Other things about the proposal were not on the page but still gave me pause... No place for thermal collection. Huge fractions of the energy used by a home are thermal. That's why moves like wrapping your hot water heater are such winners. When the numbers are big small percentage gains are still worthwhile.... Anyhow. The proposal was just for photovoltaic panels - so only for electricity... I guess hoping for a thermal component in the proposal is a bit much. Kind of like expecting a plastic surgeon to suggest getting some sleep. You might need some sleep - it could even help with the bags under the eyes but if you have a box of sharp knives everything looks like a knife problem.
Where was I.... THERMAL. Yeah. Along with a different skill set (electricians vs plumbers) there is the new problem of very very cheap natural gas around here. Used to be your payback period (I'll rant on that bankrupt idea some other time) was something like 5 years. Now the gear is still about the same but the cost it is competing with (natural gas) is going down. But still, if you want to knock down your carbon footprint solar hot water is a great way to go and it is a fine use for part of the roof with less good exposure. ¿Less good? (Oy, does a blog instantly make you a language slob?)
So solar now seems to mean PV first and nothing else second. And not seeing hot water on the proposal slowed me down. But for me, once you start climbing on the roof and poking holes you should do all the work at once, no? Next up: Blackouts.
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