Financing New Solar Install…. Any advice?

[briansd1]

[quote=Eugene]Solar is economically justified *if* you install it yourself.[/quote]

Yes, labor and permitting is very expensive.

Maintenance is also very expensive.

Same principle applies to building your own house from the ground up. That’s why people like Russell can make a good living at it.

[Eugene]

Labor is fairly trivial. You basically need a ladder, a drill, and a caulk gun. Final hookups can be done by any licensed electrician for $50. It’s a LOT harder to install, say, a solar water heater than PV.

You do need a permit. In the unincorporated county, permits are free, in most cities, permits are under $300. Drawing up plans and obtaining the permit is probably the hardest part, because you also have to coordinate with the utility company:

http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/docs/DPLU663.pdf

Solar panels require minimal maintenance. At most you need to wash them with a hose once or twice a year.

[Eugene]

Labor is fairly trivial. You basically need a ladder, a drill, and a caulk gun. Final hookups can be done by any licensed electrician for $50. It’s a LOT harder to install, say, a solar water heater than PV.

You do need a permit. In the unincorporated county, permits are free, in most cities, permits are under $300. Drawing up plans and obtaining the permit is probably the hardest part, because you also have to coordinate with the utility company:

http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/docs/DPLU663.pdf

Solar panels require minimal maintenance. At most you need to wash them with a hose once or twice a year.

[Eugene]

Labor is fairly trivial. You basically need a ladder, a drill, and a caulk gun. Final hookups can be done by any licensed electrician for $50. It’s a LOT harder to install, say, a solar water heater than PV.

You do need a permit. In the unincorporated county, permits are free, in most cities, permits are under $300. Drawing up plans and obtaining the permit is probably the hardest part, because you also have to coordinate with the utility company:

http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/docs/DPLU663.pdf

Solar panels require minimal maintenance. At most you need to wash them with a hose once or twice a year.

[Eugene]

Labor is fairly trivial. You basically need a ladder, a drill, and a caulk gun. Final hookups can be done by any licensed electrician for $50. It’s a LOT harder to install, say, a solar water heater than PV.

You do need a permit. In the unincorporated county, permits are free, in most cities, permits are under $300. Drawing up plans and obtaining the permit is probably the hardest part, because you also have to coordinate with the utility company:

http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/docs/DPLU663.pdf

Solar panels require minimal maintenance. At most you need to wash them with a hose once or twice a year.

[Eugene]

Labor is fairly trivial. You basically need a ladder, a drill, and a caulk gun. Final hookups can be done by any licensed electrician for $50. It’s a LOT harder to install, say, a solar water heater than PV.

You do need a permit. In the unincorporated county, permits are free, in most cities, permits are under $300. Drawing up plans and obtaining the permit is probably the hardest part, because you also have to coordinate with the utility company:

http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dplu/docs/DPLU663.pdf

Solar panels require minimal maintenance. At most you need to wash them with a hose once or twice a year.

[briansd1]

You pay the installer for his experience, organizational setup, overhead and profits.

You have to get permits, hook up batteries, program computers, coordinate with vendors, etc…

It would be like going to the restaurant with your own food and say cook it for me.

But if you want to do the research and do it yourself, then all the power to you.

Like I said, you can build your own house too; and you don’t need a contractor’s license to work on your own property.

[briansd1]

You pay the installer for his experience, organizational setup, overhead and profits.

You have to get permits, hook up batteries, program computers, coordinate with vendors, etc…

It would be like going to the restaurant with your own food and say cook it for me.

But if you want to do the research and do it yourself, then all the power to you.

Like I said, you can build your own house too; and you don’t need a contractor’s license to work on your own property.

[briansd1]

You pay the installer for his experience, organizational setup, overhead and profits.

You have to get permits, hook up batteries, program computers, coordinate with vendors, etc…

It would be like going to the restaurant with your own food and say cook it for me.

But if you want to do the research and do it yourself, then all the power to you.

Like I said, you can build your own house too; and you don’t need a contractor’s license to work on your own property.

[briansd1]

You pay the installer for his experience, organizational setup, overhead and profits.

You have to get permits, hook up batteries, program computers, coordinate with vendors, etc…

It would be like going to the restaurant with your own food and say cook it for me.

But if you want to do the research and do it yourself, then all the power to you.

Like I said, you can build your own house too; and you don’t need a contractor’s license to work on your own property.

[briansd1]

You pay the installer for his experience, organizational setup, overhead and profits.

You have to get permits, hook up batteries, program computers, coordinate with vendors, etc…

It would be like going to the restaurant with your own food and say cook it for me.

But if you want to do the research and do it yourself, then all the power to you.

Like I said, you can build your own house too; and you don’t need a contractor’s license to work on your own property.

[Eugene]

[quote]It would be like going to the restaurant with your own food and say cook it for me. [/quote]

Most people do cook their own food.

[quote]Like I said, you can build your own house too; and you don’t need a contractor’s license to work on your own property.[/quote]

Sadly, that’s not always true. For example, you can’t drill a well on your own property in CA (you need a specialized well driller contractor license, which costs ~$400).

[Eugene]

[quote]It would be like going to the restaurant with your own food and say cook it for me. [/quote]

Most people do cook their own food.

[quote]Like I said, you can build your own house too; and you don’t need a contractor’s license to work on your own property.[/quote]

Sadly, that’s not always true. For example, you can’t drill a well on your own property in CA (you need a specialized well driller contractor license, which costs ~$400).

[Eugene]

[quote]It would be like going to the restaurant with your own food and say cook it for me. [/quote]

Most people do cook their own food.

[quote]Like I said, you can build your own house too; and you don’t need a contractor’s license to work on your own property.[/quote]

Sadly, that’s not always true. For example, you can’t drill a well on your own property in CA (you need a specialized well driller contractor license, which costs ~$400).

[Eugene]

[quote]It would be like going to the restaurant with your own food and say cook it for me. [/quote]

Most people do cook their own food.

[quote]Like I said, you can build your own house too; and you don’t need a contractor’s license to work on your own property.[/quote]

Sadly, that’s not always true. For example, you can’t drill a well on your own property in CA (you need a specialized well driller contractor license, which costs ~$400).

[Author]

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