This year we spent our tax return on removing the tree branches hanging over our house. Next year's is earmarked for the solar panels! Woo hoo!

My next tax returns going toward paying off part of the cost of the new windows for our house. Energy star and UV blocking and all that.

Then the trees like kristenverity. Then maybe solar panels.

Even so, a complete (have to take into account the inverter, storage, etc.) system to power even a small house like mine would cost almost as much as the house itself cost.

Not really an option for the less well off yet. Not converting old construction at least. A newer house with it built in would probably have subsidies and such built into the price of the house.

We're planning to do mostly solar thermal, because our city has its own energy company and already does green energy more efficiently than we could. We'll still add some PVs, but the priority will be for thermal.

Why? Solar thermal is more energy efficient than PV, and we'll be changing our heating system to hydronic at the same time, so it'll make a huge difference in the amount of energy we use that's from elsewhere, especially natural gas. 90 percent of our natural gas use is heating (water and the house), so this is a place where we can make a real dent in our energy consumption. (We use heat year-round, but not much, and there's no winter snow cover, so all the things that are drawbacks to solar thermal are benefits for us.)

Before assuming you can't do it monetarily, definitely look into the incentives provided at the utility/state/federal level. Between my solar panels and my geothermal HVAC, I have received around $25,000 in rebates and tax credits in addition to all of the money I am saving every month with my $6 electricity bill. It is sooo worth it!

I wish solar panels were more efficient. Right now, it takes about 10 years before you will see a return in cost. In comparison, a hybrid fuel car will take around 5 years.

My condo HOA doesn't allow us to make any modifications to the outside of the building. Solar panels would be a big no if I even tried to ask permission. Has anyone else gotten around home owners' associations with stringent policies?

If I could afford it I'd do it in a heartbeat. I may have to see if the newly opened solar place across the street from me wants to use my house as a model!

I would if I could, but I doubt that I can. I live in a very shaded area with lots of mature trees and I just don't see the point in cutting down trees to put up solar panels- I dunno just seems hypocritical.

As for the credits, every time I crunch the numbers they really dont add up to much.

hejiranyc- you said that you got $25k in rebates and credits, but how much did your system cost? Some numbers I have seen are in the $50-75k range which would still leave the homebuyer with a pretty large bill.

I am seriously looking into it now, although the cost is a deterrent even with the credits. From a strictly "investment" standpoint, 10-12 years for a return on investment doesn't make a lot of sense, although I do believe that energy costs will continue to rise sharply resulting in a faster ROI. As painful as $200 electric bills in the summer can be, a $30,000 system seems more painful right now. I still am going to pursue it though.

Can someone in the New York area tell me where to begin with a project like this? My building would like to look into installing solar panels on our roof, but don't know who to contact or where to start. Any suggestions would help, even if they are not specific contractors.

Oh my gosh yes, if I had the money and hadn't just sold my house. Especially for a solar AC/ heat unit. Yum. In my 500 square foot shotgun, one unit would heat and cool the whole thing. Sigh. Particularly attractive given how horrendous our sole provider of power is Louisiana.

I looked into solar panels briefly. 30K to install, and would only reduce our electricity dependence by 20%. Not quite the payoff I'm looking for.... Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.

Not a financial option for us.

from the little i've looked into it (and from others i've talked to who have also looked into it), it's not really a cost-effective option right now. at least for me. if you want to find out cost effectiveness, return on investment, etc, try determining your solar potential.

Where I live, a tree that shades even half your house will lower your cooling costs much more than solar panels would.

Anyway, I'm just curious--does anyone know how well solar panels do in hailstorms? Is there a certain kind that would be more likely to survive? Golfball-sized hail is pretty common out here. And if hail did demolish your solar panels, is that something that would be covered by homeowner's insurance? Would you have to create a special clause for solar panels?

I'd love to, but unfortunately I lie in a high-rise condo building and it's just not doable. I don't think we even have enough roof space to make it worthwhile for the building as a whole.

But anyone's who's interested in doing it on their own home should check out NYSERDA's website (nyserda.org). It's a state authority that gives out financial incentives and low-interest loans to people who want to improve the energy efficiency of their homes or add renewables. It can make all the difference in making ti affordable.

I would in a heart beat! But the historic society won't even let me change my energy inefficient windows without a battle (and without it costing me 4 times the cost of regular energy efficient windows)

If I ever manage to buy my own house, definitely.

If I ever owned a house and could afford it, I would definitely get solar panels. It just makes so much sense and is so much better for the environment.

At the moment I am just looking into getting a fully electric bike. No more gas! No more oil! This is what we need to strive for.

We have an estimate to install solar panels for hot water only. However, our neighbor has a tree in his yard that is completely blocking the sun in the area that the panels would need to be installed. If and when he removes the tree we will likely go ahead with the installation.

I think they have a type that I guess isn't available widely, yet, that replaces your shingles and looks just like them.

Solar Powered Shingles? I'm in!