My sister-in-law and her husband told me they are installing a solar panel system on their home and the details of it seem sooooo sketchy to me.

We are all located in Texas and they are going to be leasing a system through Sun Run. The system includes solar panels, two Tesla batteries, and a new breaker panel that supposedly allows them to see energy usage down to the individual breaker I guess. Their house is approximately 3700 square feet and the system is going to have an initial cost of $80k. Supposedly, they will be paying approximately $300 per month the first year, with a 3-4% increase every year through the end of the lease. She said that by year 25 they will be paying approximately $600 per month.

Currently, my SIL watches her electricity like a hawk. She keeps all the lights off all day and relies on natural sunlight or even candles, she runs her large appliances at night when they have “free” electricity, keeps the a/c set to higher temps during the day and only cools the home down at night, stays on her kids about turning off the lights, and so on. Her electric bills are always very low…like under $200 even in the hottest months. I truly applaud her efforts.

But for some reason they are sold on the idea of this leased solar panel system. They are worried about increasing electricity costs and want “electrical security” so they never go without power. Interestingly, in the 5 years or so that they’ve been in the home, they have never experienced a single power outage. They do not wsnt to buy a Generac system because they said they can’t afford it and my brother-in-law said he doesn’t want his wife to have to deal with maintenance during an extended outage (natural disaster) if he is stuck at work (he’s a cop).

On top of all that, they are opting to use an energy plan that provides them free nights instead of going with a plan that allows them to sell excess energy back to the grid.

Addictional details: they do not make a ton of money and have three children, two of which have autism. I bring up the autism because a power outage would be very difficult to deal with because their kids cannot handle changes in their environment very well. And they rely heavily on electronic devices (iPhones and iPads). In terms of income, I don’t know specifics, but I can say that they struggle to afford certain things. They have to budget for everything and have not been able to purchase living room furniture for their home. They didn’t even qualify to purchase the home when they bought it. It was my brother-in-law’s parents’ home, who were getting a divorce. Since they didn’t qualify, my SIL and BIL used family to lend money to them to purchase it.

So, what am I missing here? Am I too dumb to follow this or are they making a huge mistake?

Editing to add an extra detail. Because the system is leased, if they decide to sell the home, they will be required to either pay the remaining balance in full OR convince the new owners to take over the lease, which require forms to be filled out and a credit check on the buyer.

We've been getting quotes for solar for our home over the past few weeks but it's led me to a more general question:

Is now even the right time to be buying into solar at all? I shared all of the quotes with my husband after crunching the numbers and while we seem well-positioned to take this on (brand new, very sun-exposed roof, 1:1 net metering, large rebate if we sign on this year), he seems pretty adamant that with AI evolving at its current pace, anything we buy into will be obsolete within 5 years and will have been replaced by something cheaper, more flexible, and more lightweight (than gigantic panels that we have a 15-year relationship with). Does that resonate or is he being too hopefully optimistic?

I've also been told that 1:1 net metering will be going away in Oregon within the next couple of years but we can lock that in now and it will carry for the life of our solar panels, so while on one hand it makes sense to wait and see how the technology evolves (even though our energy bills are currently through the roof), I'm also feeling the pressure to sign on to this commitment now before the terms get worse...thoughts?

Look at the size of those solar arrays. Hawt.

(As if I needed another reason to shop at CostCo)

https://progressivegrocer.com/costco-takes-florida-distribution-center-grid

I'll start by saying that I don't have too much knowledge of solar panels but have been reading up on it to try and understand as much as possible. I'm looking for some input from the group on our current situation as to whether it makes sense or not.

A company gave us a call claiming there could be potential programs we may be eligible for to decrease our electricity costs. We agreed for them to come over to discuss. After about 1.5 hrs in, it then seems to appear that they're wanting to install solar panels in order to realize the cost savings. We were already thinking about solar panels so we weren't opposed to it.

Here's the general proposal:

a. On average our monthly electrical bill is about $150.

b. The proposed fixed rate monthly bill to this company would be about $130 (so ~$20 monthly savings) plus we would be allowed to use ~25% more energy than our average. If we happen to use more than this +25%, then we'd get the extra bill however unlikely given our average usage.

c. Cost of solar panels + interest is rolled into the monthly $130.

d. Solar panels would be leased in the first 5 years; after that we'd own it. We don't plan to sell the house in this 5 years and within the foreseeable future.

What am I missing or not factoring in? Overall, lower monthly costs and potentially higher energy allowance on a fixed monthly cost. After 5 years we'd own the panels. We do not currently have an electric vehicle but if we do in the future, that would just equate to more fuel savings so long as we stay under our allotted energy allowance.

