Ruthlessrider

I don’t have to remove the panels from the roof, because they are not mounted on the roof. I’ve had the array since 2011, and the only maintenance I have had to worry about was one nonfunctioning panel that was covered under warranty and was replaced within a week. The array paid for itself within 8 years.

Those of you who are not familiar with green technology really should spend time learning about options. I have several friend who live in cities and have offset their electrical cost by buying portion of large private arrays which will undoubtedly pay for themselves before their lifespans. Yes, there are negative associated with EVs, but they pale in comparison to ICEs.

Merlin1300 Loc: New England, But Now & Forever SoTX

We are independent - to a fault - but that's us. Come and Take it
BUT - no - green energy failed because the wind turbines froze, and there was no sun for the solar cells.
And I'll bet, had I had an EV - it would NOT have been happy either (ref recent chicago EV drivers).
-
BUT - I'd still like to play with a Plaid!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkKNwZLyONY

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

99% of solar arrays are roof mounted so 99% of them are going to have issues down the track with maintenance. For the few people with a few clues maybe their experiences with the arrays will be positive but most of them will be up for some expensive surprises. Unfortunately most people don't know that Coloursteel (prepainted steel roofing) only has a life of 15 years (although some may last longer). And large solar arrays cost a lot of money and this has to be reflected into the cost of recharging the EV. It is NOT FREE power.
New ICEs that are maintained correctly have few negatives - note the use of 'maintained' and 'correctly'. They do use a few things like petrol and oil but I hope that you don't thing that because you now have an EV that you also won't have to maintain your brake fluid because I suspect a lot of ignorant people do.
The fact that ICEs use petrol and oil is mostly compensated in EVs by the fact that they incur some of their downsides during their manufacture. There is a reason why Hertz are flicking on 20,000 EVs - cost to maintain is much greater than ICEs and the depreciation is much greater.
And I hope that your EV is being charged inside your garage which is NOT part of your house otherwise you are taking a greater risk with your life and that of your family.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

One thing that seems obvious to me now is that people who install solar arrays and buy EVs are totally ignoring the initial purchase cost. They seem to think that once they have coughed up the money it suddenly becomes 'free'. This is not the case. And long term looming expenses like repainting their roof's, solar panel replacement, EV battery disposal, EV battery replacement are in the future and can therefore be ignored (or more to the point will have been passed on to some poor sucker who doesn't know any better - this is bad and irresponsible behaviour on your part).

Merlin1300 Loc: New England, But Now & Forever SoTX

Well - Yeah - - I do now have Solar. Installed recently as electric costs are out of control.
I also have a 1000 Gal propane tank and a 22 KW Generac - but solar is useless off grid without batteries.
Can't charge an EV off grid without solar or jenny & batteries. Batteries are next.
-
I wanna S3 Plaid.

Just a few of the 47 panels installed

(Download)

Will run things for a few days off grid

(Download)

gouldopfl

For Tesla's, they did. I guess they get a kickback on every usage.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

I think a really useful solar installation (if you aren't involving batteries which are of course a cost and will need replacing) is a smaller array (much lower costs) and a water heater with two heating elements and two thermostats (this as an option wouldn't actually add much to the cost and a replacement cylinder). One hooked up to normal mains and the other to the solar array. I guess you would need something to tell the mains supply to stop if power is coming from the array but the idea is to make sure that you are doing nothing that requires any interaction between the two so you don't upset your power company. If the water cylinder temp drops AND there is insufficient power coming from the array then it will carry on heating. It could be seamless and since your hot water is the largest user of power you should see a significant drop in power consumption without requiring a monstrous array.

gburmster Loc: Castle Rock CO

In Colorado, my home charger costs 14 cents per KWH except for 4-8 pm when the rates change to $2.00 per KWH. Sounds crazy but true. The Tesla supercharge costs 35 cents per KWH so much cheaper to charge at home overnight.

neillaubenthal

This whole argument is just like the whole brand of camera or sensor size or mirrorless vs DSLR…and both sides in this argument are presenting only those ‘facts’ they like and ignoring ones they don’t like. While I’m as happy to help prevent climate change as the next person..it’s been happening since long before the Industrial Revolution…and again both sides in that debate are skewing the actual facts to suit their preferred opinion.

