• @shalafi
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    28 months ago

    I get you. The possibilities are there, I see them. But in the end you’re paying a skilled crew to come punch holes in your roof. I’ve done that installing satellite dishes.

    For one, paying rooftop workers is insane. Good luck getting worker’s comp insurance. Most places won’t even consider it. And they have to do a solid job, because a roof leak is an insurance nightmare for all parties.

    Still, I’d go for it as prices drop. OTOH, I risk a hurricane ripping my shit to pieces, and I’m well inland.

    At this time, and it’s close, the ROI isn’t quite there for my home. I’m looking at 12-years before breaking even, and will the cells last that long? Hell, will I last that long? On top of the financial consideration, there are loads of scammers running door-to-door. They’re leasing your power, you pay forever, you never own your power plant.

    But there’s hope! Lemmy acts like Florida is a conservative hellscape, and I’m in arguably the most conservative part. Solar farms are exploding around here. I’m well connected to the environment here, hate to see 100s of acres flattened, but it’s worth the cost.

    Been playing with solar to run my little 10’ boat and trolling motor! Getting a badass 280Ahr/12V LiOn battery tomorrow. Also working on ghetto solar for my camp in the swamp.

    • @[email protected]
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      8 months ago

      Current cells last pretty well to 20 years (with at least 80% performance by the end) yours has a really long payback though, mine in 2011 had paid for themselves in six years, and though there aren’t high feed in tariffs anymore, the panels are much, much cheaper now than then