Regarding Taxes And Incentives

[Made in USA]

While I agree that for most of the US solar panels are not quite good enough yet, they are getting better. In the next few years the wattage produced per square inch will probably almost double, the cost will be lower, and it might even be painted on. The real key will be micro inverters such as the IQ8 Enphase is bringing out this year.

 

[RSchneider]

While I agree that for most of the US solar panels are not quite good enough yet, they are getting better. In the next few years the wattage produced per square inch will probably almost double, the cost will be lower, and it might even be painted on. The real key will be micro inverters such as the IQ8 Enphase is bringing out this year.

The good thing is that at least we have a country that has good areas for great solar production (as opposed to Canada). Mexico would be excellent but they just don't have the money to go all out on it. In the end, you never know, maybe we sell electric to Canada and Mexico.

 

[Ty]

Let's see, so folks who have no kids in schools shouldn't pay school taxes. Pay as you go libraries?, fire departments? police? street lights?
FEMA?, tax exempt houses of worship being subsidized in part by non-belivers?

I was thinking the same thing but basically, school taxes ensures that you and I will be taken care of by competent people in the future. You are building your own doctor with that school tax.

 

[Ty]

While I agree that for most of the US solar panels are not quite good enough yet, they are getting better. In the next few years the wattage produced per square inch will probably almost double, the cost will be lower, and it might even be painted on. The real key will be micro inverters such as the IQ8 Enphase is bringing out this year.

the 400Watt panels by Sun Power are the most powerful available panels right now and they include micro inverters. They are very nice panels. If I could just convince the wife the expense is worth it in the end...

 

[RSchneider]

I was thinking the same thing but basically, school taxes ensures that you and I will be taken care of by competent people in the future. You are building your own doctor with that school tax.

It also ensures that your school district doesn't turn into a dump. What you do is at least double the taxes that people with kids pay and what about families that have 6 kids as opposed to 1? Shouldn't the one family pay 6X as much? What you'll have happen is that people abandon their homes and move elsewhere because the tax bill is liking them and their property value goes in the toilet.

When you bring up the fire department and police. I've never had to use either. I do know that when I need a permit for construction, I need to pay for that and thus the code enforcement comes out to make sure it's OK. Since I already pay his salary, why am I paying for a permit?

The best option is to move outside the US. If you have a good accountant, then you can pay pretty much zero local and state taxes. Thus the reason why many live outside the US.

 

[RSchneider]

the 400Watt panels by Sun Power are the most powerful available panels right now and they include micro inverters. They are very nice panels. If I could just convince the wife the expense is worth it in the end...

What you should do is the research when it comes to location for the panels. I see many panels here that are just stuck on a roof and point in all different directions and many are laying down too flat. The solar farms we have in our area (i.e. at the schools) are professionally installed where the angle , direction and in an area where the trees are not blocking them. One school by us made covered parking for the high school because placing the panels above part of the parking lot was the best position to so.

This is why the guy down the street from me screwed up and new he sees why. The panels lay too flat (so not getting the maximum utilization of the sun for the whole season) which causes another problem that is snow cover. On top of that, his house faces SW and thus barely anything until it hits noon. This is not even counting the meteorological data that shows all of those cloud covered days wee get per year. That just adds insult to injury.

 

[Ty]

What you should do is the research when it comes to location for the panels. I see many panels here that are just stuck on a roof and point in all different directions and many are laying down too flat. The solar farms we have in our area (i.e. at the schools) are professionally installed where the angle , direction and in an area where the trees are not blocking them. One school by us made covered parking for the high school because placing the panels above part of the parking lot was the best position to so.

This is why the guy down the street from me screwed up and new he sees why. The panels lay too flat (so not getting the maximum utilization of the sun for the whole season) which causes another problem that is snow cover. On top of that, his house faces SW and thus barely anything until it hits noon. This is not even counting the meteorological data that shows all of those cloud covered days wee get per year. That just adds insult to injury.

My house is well situated for panels on the roof. I'd be able to easily provide enough electricity for my house without having to cover my entire roof. My roof is less than a year old and is a prime candidate for panels. I just can't quite justify them at this point. There are no incentives where I live and I don't qualify for the Federal ones which makes the pay-back time extend beyond how long we think we'll be living here.

 

[RSchneider]

My house is well situated for panels on the roof. I'd be able to easily provide enough electricity for my house without having to cover my entire roof. My roof is less than a year old and is a prime candidate for panels. I just can't quite justify them at this point. There are no incentives where I live and I don't qualify for the Federal ones which makes the pay-back time extend beyond how long we think we'll be living here.

my neighbor was convinced after reading the internet and as he told me, "Solar City is taking off and everyone is doing it." Now it's , "I'm not getting what I expected and now will live with it. " Seems that Solar City (which were hitting our area hard for a while), just evaporated.

This past winter has been a bust because his roof probably was covered with snow for at least half the season. Then he discovered that the neighbor across the street, his trees block about 25% of the sunlight for everything except for the evening. Unless he can convince his neighbor to cut down those trees, then he's stuck.

 

[Made in USA]

What a lot of people miss is focusing on reducing your energy requirements. For instance, natural gas typically costs less than electricity for heating. Changing to a gas stove and dryer can save a lot. Even better, when a solar system is installed with off-grid battery back-up, the system can keep your house heated easier if natural gas. In my house I have a boiler with baseboard heating. It only requires a small amount of electricity to run. Much less than a traditional furnace. If I were building new, I would consider water heated floors.

Before installing solar I am waiting for the Enphase IQ8 to come out, which supports batteries and can run off-grid.

 

[NSTG8R]

I've been looking at an old limestone quarry to build a house on. 15 acres with a 3 acre lake. They hit a spring digging for limestone and silica and had to abandon the quarry years ago, and the lake was born. It ended up being a pretty sweet property surrounded by 150' bluffs on three sides, crystal clear 40' deep lake, and the catfish living in it are as big as your leg. I'd go with solar panels and a geothermal heatpump system backed up with an efficient ducted woodstove for the really cold days. All you're running is the blower and a circulation pump for both heating and cooling with the geothermal set up, and the new ones even keep your hotwater tank hot. LEDs for all the lighting. Should be a pretty energy efficient house. Now, if I can convince my buddy's dad to sell me the property...