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Ok_Low_1287 t1_ja485ni wrote

For some people in the right situation, solar is the only way to go. It does require a significant investment, and a long time to recover that cost.

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Racer_Bait t1_ja4t76w wrote

I’ve been hearing 5-7 years up here in NH (assuming you’re not blocked by trees or something)

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UnfairAd7220 t1_ja4c17d wrote

At these prices, the payback is shrunk.

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Ok_Low_1287 t1_ja4idty wrote

I did mine myself and it was cheap

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Jay_Derkin t1_ja4mgtv wrote

Oh shit aren’t you that guy who got roasted for making some cringe gatekeeping solar post and then deleted it? Your name seems vaguely familiar for some reason.

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Ok_Low_1287 t1_ja4okko wrote

Yes, I realized that post put some people off, but it was not my intent to offend.

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LeftTurnAtAlbuqurque t1_ja5545e wrote

How approachable is it as a diy project? How did you source the components? I'm currently looking into a solar setup, and it's expensive enough and I am handy enough that saving some this way is tempting.

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Ok_Low_1287 t1_ja5blba wrote

Well if you are handy and generally comfortable with doing electrical work it's actually pretty simple. The hardest part is actually getting the solar panels mounted, everybody situation is different if they go on your roof that's where it gets complicated. The other issue is if you're going to be tying it in to your electrical service. That gets more complicated. Doing a battery backup or off-grid setup is very easy, the equipment has gotten a lot cheaper in the last few years.

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ConcentrateNice7752 t1_ja5m60r wrote

Its pretty easy but some towns won't let you fo your own electrical. :(

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gweased_pig t1_ja5t6e0 wrote

State law trumps town, and state says homeowners can do their own electric work. I went to the building inspector with my plans, and he said no way. I read the state law and came back armed with that. Oh yeah, you just have to sign this form, then you are good. Funny, the inspection was nothing. Yep solar panels, looks good see ya. I was hoping for more actually.

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ConcentrateNice7752 t1_ja5vn7c wrote

I'll have to look in to that more. I only got half the posts for the mount in before this recent snow so I'll have to wait a bit to finish and think more about the electrical side of things.

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GraniteGeekNH t1_ja7ia1g wrote

There is a group in Hilsborough County called HAREI - H. County Renewable Energy something - that helps people do this, including more than 80 barn-raising-style solar installs over the years. They're on Facebook mostly.

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scottieducati t1_ja7p31k wrote

ROI is as little as 5-7 years for many these days it seems.

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Ok_Low_1287 t1_ja7w2bc wrote

Definitely if you do it yourself. If you have to hire a professional to do it, they use top tier equipment at full markup, and you pay a lot in job hours. Still can be worth it, but contracting the work out is at least double the cost vs. DIY. Some places don't allow DIY, however.

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scottieducati t1_ja7ybn2 wrote

In MA they have some incentives as well, ROI even with an established company is still well within reasonable timeframe based on the quotes we received. We’ll see about in-use performance tho.

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Ok_Low_1287 t1_ja9416v wrote

I am currently powering 100% of my electrical needs off solar except in the winter during snow/stormy periods. I have a large enough lot to have a big array, and that is a limiting factor for many folks, they just don't have a lot/roof big enough or open enough. The electrical companies are starting to use their political weight to make it harder for people to implement solar.

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