Of course, I was being hyperbolic to make my point.
I've got huge interest in going off-grid. Who doesn't want autonomy such that nobody can deprive you of essential services? Who doesn't want resilience from storms? If it could cost less that's even better.
Cost, that's the problem. In my particular location at exactly the 45th parallel, I get 1/5th the sunlight on average in the winter compared to summer. What that means is I would need to install 5x more solar than my needs demand in summer just to make it through winter. Except for a few weeks in winter, I'll be producing more electricity than needed and have to waste it.
Same problem with batteries. I'll need to oversize the system to get me through the weeks in winter where there's practically no sun.
Other locations might not be so bad, especially near the equator in places that don't get much rain during the day. Perhaps those locations would only need to overbuild by 2x to go off-grid.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oil pan 4
It looks like the peak low price for solar installs was 2020. Labor and supply shortages has increased costs a lot.
The supply problems will probably get better with rising interest rates making it less affordable for people. But labor costs will likely never go back down.
My solar panels will probably never pay for them selves and I knew that going into this.
Batteries never pay for them selves. Batteries are a money pit.
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Somehow I always luck out. My solar was installed May 2020, probably at the lowest price in history, and barely got in on 3 different subsidies, and received approval from the utility to net-meter before they capped my area.
Bought this house in 2019 when prices were less insane. Refi massively lowered my interest rate AND eliminated PMI since home value appreciated massively.
You probably will get an ROI on solar since utility rates are up 20% in 1 year across the nation. Once the politicians start pushing unreliables hard, utility rates will double.
The crazy thing is many people are ditching their natural gas appliances because of the price increase, which is temporary. NG will be cheaper than ever once supply is restored and demand is down due to everyone ditching it. It's like people can't help but time things exactly wrong.