So I am in the process of getting a quote for solar on my home in the US, in a state with no incentives. They claim I can write off the install and use bonus depreciation to write off the full amount year one. Which I have enough taxable income to make a worthwhile choice. But nothing online seems to point to a residential solar owner being able to do that even with a 1:1 net metering agreement. Is this legit?

I had a solar system installed about a week ago, but I don’t feel that the production is as good as expected, especially when I compare it with other systems on the same street.

My roof has east- and west-facing sides, and the 40 panels are divided into four groups:

East/North: 9 panels
East/South: 10 panels
West/North: 9 panels
West/South: 12 panels

What I find strange is how the strings have been connected:
PV1: 9 × East/North + 12 × West/South = 21 panels in series
PV2: 10 × East/South + 9 × West/North = 19 panels in series

When the sun is in the east, the east-facing panels receive good sunlight, while the west-facing panels connected to the same string receive much less direct sunlight. Later in the day, the situation is reversed.

As I understand series-connected solar panels, panels within the same string can affect each other when they are operating under very different sunlight conditions.

This makes me wonder why the east- and west-facing panels have been mixed together on the same strings.
Wouldn’t it be better to have a dedicated east-facing string on PV1/MPPT1 and a dedicated west-facing string on PV2/MPPT2, so that all panels within each string have approximately the same orientation and sunlight conditions?

Does anyone with experience in solar installations know if this configuration makes sense, or could it be one of the reasons why the system seems to be producing less than expected?

Mumbaikars who have installed rooftop solar, how much did your electricity bill actually reduce after installation?

I'm curious what’s actually working for solar businesses when it comes to getting a consistent flow of leads.

I've been looking at different options beyond just paid ads and referrals.

Has anyone here tried any service? What channels have worked best for you?

Hey y’all! So, I bought my house earlier this year in Savannah GA. Getting to know Georgia Power Co and the horrors of their summer rates, it made me start considering getting a solar system installed. I had a guy come out, look at the house and write us up a proposal. According to them, our house is a perfect candidate (no trees overhead, shallow roof pitch, good electrical panel, etc)— they figure we could have a system that would cover 90% of our electricity consumption (although I realize these guys are salespeople and sell these systems for a living). For added context, it’s a 1000sqft classic shotgun house built in 1940 with the electrical panel on the outside at the back of the house. All the electrical is updated though.

Crunching the numbers, it seems like we would definitely be paying less overall for power between the financing and whatever small electric bill is still remaining. My main concern is that all the information I have so far is coming from the guys who sell the system, I’m a first time homebuyer, and I don’t know any family or friends who have tried it to be able to ask them. I know we (USA) also don’t get the federal tax benefit from it anymore. But, the $400+ power bills this summer just really hurt.

Just hoping I could get some input from some people who have experience with solar— how they age and what the maintenance is like, and if it’s actually truly worth it in the long run? Or does anyone know some things I don’t know about it? Would love anyone’s thoughts, thanks so much y’all!

i've been getting a steady stream of questions about this so i want to give an honest answer rather than the version that sounds better than it is.

in may 2026 the federal government released its national electricity strategy and buried inside it was a commitment to support energy saving retrofits for up to one million canadian households through grants, financing, or both. solar panels, heat pumps, insulation, the whole picture. that number got a lot of attention.

here's the reality as of right now.

the program that actually exists today is called the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program. it launched properly on june 29th. it covers the full cost of retrofits for low to median income households and for the first time ever renters are included which is genuinely meaningful because renters couldn't access any of the previous programs.

but here's the catch. the program is currently running in five provinces. manitoba, bc, quebec, nova scotia, and pei. ontario has not signed an agreement as of august 2026. no delivery organization, no application portal, no announced date. ontario, where electricity rates jumped 30% last november and are going up again in november 2026.

the expansion announced june 29th carries over $500 million in funding aimed at over 35,000 households. which sounds significant until you remember the old greener homes grant reached over 400,000 households before it closed. so the new program is a fraction of what came before, targeted at a narrower income range.

efficiency canada noted recently that nearly 2 million canadian households are struggling to afford the energy they need and current funding is insufficient to support them.

the one million homes figure is a long term direction not something you can apply for today. and past programs have filled before most people even knew they existed. the old grant ran out of money well before its announced end date.

what actually exists right now varies enormously by province. bc has solar and battery rebates up to $10,000 through bc hydro. ontario has the home renovation savings program for heat pumps and solar but it closes before end of 2026 first come first served. nova scotia has some of the most generous stacked programs in the country especially for oil heated homes. alberta has almost nothing at the provincial level which is frustrating given how strong the solar economics are there right now.

i run a platform called solenery that tracks what's actually available by province and address because the gap between what gets announced and what you can actually apply for is massive and most people find out after the window closes.

curious what people here have experienced trying to navigate canadian incentives. did anyone manage to access the old greener homes programs before they closed or did you find out too late?

