On Saturday, July 18, 2020 at 9:57:28 AM UTC-5, Sheldon wrote:
>
> On Fri, 17 Jul 2020 wrote:
> >
> >Why didn't you install solar panels on your roof? You could have generated
> >your own electricity and probably sold some back to your local power company.
>
> I doubt his roof has enough area at the correct exposure for solar
> panels to produce much.
>
It would depend on the direction his house faces. He's got enough roof
surface he could have several panels plus his garage roof would accomodate
more panels.


> Where I live a lot of people place the solar
> panels in their yard on posts that are cemented into the ground so
> they're up off the ground so they can mow around them and so they can
> brush the snow off. They don't like to place them on their roof as
> they will cause the roof to leak.
>
Properly installed solar panels do not cause leaks. There are some
available that actually open like ladies handheld fan but these open
a full 360° and are mounted on a post. But these are quite expen$ive.
>
> I doubt it would work well on that
> tile roof anyway, they'd have to drill a lot of bolt holes.
>
He was needing a new roof anyway. He could have replaced it with longlife
asphalt shingles and the money he saved on the roofing could have been used
for solar panels.
>
> I thought about installing solar panels here and even had a company do
> a survey. I have several acres they could use but I didn't want to
> look at those ugly panels and there would be a lot of mowing and snow
> removal. Plus more than half the time they'd produce no elctricity,
> they produce nothing at night or on cloudy days.
>
That's why you stay on the electric company's grid to provide you with power
on days with extended cloudiness, snow, or rain.
>
> Once installed I'd
> be responsible for their maintenence and repairs.
>
Just like you are responsible for maintenance on your house and vehicles.
>
> The panels are
> mostly made of plastic, UV light wreaks havoc on those panels so they
> don't last long.
>
That, I don't know. But I don't hear people complaining about replacing
those panels all the time.
>
> Solar panels are okay for a few small light bulbs
> but would need a lot of panels to run A/C, an electric stove, a
> clothes dryer, a fridge/freezer, charge an electric car, fergetabout
> it.
>
Not true. Depending on how many panels you have installed they can power
a large house.
>
> Solar power is a long way into the future. Solar is good for
> powering small electronics, like a calculator, a medical thermometer,
> a toothbrush, a clock. The main drawback to solar is transmission.
>
Again, not true. The one thing that holds people back from installing
the panels is the initial cost.