Going solar with new solar roof shingles (3 Viewers)

[HaRDHouSeiNC]

Roof and panels are getting some redish algae gunk built up so was up pressure washing
These things are strong

 

[warma]

Thanks so much for the update @dennis63! Reading your journey and long-term update was really interesting and enlightening. Many thanks for the thread.

 

[dennis63]

Also wanted to add a stat that flows from the numbers above.

Over the past 8.8 years, the amount of electricity produced by my system is equal to 3.8 years of my home's total electricity use.

 

[dennis63]

So I got some bad news in the past couple of weeks about my solar shingles.

The system production numbers dropped off significantly in August.

Seeing this, in early September, I called to have the system evaluated and repaired, as it was under warranty for "20 years," they said. (It's 9 years old.)

The successor company to Dow now handling the "warranty" checked readings on the inverter and found an "arc fault" condition -- very common in solar. (That's one of the things they don't tell you.) Arc faults are easy to fix, but difficult and expensive to locate. With solar shingles, replacement parts are an issue. (They don't make them anymore.)

For this reason, the warranty company says they won't fix it. But they will remove it from my roof at their expense, as it is a fire hazard.

Their answer is to nix my solar and pay us a "settlement" for the electricity my system hasn't produced. (We're not yet back to saving what we spent to install it.)

We paid a solar electrician to come to the house to try to locate and fix the fault, hoping it would be something simple.

They found it. More than 30 of our shingles, about 10 percent of the total in the array, were rusted and corroded and had failed, causing the arcs. The tech said they had come to the end of their useful life after 9 years. He noted, "They look like they've been up there for more than 30 years." He questioned whether the product should have been marketed to begin with.

I'm am beyond livid over all of this, and each day I learn something new about the downside of solar as a technology and as an industry. I was once a vocal proponent of residential solar. Now I have serious doubts.

My options are to add more money to this to install solar panels, or go with a conventional roof. I know which way I'm leaning.

 

[ekricket]

were rusted and corroded and had failed, causing the arcs.

Hopefully this wasn’t a galvanic issue, like aluminum and some steels. Maybe aluminum frames with galvanized steel supports?

 

[allforcharity]

At the moment, solar power for residential is not cost effective for energy benefit. Superinsulated walls and roof are better (but hard to retrofit - best for new builds).

 

[Himewad]

A company we purchased years ago had solar panels. They were constantly dying and underperforming. Just decided to remove them and be done with it. Seems that the break even point is rarely reached.

 

[warma]

Sorry to hear that... just awful.

Was the tech stating that the solar tile useful life was 9 years (and thus Dow mislead you)? Even so, Dow gave them a warranty for 20 and they died this soon? Wonder if that's one of the reasons Dow walked away from them.

Hopefully the payment settlement at least makes you whole, but it doesn't help with the fact that you then have to replace your roof well before you planned.

I was hoping this would come out to be a great story for you.

 

[Lemonzest]

@dennis63 Sorry to hear your experience was a PITA.

I am curious if the Tesla version is any good and if Elon somehow optimized the tech to work and be profitable.

https://www.tesla.com/en_ca/solarroof

Does anyone have experience with these?

 

[dennis63]

Hopefully this wasn’t a galvanic issue, like aluminum and some steels. Maybe aluminum frames with galvanized steel supports?

Possibly. The solar electrician said any moisture getting into the connectors would cause it. (Metal + electric current + moisture.) The metal parts were under a clear plastic plate in each shingle, but they may have let moisture in.) Dow initially provided four extra solar shingles to my roofer in case one went bad and had to be replaced. The roofer claims they don't have them anymore.

Sorry to hear that... just awful.

Was the tech stating that the solar tile useful life was 9 years (and thus Dow mislead you)? Even so, Dow gave them a warranty for 20 and they died this soon? Wonder if that's one of the reasons Dow walked away from them.

