Solar Energy at Lowes?

So I'm in Lowe's today and I see that they are selling solar energy panels there. And if you get it installed by them it has a 10 year guarantee. I believe the pitch was "Drastically lower your monthly bills". It had a picture of a roofer installing solar panels over the roofing of the house. First of all I'm no roofer but that doesn't sound right to me. Plus the in the picture it gives the impression that hes going to coat the entire roof with solar energy panels.

Is it me or does anyone find this just crazy. Here's a link.

www.lowes.com...


The whole 10 year guarantee sounds fishy too. I'd read the small print on that one. What exactly does it guarantee that your energy costs will be almost If so it pretty much pays for itself.


[edit on 5-4-2010 by mvirata]

I don't see anywhere in your link stating a 10 year guarantee
on the products listed.

reply to post by mvirata


i think the fact that lowes is carrying solar panels now is pretty cool.

i know I'm much more likely to buy something i can pick up in town rather then spending tons of money to have it shipped to my house from some distant land (by which i mean the continental US haha)

reply to post by Psychoses


Sorry it was a sign at Lowe's you could probably just go there. I can't find the actual ad online only panels for sale. I was just linking the solar panels at Lowe's for credibility.

The 10 year guarantee is more likely issued by the manufacturer of the panels themselves, with some kind of disclaimer that they must be installed by a licensed professional etc...

Solar power is good if you live in a sunny spot and keep them clean, but if you are setting up a system from scratch a combination of solar, wind and even micro hydro would be the best option.

reply to post by mvirata


A 10-year guarantee is not too surprising and could even be standard for solar panels. After 10 years they start to decay from what I've read though obviously it depending on the panel. And yes if you want serious juice from solar paneling it definitely is going to take up a large amount of roof space. You could always get a smaller system if that would be a problem... it wouldn't offer as much of a help with your electricity needs but it wouldn't cost as much.

Wow, Lowes in Australia have only mens clothes and school uniforms, You have solar panels????

I'm not sure what your issue is. Just about everything you buy in stores has some sort of manufacturers guarantee that it won't fall apart due to manufacturers defects in a set amount of years. My car has a 6 year guarantee.

And you kinda do have to cover the entire roof if you want to get the most benefit. One or two panels isn't going to do much good.

Wow its about friggin time where i live its sunny 90% of the year and almost nobody has solar and its really hard to find a place to buy it.

Did anybody notice that you are paying $7,000-$8,000 for enough power to maybe run a microwave ONLY? Line 2.

Originally posted by MBF
Did anybody notice that you are paying $7,000-$8,000 for enough power to maybe run a microwave ONLY? Line 2.

The $7500 one gives 1.2KW, that will do a lot more than a microwave, but you are right, that's still very expensive(around 6 times more than other places). But hey, at least panels are finally making it into retail.

OP, the warranty is defenitely manufacturer. Sunwize panels, for instance, come with a 25 year warranty. They will replace defective panels but the installation costs go on your own unless an authorized sunwize guy installed it for you and they go bad within a year. If you install them yourself, and they break due to improper installation, then warranty voided. The same is probably true for all brands lowes sell.

Originally posted by mvirataThe whole 10 year guarantee sounds fishy too. I'd read the small print on that one. What exactly does it guarantee that your energy costs will be almost If so it pretty much pays for itself.

These warranties are pro-rated, like a warranty on a set of tires, for instance. They calculate the life expectancy and then pay you a percentage based on how long you've used it.

For instance, if the life expectancy was 20 years and you got $1000 worth of panels, let's say they die on you right before your warranty expires, (not likely!) you'd only get a replacement credit of $500.

So with the high cost and miminal amount of power, do you think its actually worth it. It doesnt seem like it.

Originally posted by daniel_g

Originally posted by MBF
Did anybody notice that you are paying $7,000-$8,000 for enough power to maybe run a microwave ONLY? Line 2.

The $7500 one gives 1.2KW, that will do a lot more than a microwave, but you are right, that's still very expensive(around 6 times more than other places). But hey, at least panels are finally making it into retail.

Our microwave uses 1100 watts, that's 1.1KW. Awful expensive to run just a microwave. Well you could run the microwave and a 100watt light bulb.

Hm.
Nothing about the batteries.

reply to post by MBF


That's why current technology true green energy alternatives have to be federally subsidized to make them more competitive price-wise to more traditional energy sources.

Unless the LOWS store had solar panels on its roof, it's not worth buying them for energy saving purposes (yet)

Solar power is very expensive to get into. My girls mom lives off grid and has only solar and it pretty much sucks if you are into technology. She doesnt have that many panels though and the more the merrier in that respect.

Originally posted by MBF
Our microwave uses 1100 watts, that's 1.1KW. Awful expensive to run just a microwave. Well you could run the microwave and a 100watt light bulb.

Haha, I live under a stone, my uwave is 600W
Anyways, I was thinking more of a few laptops running at 120W each while i made hot milk, guess not possible in your home

reply to post by daniel_g


We had a 600 watt microwave years ago. Very reliable machine. By the time you pay for the panels and storage batteries, it runs into big money.