71 sats \ 6 replies \ @Undisciplined OP 23 Jul \ parent \ on: Can Solar Rooftops Power the World? econ
My feeling is that people will do it themselves, once it makes economic sense. I'm waiting for the major box stores to cover their roofs with solar panels, as my signal that it's economical.
I used to think exactly the same thing.
Until I installed some and sold a house with them.
99% of buyers, didn't even want to look at the numbers. And majority of vistors had a common theme to their comment.
"Those are ugly"
So it has to make economic sense AND be pretty.
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That's part of the appeal of Tesla Roof style solar.
I have seen studies that show a pretty big premium for solar in home sales. It might be that it's off-putting to most buyers, but it's even more appealing to a minority.
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solar panels are ugly
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I don't think so, but most seem to agree with you. Solar roofs look good, though.
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That's my point though. It's not really economical to retrofit existing unless you are doing a roof replacement and add installing panels to the scope of the project. New build it should be a no brainer.
Maybe at some point there will be an easy to install solution. Like a bath fitter for solar on roofs. One day install click in and hook up and good to go.
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It's location dependent, but it certainly makes more sense at that stage. Roof replacement is a similarly good time to do it. I'm hoping Musk or someone else has the next gen solar roof out before we have to replace a roof.
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