The electrician was saying based on the amount of corrosion on the metal frames holding the PV film, it looked to him like the shingles were much older than their actual age -- that they were just spent. And yes, I'm pretty sure that's why Dow shut down their solar business two years after putting this on our roof. In my opinion only, it appears the solar shingles were an inferior product, perhaps not made for the weather in the Northeast. Dow realized it, and got out of it.

The solar electrician we'll hire to do the disconnect wants to offer a proposal for some high-efficiency solar panels, since the house is already fully wired for solar. All they would have to do is go up, mount the panels, and connect them to the existing system. I have no idea what that might cost yet.

But we can't go back in time to when we were nine years younger and had more time live in our house and recoup the cost, so if it's too far above the settlement amount, we'll do standard asphalt shingles. And I find I'm very jaded, having heard all the promises once, and now learning that they were all false. Power production was overstated. ROI time was nowhere near reality. And the warranty went away with Dow in 2016.

By this time, my wife and I expected to have solar that had paid for itself last year, and was providing free electricity to lower our bill for the next 12 years.

 

[Jake14mw]

Wow, sorry to hear your story. I hope you find a way to come out at least a little ahead. Thanks for coming back and sharing your update, we need to hear all sides of the solar story.

 

[CraigT78]

Possibly. The solar electrician said any moisture getting into the connectors would cause it. (Metal + electric current + moisture.) The metal parts were under a clear plastic plate in each shingle, but they may have let moisture in.) Dow initially provided four extra solar shingles to my roofer in case one went bad and had to be replaced. The roofer claims they don't have them anymore.


The electrician was saying based on the amount of corrosion on the metal frames holding the PV film, it looked to him like the shingles were much older than their actual age -- that they were just spent. And yes, I'm pretty sure that's why Dow shut down their solar business two years after putting this on our roof. In my opinion only, it appears the solar shingles were an inferior product, perhaps not made for the weather in the Northeast. Dow realized it, and got out of it.

The solar electrician we'll hire to do the disconnect wants to offer a proposal for some high-efficiency solar panels, since the house is already fully wired for solar. All they would have to do is go up, mount the panels, and connect them to the existing system. I have no idea what that might cost yet.

But we can't go back in time to when we were nine years younger and had more time live in our house and recoup the cost, so if it's too far above the settlement amount, we'll do standard asphalt shingles. And I find I'm very jaded, having heard all the promises once, and now learning that they were all false. Power production was overstated. ROI time was nowhere near reality. And the warranty went away with Dow in 2016.

By this time, my wife and I expected to have solar that had paid for itself last year, and was providing free electricity to lower our bill for the next 12 years.

Is 2023 technology better than 2016? Or would replacement just be a 2030 headache?

 

[dennis63]

Is 2023 technology better than 2016? Or would replacement just be a 2030 headache?

Good question. It's hard to know the answer without writing a big check. The panels are definitely more efficient than they were in 2014.

I've learned that arc faults are a common and frequent problem when you have solar, and are the most serious and expensive to fix. You can have an arc fault with solar shingles and solar panels. So that's still a potential issue that can cost you.

But no one who sells any type of solar has ever mentioned an arc fault. You kind of have to hear about that on your own.

We'll consider replacing the solar shingles with regular shingles and adding panels, but only because the house is already wired for solar. It should cost much less than a new system.. I have no idea what it may cost, and I'm guessing we'll decline it in favor of a regular low-tech roof.

 

[CraigT78]

Good question. It's hard to know the answer without writing a big check. The panels are definitely more efficient than they were in 2014.

I've learned that arc faults are a common and frequent problem when you have solar, and are the most serious and expensive to fix. You can have an arc fault with solar shingles and solar panels. So that's still a potential issue that can cost you.

But no one who sells any type of solar has ever mentioned an arc fault. You kind of have to hear about that on your own.

We'll consider replacing the solar shingles with regular shingles and adding panels, but only because the house is already wired for solar. It should cost much less than a new system.. I have no idea what it may cost, and I'm guessing we'll decline it in favor of a regular low-tech roof.

Good luck man, sounds like a difficult decision.