What To Consider Before Going Solar | DIY vs Pro

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I am installing my own to not only power the fan and lighting for a greenhouse but also to educate myself about any potential panel installations for a shed or the home.

Here it's dry most of the time, so if a solar company damages my roof it may not become apparent possibly for years. How do I prove it was their fault? And now I have to pay an expensive company that will deal with the solar panels to replace my roof in the future. Insurance will be more expensive. All these slick solar sellers popping up want to hand wave away all my concerns and I don't really trust them. Maintenance? Nothing is maintenance free but they want you to think it is like those gutter guards too…..

If these systems are such a guaranteed return on the investment I will lease my roof to the electric company, I get free electricity and they get to sell the surplus to my neighbors!

The last thing i'm going to do is put my info out for someone to contact me. Solar companies in general are very aggresive and put out that I'm looking to scam you vibe. My neighbors have all gone solar and its 50/50 on if they are satisfied. A few were completely scammed with terrible installs that included property damage, leaking roofs and complete disaster installs. I haven't done it yet but eventually will and probably will go the diy route.

More so than maybe any other topic, I see so much misinformation from both solar boosters and solar naysayers. There are plenty within the comments on this video. What I've found after dozens of hours of research is that you probably will save money in the long run, but you will have significant upfront costs and payback period (the point at which your savings have paid off the install cost of the system) and cost savings are going to vary tremendously for each household depending on a dozen or so factors. This is similar to buying a hybrid car. You often pay more than a conventional car at time of purchase, but if you own the car for a number of years, the cost savings in gas may actually save you money in the long run depending on the difference in purchase price, the cost of gasoline in your area, the distance that you drive each year, etc. With solar, whether or not you save money is going to depend on how much you pay for the system, how much energy you consume, how much energy you produce with the panels (affected by weather conditions, location, shading and orientation of panels, efficiency of panels, etc.), the cost of electricity in your area, federal, state and local incentives if any, whether you have out of warranty expenses, maintenance costs, etc. I live in an area that doesn't get a ton of sun in the fall, winter, and spring; has very cheap electricity; and has historically had very reliable electricity with extremely rare outages. At the moment, I don't feel like solar is cost effective for me (my payback period is over 15 years and cost savings after 20 years are just a couple of thousand dollars), but that may change if my electricity cost through the utility goes up significantly. Instead, I've converted from electric baseboard heating (very common in my area) to a much more efficient minisplit (aka ductless heat pump) for heating and AC, am slowly replacing appliances with more energy efficient ones, etc.

Will homeowner's insurance cover any damages to the panels? Such as high winds, hail, broken flying tree branches, or even the whole tree?

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Lots of interest in solar with all the commercials touting single-home installations. Anyone addressed the impact on our electrical grid? Are solar farms more equitable for all while protecting our power grid?

I had a new roof put on my house 10 years ago with a 40 year guarantee. Last year I was getting a quote on going solar and I call the company that did my roof and they informed me that adding solar panels to my roof will void my roof warranty. I decided to not go solar for that reason and the fact that the payback period would be over 20 years based on my electric usage.

Another con to professional is they mark up all the necessary components that then adds another 20+% or more to the overall cost. In my experience DIY will save around 50%.

One thing I see rarely mentioned is the condition and age of your roof prior to installation of solar panels. Down south here in Texas, most homes have asphalt shingles that typically last about 15 years. I don't think you'd want to install solar panels on a roof that was 10 years old. Ideally, the roof should be relatively new so that you wouldn't have the expense of removing and reinstalling the solar panels when your roof needs replacing after only a few years.

Going to do a solar pergola myself. Hook them up direct to a minisplit that can run direct from the panels. That way I can save the most money the cheapest before buying charging systems, inverters and batteries.

You will need to confirm you roof can structurally handle the extra weight. Also check with your utility to see their policy on compensation for exported power or other limitations like size and disconnects. Be aware that the normal grid tied inverter cannot make power if the grid fails. Back up power is more complicated and likely requires batteries.

Get a professional in……

Free solar?? Nothing is free