.

The payback period can be up to 19 years.
Vandebron was the first energy company where you had to pay feed-in costs. The amount depends on the amount of electricity you supply back and is divided into scales.

But there are also other ways in which energy suppliers pass on the feed-in costs to the solar panel holder:

https://www.climategate.nl/2024/05/radar-is-het-verstandig-om-nu-zonnepanelen-aan-te-schaffen/

[Smokin Joe]

I'm waiting for the fire sale...

[cato potatoe]

We looked into it.  Hurricanes and roof maintenance make them incompatible, not to mention ugly.  A Tesla solar roof looks better, but it's also very expensive. 

[GtHawk]

I don't think so in California, seems there is such a glut of solar power generated right now that utilities in the state have to pay other states to take the excess resulting in much lower payments to homeowners and business.

[Bigun]

RADAR: Is it wise to purchase solar panels now?

Nope! Next question.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

I don't think so in California, seems there is such a glut of solar power generated right now that utilities in the state have to pay other states to take the excess resulting in much lower payments to homeowners and business.

Out West I'd imagine solar is very feasible. In the East the weather and tree cover isn't as cooperative.

[GtHawk]

It’s too successful for the day time demand and since they need to keep conventional generation running because of start up lags utilities have to dump excess ‘green’ power and also shut down wind turbines. Next the eco Nazis will demand hundreds of acres of battery farms to store the excess.

[Elderberry]

The only solar panels I use are for game feeders and auto trickle chargers.

[roamer_1]

We looked into it.  Hurricanes and roof maintenance make them incompatible, not to mention ugly.  A Tesla solar roof looks better, but it's also very expensive.

My last gasp at it had me building a 'flower petal' style stand, which could retract all the panels into a steel 'petal' box, or deploy then around the pole from the box. That part was easy and fun... a simple morotcycle chain and starter motor did the work... But I got all full of myself and decided to make it track the sun... That was a big mistake. It's out on the number one pile now.

Next time (if there is a next time) will be a roof mount that can retract into an upper deck on the roof - A much more complicated affair to get six panels to slide up the roof into shelter... In the doing of it... But it will probably last with little maintenance for years and years.

Now that big wattage panels have come down in price, I'd really like to make a go of it. But I ain't gonna want to go scrape em every time it snows... Hence my protection concerns... more so  the snow load than the hurricanes.

[roamer_1]

The only solar panels I use are for game feeders and auto trickle chargers.

They're pretty handy on poultry nets and emergency fencing too... I ain't a big fan of electric perimeter fencing, but I am all for electric paddock fences that are easy to set up and tear down.

[Kamaji]

It’s too successful for the day time demand and since they need to keep conventional generation running because of start up lags utilities have to dump excess ‘green’ power and also shut down wind turbines. Next the eco Nazis will demand hundreds of acres of battery farms to store the excess.

Yup.