I heard Thom Hartmann talking about solar energy being cheaper than

[doc03]

fossil fuel now. I just saw a story on the Money market report that solar was $600 per MWH. Can anyone explain this in layman's terms? What would be the initial cost to put solar in? Would it be cost effective in Ohio for instance? I would estimate my roof has about 750 sq. feet facing directly south with no trees or other obstructions what amount of power would that generate? What would it cost to
install the panels and whatever else would be needed?

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Tesla, check out Tesla. They have what they call the POWERWALL

https://www.tesla.com/powerwall

Not sure total costs or rebates or tax deductions.

[sarah FAILIN]

6. That's a lot to me for the powerwalls

Not sure if that includes the solar tile. The tile are really nice looking though.

[HassleCat]

2. Be careful, but look into companies that install it on your roof.

There at a couple companies that will put it in for you, if you agree to give them the tax credits and the money from the excess power generated. Just be very, VERY careful about this. I have heard good things and bad things. It may be legitimate, or a ripoff.

[Takket]

3. read this... should get you started

https://www.solarpowerauthority.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-install-solar-on-an-average-us-house/

I did some solar studies in Michigan and.... well... it wasn't pretty lol very little sunlight in the winter and almost perpetual cloud cover. but it was for a large industrial process. for a simple home its probably a lot better. especially if you are in Ohio. we get a lot of cloudcover because of the lakes.

[doc03]

5. I will check that out. There are no contractors in the Yellow Pages here. I don't recall

ever seeing solar panels on a house here. I have seen solar panels at OSU and other universities around the state.
This summer I toured the New England states and saw a lot of houses with solar. New England is probably about
as cloudy as here in Ohio if not worse.

[hatrack]

4. Lots of things to consider . . .

For starters, expect an installed cost of between $3 and $4/watt. That should include everything - panels, racks, wiring and installation, inverter and grid intertie (I'm assuming Ohio is a state that allows net metering, but don't know that for a fact).

If you're looking at a battery backup system to take care of essentials during the next ice storm or power outage, you'll probably add 30% (give or take) to the total costs, or more if you go for something really big.

Sounds like your property is well set up in terms of orientation; don't know if you're living in town or out in the sticks, but people have run into problems with neighborhood associations when installing solar.

You still get a 30% federal tax credit for all system costs, and IIRC that runs through the end of 2017; state credits or deductions may apply and are worth investigation. Your utility may also provide incentives or rebates for solar installations - also worth further research.

It sounds like Thom Hartmann may have been talking about utility-scale solar, since "residential" and "MWh" don't typically come up in the same conversation.

[doc03]

7. Yes I think he was talking about new power generating facilities compared to coal

or gas. I live in the sticks here and nobody cares what you on your property. I have a heat pump with electric backup
right now which isn't bad, it is cheaper than the fuel oil I did have. I do know a few people that have the geo-thermal
system and swear by it but they run about $20000 to install. I am 69 years old and probably wouldn't get a return on
solar or geo-thermal in my life time I suppose. Thanks for the info.

[sarah FAILIN]

8. the panels from tesla look like slate

I looked on the link above and it looked awesome. A HOA probably would never know this was solar. Very expensive though.