Solar Panels on houses

There are different types. I know some people that bought the kind that allows for net metering and they haven't paid an electric bill in a couple of years. There cost after the tax rebates was about 5K. If you power bill is $150/month average, you can get payback pretty quickly.

I also know two people who apparently rent them. They signed a 15 year contract. No installation costs. They pay $45/month for the rental of the panels, which includes all maintenance and repairs. One of them told me she saves about $90/month on electric compaired to before, and the other about $75/month. So on both of those, you get a small payback immediately.

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It depends on how big your system is, but it can take up to 20 or so years to pay for itself.

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So he's going to be a Gump living in a battery powered house?

I checked them out at one time....even after the credits where the government paid most of the tab, it was going to take 12 years or so to pay back and I think it will need maintenence before that....

not a good financial deal, IMO so I declined...

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Make sure to check your HOA before trying to install them.

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We just went through this in our neighborhood. Our hoa has a written restriction about solar panels. The resident lawyered up and there's apparently a state law that was passed in Louisiana that doesn't allow hoa regulations on solar panels anymore.

To all the people with roof panels in coastal hurricane zones, my condolences.

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not a good financial deal, IMO so I declined.

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People are quick to say this about the pay off date. But very seldom does the topic on PV steer towards the usage during major power outages after a storm; Isacc in '12 for example. I find that curious because here in the south,many drop up to tens of thousands of dollars, in some cases, for backup generators for the whole house for instances like that. What do you think the realistic payoff date is on something that is ONLY activated when needed in a crisis vs something that can be put to use every day?

FTR, I don't have them on my crib, but wouldn't mind them. I question those who say, "they don't look good on a roof." Buddy, if you're someone who finds roof aesthetically pleasing to the point they can be considered ugly by PV panels, you need to find a better hobby.

I do know that in many parts of NOLA, uptown and FQ, due to historic building codes/laws they're not prevalent. But in others like broadmoor, gentilly, mid city, parts of lake view, where devastation was greatest, when people rebuilt they probably were eager to take advantage of the tax credits (combined, it was 90% then) with some of the insurance payout.

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So he's going to be a Gump living in a battery powered house?

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Funnily enough, this is exactly what I said