Are solar panels worth it in 2024?

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[UndecidedMF]

Get my achieve energy security with solar guide:

[hardykornfeld]

We’ve now lived in our newly built efficient house in MA for 2 years. It’s 3000 sf with a garage connected by a breezeway. Many of our choices were similar to Matt’s: metal roof, 15 kW solar with Enphase microinverters, all electric appliances including convection cooktop and heat pump water heater and clothes drier. We’re grid-tied with a propane backup generator. No batteries yet. Our house has a simple barn-like design (2 stories) so all the panels are on the south-facing roof. Cooling the house to 77 in summer and heating to 70 in winter, we ended up more net-positive than expected. That includes charging an EV. Lifetime numbers are 53.6 MWh produced and 8.7 MWh imported from the utility. We have consumed 14.6 MWh and net exported 39.0 MWh. So we overshot by quite a bit, but we wanted to cover the entire south-facing roof with panels for esthetics. At least we’ll be covered for panel degradation over time, for a second EV in future, and for the likelihood that we’ll want to be even warmer in winter as we age. We’ll probably get batteries in ~8 years when the SMART incentive program expires. That program pays us monthly for exported power. Last year that added up to $3000, though it is subject to tax. By the time we’re ready to add batteries, I anticipate that cost will come down and performance might improve a bit over today’s offerings.

[ToddDesiato]

I don't understand why you used IQ8+ (299W) and not IQ8H (380W) for 400W panels. At the peak of the day when your panels output 400W, these inverters are operating at 75% efficiency. I replaced my IQ8+ with Hoymiles HMS-2000-4T-NA (475W) on my 400W panels and every week I see peak output from my panels exceeding 400W. I have data where they output over 500W!!! Clipping is horribly inefficient. I use the Hoymiles micros with my Enphase battery and they work well together.

[stefanbuscaylet]

Thanks Matt. I purchased my place in central california with a PPE solar solution a couple years ago and one of the first things i did was install a Sense monitor at the junction box. My stats for J-D 2022 were pretty close to yours. My system generated 16.7MWh of energy and we consumed 14.7 MWh of energy with a 34% independence from the grid. Your design looks very well thought out. Nice job.

[JoelWelter]

We're in AZ and I had a 7 KW system installed last November. We just recently had to pay for electricity during the months of August and September because we started late for amassing credits last year. Next year, I hope to make it the whole year without paying anything for electricity, which is tough when the summers are over 110 F most days. I'll let you know how we do in the future, but so far, it's a win.

[Vort_tm]

Literally approved my solar proposal today. We over-sized our system a bit (32 x 410w panels for 129% of our estimated usage) to accommodate EV charging (which was not reflected on current electric bills since we just got the vehicle) as well as our intent to change out our AC+Gas setup for a heat pump in the coming years. I do have some lingering worries that maybe I’ve guessed wrong on my estimates, but we’ll see.

My house was built in 2005, and while it’s not as drafty as older homes, it’s also not super energy efficient. My wife and I don’t see this as our forever home, but we still enjoy the thought of reducing our carbon footprint, reducing our utility bills, and increasing our resell value.

I love these videos as a great way to consider other factors in our project that we may not have foreseen.

[chefboyartty]

Awesome video as always. Giving me so many ideas for my next home! Totally agree, states should step in and regular solar standards NOT TOWNS. I only found out about different town regulations after I had my solar installed, and then my parents had theirs installed.

Congratulations on the new home, it looks beautiful!

[quantum]

I love to see your installation and hear from your learnings. Next week I will expand my actual solar carport by installing a solar fence adding another 7, 5 kWp.

[OBD]

So happy for you and your wife getting all moved in! I know what a great feeling it is to be in your forever home. As always thank you for all the great information presented in a easy to understand method.

[abrahamhorowitz]

I think you'll achieve your net 0 goal based on how well researched your amazing videos always are. I certainly am hoping that you do anyways, as you're more than deserving of achieving what you want with how much you've given to me and so many others who watch your videos in terms of valuable information and inspiration for what the future can look like. I look forward to your update video(s) to find out the results you ultimately achieve. Thank you for all the great information and resources you provide.

[coffeeisgood]

Very smart of you to choose a metal roof. I messed up and put on a shingle roof before installing the panels. But I goofed up again by letting the installers mount the micro-inverters underneath the panels. What a bad idea. When one micro-inverter failed it meant climbing on the roof, lifting the panel, removing the bad inverter and replacing it with a new one. And this is a two man job. One to hold the panels up while the other person changes the inverter. I learned my lesson. When I expanded my solar system I had the micro-inverters mounted where they can be reached from the ground without a ladder if there is ever a problem. Thanks for sharing this video.

[Jim.D]

Hopefully Enphase improved on their quality since I installed mine 12+ years ago since my Envoy Gateway only lasted 9 years before failing and they only give a 5 year warranty even though they give 20 years on the micro inverters.

The only good thing was I was able to purchase a used gateway and their tech support did all the programming to reprogram the used gateway, they were great in that aspect, good luck with your system!

[paulkelly]

Are you considering adding additional panels on the roof if you don't meet your net metering targets, or even just to minimise grid usage more during the year? lots of room up on that roof.

[Istandby]

I've done 3 different builds and the one thing in common is I'll always have solar.
Because I'm going for off grid. I'm looking at using Renogy 450W bifacial panels. Which can give me up to 585W per panel.

[garganega]

5 KW of SunPower solar on our southern Nevada house. We installed an induction cook top and a heat pump but our water heater and dryer burn city gas, as does our outdoor barbecue which is staying. The big problem is our breaker box is maxed out and it will cost major funds to go bigger. The gas appliances do not burn as much as it sounds because of high ambient heat in the summer and low ambient humidity so we hang dry most garments and take cold showers during triple digit heat. Even the barbecue gets a free hundred degrees in the summer.

[Mjln]

Your issue with local regulations is so typical of Massachusetts. We are so parochial with local fiefdoms so eager to over regulate. Then our politicians wonder why housing is so unaffordable in Massachusetts. This sort of nonsense drives me crazy.

[seanhoward]

We have a 10.45 kW solar installation with a 40/60 E/W split here in Perth, Australia. We added 2 Redflow ZBM2 batteries for 20kWh of storage. Even with ducted heat pump air-conditioning, we still have not needed to use any power from the grid.

I am really liking the redflow batteries as they do not use lithium and have no capacity degradation over their life. Oh, and they are fire retardant so no risk of burning your house down.

[gilbertpfaffsr]

I am looking to build a similar home in Eastern Missouri. Trying to find a panelized manufacturer close to me. I am really learning a lot from your channel!! Since I have several acres to work with I am entertaining using solar trackers and pole mounted arrays. I can also do horizontal geothermal instead of drilling down.

[northernouthouse]

Great video. Glad you touched on battery solutions. I think it's going to be the next growth phase for residential solar owners.

[Dogman]

Metal roof is a must for forever homes !