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by peterisza22 hours ago |
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upvoteby wat100007 hours ago|
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I’d say they failed to make it cheap enough, although maybe that goes with “simple.” I needed a roof replacement around the time when this looked like a viable option, but there’s no way I was going to pay a substantial multiple over the price of a normal roof plus solar panels for their snazzy integrated roof.
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upvoteby moffkalast19 hours ago|
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Invisible solar is a genuine use case in areas with shitty power tripping HOAs, but even regular solar takes a decade to break even, so if you sell something like that at inflated Tesla level prices then they simply never will and there is no reason to buy them in the first place.
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upvoteby cianmm8 hours ago|
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My solar install took about 4.5 years to break even, which I understand is maybe a bit below average for where I live (Ireland).
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upvoteby rgblambda7 hours ago|
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Although isn't there an Irish government grant to help cover the cost of the panel + installation? That would make comparing break even times across countries quite difficult.
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upvoteby hdgvhicv7 hours ago|
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Certainly isn’t today. In the U.K. solar panels have about a 14 month payback, no incentives other Thant hey are currently tax free (like food. Electric from the grid has a 5% tax)

On top of that there’s an inverter, and if you can’t use all the power immediately you’d need a battery too, which tends to increase the cost.

The biggest cost though is installation.

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upvoteby rgblambda6 hours ago|
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I imagine the costs of purchasing and installing the panels in the UK are similar, but in Ireland there's definitely grants:

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/housing-grants...

You do make a good point about VAT on electricity bills also being a factor in the break even calculation. In Ireland it's 9% and that's a temporary cost of living measure and will revert to 13.5% in 2030.

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upvoteby shye1 hours ago|
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Of course, the solution to that is to nullify all HOAs, power tripping or not. They were a mechanism to enact segregation, and as such should've had no place when created, and certainly has no place now.
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upvoteby hvb215 hours ago|
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That's where regulation comes in. California for example made it almost impossible for a HOA to block. You're not allowed to add more than $1K to the project with your 'requirements'
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upvoteby HerbManic8 hours ago|
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It think they under estimate the 'Green bling' factor. For many people if they are going to get solar, they want the neighbours to know. Got to get that virtue signalling in.

Not saying it is a huge factor but it is there.

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upvoteby HerbManic2 hours ago|
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Sorry I see I am being down voted. Understandable, I do come off a little like a jerk there. I am not anti solar in the least, I just kind it really fascinating how some folks who are very well meaning, also tend to love that they can show off their goodies. I wish it wasn't the case but alas this is how some folks are.
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upvoteby bruce5112 hours ago|
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You're not supposed to be down-voted simply because folk "agree or not".

Honestly, I don't agree with you though. Yes, there are ways for folk to signal virtue, and that happens, but I don't think solar power is one of those. Frankly the utility, and financial, returns are just too high.

Obviously ymmv with regard to returns, but I'm getting 16% on capital invested (a number that keeps climbing as electricity costs rise.) That's decent enough that virtue-signalling becomes a meaningless goal. I guess folk might _like_ that they're not burning fossils to get electricity (I do) but the financials dwarf that.

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