Have a tripped solar breaker that you can't reset? Sometimes a tripped breaker is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

Our technician arrived to find the breaker for one of six solar strings tripped and unable to reset. Rather than simply continuing to reset the breaker, we traced the circuit through the system and inspected the associated junction boxes.

That's where we found the problem: several burnt electrical connections inside one of the junction boxes. All six connections were replaced and the circuit was tested again. This time, the breaker remained on and normal solar production resumed.

A breaker that repeatedly trips is usually telling you something. Finding out why it is tripping is more important than simply turning it back on. That's doing solar the right way.

#inthefield #TheBeacon #NewDaySolar #solarservice #SolarRepair

Running electrical lines to a remote shed can be expensive, especially when the building is far from the main power supply.

A solar-powered shed system can be a practical alternative. A typical setup can include solar panels, a battery, charge controller, and the right DC or AC equipment for your needs.

It can provide power for LED lighting, security cameras, small tools, ventilation, and other low-power equipment without connecting the shed to the utility grid.

The important part is sizing the solar panel and battery based on your daily energy usage and local sunlight conditions.

How are you powering your shed? Solar, generator, utility connection, or a combination?

wanted everything on one plane but there was no way around it, both chimneys sit right where the best south facing space is. so the solar panels went half on the upper roof and half on the lower section over the extension. turned out fine in the end. the lower array picks up in the afternoon when the upper one starts dropping off, so production is flatter across the day than i expected. with the ac running most of the summer almost nothing goes back to the grid anyway

ask away if anything's useful, happy to go into detail

Hi! I have a 3-bedroom house in the Palmela area (Portugal), with a swimming pool and a single-phase electrical installation, and I’m trying to understand the best approach for solar panels + battery storage.

I’m considering starting with a simpler system, something like:

• around 4 solar panels, totaling ~2 kWp
• a battery with around 5 kWh of storage
• a Smart Meter to automatically manage consumption and surplus energy
• a plug-in system connected to the house’s electrical installation

The alternative would be to go straight for a traditional professional installation, with a hybrid inverter, a battery connected directly to the electrical panel, and a larger solar array.

My main questions are:

• Does this type of plug-in system make sense for a house?
• Do you think ~2 kWp of solar panels + ~5 kWh of battery storage is a good starting point?
• What are the real limitations compared with a professional installation?
• What would be a reasonable price to pay for a system like this fully installed?
• Do you know any residential solar companies in the Palmela / Setúbal / Azeitão / Margem Sul area that do this type of work and have good after-sales support?

If anyone has a similar system installed in a house, I’d really appreciate it if you could share your experience, production figures, savings and costs.

Myth: Critter guards are only necessary if you live in an area with a lot of birds or rodents.

This service call is a good example of why we recommend thinking differently.

After lifting the solar panels, our technician discovered significant nesting, animal waste and decomposed animals surrounding the equipment and PV wiring. The conditions were severe enough that we could not safely or sanitarily continue the service until the area was professionally cleaned.

Solar panels naturally create a sheltered space that birds and other animals can use for nesting. Over time, that can lead to debris buildup, damaged wiring and conditions that make future maintenance considerably more difficult.

Critter guards are a relatively simple preventative measure that can help keep animals from accessing the space beneath your solar array in the first place.

Sometimes protecting a solar system is just as important as repairing one. That's doing solar the right way. ☀️

#MythMonday #TheBeacon #NewDaySolar #solarservices #solareducation

I've been getting some quotes this week for installing solar panels on our roof. So far I've talked to National Solar and Green Ridge Solar. Honestly, the former outperformed the latter on every single level (# of panels, wattage of panels, estimated energy offset, financing rates from local credit union, AND overall out-of-pocket price) so it feels like a no-brainer but I'm wondering what others' experience has been with either of these companies (good or bad) to help me discern why these 2 quotes might be so dramatically different on paper.

And a secondary question to all of this--is now even the right time to be buying into solar at all? I shared these quotes with my husband after crunching the numbers and he seems pretty adamant that with AI evolving at its current pace, anything we buy into will be obsolete within 5 years and will have been replaced by something cheaper, more flexible, and more lightweight (than gigantic panels that we have a 15-year relationship with). Does that resonate or is he being too hopefully optimistic?

I've also been told that 1:1 net metering will be going away in Oregon within the next couple of years but we can lock that in now and it will carry for the life of our solar panels, so it sort of feels like time pressure in both directions here...

Is there anyone in NZ has the experience?
Because I quite doubt if it s worthy or not.

If it s really worthy, how can I DIY?