Merlin1300 Loc: New England, But Now & Forever SoTX

If the Grid goes down, Solar doesn't work AT ALL unless you have batteries able to support the expected load. With Batteries, solar and the Jenny work to recharge the batteries which provide primary power to the load. My water heaters are tankless and run off my propane tank - little to no electric power needed. The big power eaters are the HVAC (SEER 15 Heat Pumps) - AND the freaking pool pump motors - which will be curtailed if required.

Merlin1300 Loc: New England, But Now & Forever SoTX

Irrelevent. Climate change has been happening since the earth was created. Man has Nothing to do with it.
While I'm waiting for someone to develope the hydrogen cell, or a back-yard modular thermonuclear power plant, I'll invest in Lithium Ion Batteries (which will last longer than I will) to complete my home power triad (Solar, Generator, Batteries)

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

You must be very old then because lithium ion batteries DO NOT last forever. Lithium iron phosphate batteries last a lot longer than lithium ion but they have a lower voltage (and various other issues) and are a better choice. EVs use lithium ion and they degrade with time which is why after a number of years they only have half their starting capacity. Maybe okay if as you age you go on shorter journeys.
I wonder if Tesla Powerwalls also suffer from being cold ? And how long do they last before degrading ?
And in passing climate change may or may not have been going on for donkeys years but in the future it will be an earth without lithium, copper and oil.

Ruthlessrider

Respectfully, I don’t think you know what you are talking about.

What reference can you provide for the statement “99%of arrays are on roofs”?

Several of my neighbors have recently (5years) have replaced their roofs with steel with warranties for 50 years. I doubt the roofers would be offering those kind of warranties for 50 year.

The reason car rental companies are selling some of their EV fleets has more to do with the lack of available charging station than anything else. According to one source “ The NFPA reports that there are roughly 170,000 car fires annually, and of those, around 4,000 are electric cars.” In addition, “ So, what do experts in the field have to say about the safety of electric cars? The consensus seems to be that while there are risks associated with using electric vehicles, these risks are relatively low compared to the risks associated with using petrol or diesel vehicles.

For example, a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that the rate of fires in electric vehicles was significantly lower than the rate of fires in petrol vehicles.”

I think I’ll go with NHTSA and my 25000+ mile with my EV.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

Be very careful of only reading what you want to see.
99% of solar arrays are on roofs because that is the only place to put them unless you own several acres of uncommitted land. Plus my eyes tell me this as I drive around. Not talking about commercial arrays which are obviously NOT on roofs.
Installers giving 50 year warranties are either just hoping you, nor them, will be around to claim or respond or still in business. Or the roof is made from stainless steel or copper. Roofing materials ie paint just does not last that long. Tiles might but luck would have to pay a part in this.
Hertz are getting rid of their fleet of EVs (part of their EV fleet) because of -
1 insufficient charging stations
2. high depreciation
3. high repair costs
4. weak demand from customers
I see you somehow managed to miss reading about items 2, 3 and 4.
If I was looking at buying a used EV (which is what dictates depreciation) I would only take a 6-10 year old EV if it was GIVEN to me because I know that a bill for $10 grand is coming up (or more because this is making an assumption that the EV battery hasn't become obsolete). And lets see if you can guess what that will do to depreciation.
The frequency of fires you quote might be slightly more accurate but all I can tell you is that I won't park my car in any 10 story parking building if an EV is on the bottom floor. And the statistics DO NOT tell you how many other cars get damaged from a single EV fire. And I bet that boat that went up from an EV fire was counted as a single EV fire rather than the fact that they ALSO lost 5,000 other vehicles. Nor the fact that some ferry companies won't ferry EVs any longer. See what you can selectively pick out of that, with respect.
Your response is what a first time buyer (ie have bought the vehicle from new) makes knowing that all the coming hassles will have been successfully passed on to another sucker. Once again with respect.

Merlin1300 Loc: New England, But Now & Forever SoTX

They will last longer than I have time remaining (so I'm probably older and wiser than you). Li batteries have higher energy density than LiFePO4 and are le$$. Yeah - LiFePO4 batteries are more stable and more heat tolerant - but I'm not sure that makes them a better value for off-grid power storage. Were it not for bulk and maintenance issues, lead-acid batteries would probably win. But you won't find PbAcid or LiFePO4 in a Rivian (although they are looking at it).