Who installed your roof and how old is it? I’ve seen a lot of the long term roofing companies have standing agreements with the solar installers to handle the panel mounting portion of the work. Call them.

Maintenance is trivial, a once a year check of the system ($200), make sure the connections are all tight, check the ground circuit, interrupt circuit, inverter, etc. Plus a cleaning of the panels.

The only real drawback is breakeven is about ten years. Otherwise, IMHO, really a no brainer given our climate and sunny day level. I’m frankly amazed new home development plans don’t have to include them and orient the home lots to maximize the benefit before getting city/county approval.

[quote=CA renter]FWIW, our neighbor used Sullivan and highly recommends them. They just got them installed not long ago, so we’re still waiting to hear more about the savings.

We are also very interested in getting solar, so would love to hear from anyone who’s had solar panels for some time.

Especially after SDG&E sent out their new rate increase notices that they claim are necessary as a result of San Onofre going off-line, this would seem to be a no-brainer for those of us who tend to be heavy users (pool pumps, A/C, etc.).[/quote]

Speaking of pool pumps. Has anyone replaced their single speed pool pump with a variable speed pump? How much is the savings monthly? How long do you need to keep the pump on?

Figure I’ll maximize the potential savings to see if solar is even necessary.

[quote=moneymaker]I’m no expert, but I’ve heard a micro controller system is desirable. Each panel’s output can be monitored and controlled. That’s the problem with a lot of systems is they are so interconnected that if 1 panel goes bad it is tough to tell which one is bad.[/quote]

I’ve heard that micro-inverters are the best choice, too.

——–

OCR,

We’re wondering the same thing ourselves regarding the pool pumps. IIRC, scaredycat switched to a variable pump and saw significant results, but would have to find that thread. We actually have two pumps, with one being a booster pump for the pool vacuum, and the electric bill for this house was more when it was empty than our rental was when we were living in it (and it was about the same size, etc.).

[quote=CA renter][quote=moneymaker]I’m no expert, but I’ve heard a micro controller system is desirable. Each panel’s output can be monitored and controlled. That’s the problem with a lot of systems is they are so interconnected that if 1 panel goes bad it is tough to tell which one is bad.[/quote]

I’ve heard that micro-inverters are the best choice, too.

——–

OCR,

We’re wondering the same thing ourselves regarding the pool pumps. IIRC, scaredycat switched to a variable pump and saw significant results, but would have to find that thread. We actually have two pumps, with one being a booster pump for the pool vacuum, and the electric bill for this house was more when it was empty than our rental was when we were living in it (and it was about the same size, etc.).[/quote]

I’m leaning more and more toward it. Managed to find the link you mentioned: http://piggington.com/ot_variable_speed_pool_pumps

LOoks like ROI is less than 2 years.

WOuld definitely do this before considering solar. Pick off all of the low hanging fruits first!

[quote=CA renter]Thanks for digging up that thread, OCR. Been meaning to do that for awhile. You’re right, this would be a great first step before getting solar panels. Whatever you decide to do, it would be great if you would post the results here. I’ll do the same if we make any changes to the pump or get solar panels.[/quote]

Sounds good!