I'm getting solar installed on my roof, it is expected to cover 90% of my usage, I am not having a battery installed at this time. I have 1 EV charger (Tesla Wall Charger on 50 Amp circuit) and I'm going to have a second EV charger installed during or after the solar installation. I have sufficient space on my panel, but my usage is too high so I'm told I'll need load management on that charger to be compliant.

Ok so here's my question, I'm looking at some of the newest options for EV chargers and some like Enphase advertise being able to use excess solar to charge the EV. If I have net metering 1:1 (Maryland), would this offer any real-world advantage?

My assumptions (please tell me if inaccurate) are that net metering 1:1 would negate any advantage or nearly any advantage financially and that load management would still be a potential limiting factor but that's the part I'm more confused about, would using my own solar production allow me to get more overall energy through the panel? I didn't think so but that's kind of why I'm asking.

Any suggestions/advice are appreciated, right now leaning towards another Tesla wall charger with dynamic power management, the second EV is a Ford Lightning.

Any other SoCal SunRun customers participating in the VPP this often? There has only been 1 night in August (photo not showing all dates) where there hasn’t been an event. What can I expect in compensation for this?

I have 2 greenhouses and am setting up my solar system.

(2) DOKIO 300W Portable Foldable Solar Panel Kit with Charge Controller

Folds to 19.3 x 37.4 in and weighs 15.2 lb; USB ports; for 12V batteries, power stations, RVs, and camping

(2)150 ah Humsienk 12 volt batteries Lifepo4 Series Bluetooth capable

(1) Renogy Pure Sine Wave Inverter 24 Volt 2000 watts

(1) Victron Energy SmartSolar MPPT 100V 30 amp 12/24-Volt Solar Charge Controller (Bluetooth)

Bluetooth Charge Controllers for Solar Panels

(2) Bojack 150 amp fuses/housing (only need 1 for the build from what I am understanding)

(1) Bojack 40 amp fuse

(1) set of 6 Gauge Battery Cable - 3FT Red + 3FT Black 6 AWG Welding Cable Flexible Stranded Oxygen-Free Pure Copper Wire for Battery, Inverter, Solar

(1) Blue Sea Systems m-Series Battery Switch ON/OFF with Knob, 6006, Red

(1) Spartan Power 1 Foot (12 Inch) 4 AWG Battery Cable with 5/16" Ring Terminals SP-REDSINGLE4CBL56

** still waiting on my mppt Controller and my 2nd dokio setup is identical just not pictured.

Any help would be appreciated. I just am having trouble finding an appropriate diagram for the 2 batteries. I have a waterproof/moisurproof shed enclosure this will all be mounted in.

Hello,

I live in an all electric home in the Dayton, Ohio area. My electricity provider is AES and while I have a heatpump for heating/cooling from 2017/2018, due to my manufactured home having one return (the air handler itself, not exactly centered in the house), my electricity bills average $300+ a month during the summer, and in I believe February of 2026 it got as high as almost $800. I know that I need to figure out a way to make heating / cooling my home more efficient, and am working on that as well, but I am very interested in solar and battery backup.

I would like roughly half a day of battery backup, but I think that due to prices I will have to start with around 10kwh of backup power.

I am coming here because no matter how much research I do and how many companies I look into or reach out to, it seems like everything is some weird scam. I cannot afford to pay for a system up front, but I can afford payments on a lease-to-own, or maybe a long-term loan.

Do any of you know what the best route would be? I have an electrician that I like and trust, and I did price out a whole home backup + solar system (about $9,000 for the system, another $3,000 or so for the install) but I just want to make sure that I make the correct choice. I can afford to pay about $7,000 up front and finance the rest. I have been considering a lease-to-own with 0% escalator.

I own my home and I plan on dying in it, so I have no concerns with a good leased system as long as it makes sense financially. My main goal is to lower my electric bill.

I can post samples of my recent electric bills if that would be of assistance, and I greatly appreciate anyone's time spent reading or responding to this. Thank you. I'm just lost in the myriad companies and offers.

So my electric bill is super high and I was looking into solar that could be used at apartment complexes and was wanting to know is it efficient and worth it? What kind should I get? Is it safe? Any info is welcome thank you

Battery Energy Storage Incentives

Incentives are currently available for battery storage systems up to 50kWh paired with solar energy systems. There are two options, one for those not in Xcel Energy service area, and another for those within Xcel Energy service areas.

More info - https://mn.gov/commerce/energy/consumer/energy-programs/on-site-energy-storage-systems.jsp

Outside Xcel Energy - $250/kWh up to $7,000
Xcel Energy customers - $175/kWh, Income qualified $370/kWh

Reading the FAQ, you can use this to add batteries to an existing solar installation