Solar Panels For My Older House?

[chopper]

The upside is that my older house is almost paid for.

One of the many downsides of my house is that it sits in full sun almost year round. Zone 5.

The one side would be an ideal place to hang some solar panels if for no other reason than to reflect the unrelenting sun that beats down on the place.

Anyone have any info on how solar is done on older houses in 2014?

Seems I read a few months back in Handyman mag that the cost of panels had come way down.

[ztirffritz]

Check to see if SolarCity does installs in your area.

Solarcity.com

[OWC Jamie]

Every state is different. Your state dot gov should have some info. Panels are usually installed on 85mph wind load rails that are bolted to your roof in such a manner that the whole system can withstand 85 mph winds. Likely more in hurricane zone areas if mandated by your state.
There's the cost of the panels and then the costs of tying into the grid for net metering systems.

Payback in my state taking advantage of all the tax write-offs is supposed to be around 6 to 8 years for a average house which given a 25 year life of panels and maybe even the inverters is a fairly smart investment. Electricity isn't going to be getting any cheaper.

[Article Accelerator]

http://us.sunpower.com

[M>B>]

Lease, don't purchase! A friend just entered an agreement and gets free electricity and splits the amount sold back to the utility co. No out of pocket expense and seems to be a win win situation. The company gets the bonus stuff and comes out ahead over time.

https://www.google.com/search?q=lease+solar+panels&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb

[Ombligo]

I wish I could lease but Florida (along with other souther states) have laws that make it next too impossible to put solar on a home.

Thank you Duke Energy, but next time use at least a dab of lube.

[Zoidberg]

The urge to bring up Rod and the whole Birdemic bit is overwhelming, but I don't think anyone here is familiar with RiffTrax and that particular outing.

[Paul F.]

Ombligo wrote:
I wish I could lease but Florida (along with other souther states) have laws that make it next too impossible to put solar on a home.

Thank you Duke Energy, but next time use at least a dab of lube.

So, put the panels on the roof (paying with real money), run it to the breaker panel with a transfer switch, flip the utility power breaker to "off". Let them try and remove them from your roof while you innocently clean a lawfully owned rifle on your porch.

[Rolando]

I you are in a hot zone (like Texas) look into solar water heaters as well!

[sekker]

Rolando wrote:
I you are in a hot zone (like Texas) look into solar water heaters as well!

Solar water heaters used to be the better ROI and was often the recommended first purchase when you are going solar. Not sure if it's still true today, but definitely worth looking into.