Anyone ever move and take their panels with them to new house?

[jimmytwotimes]

We're considering moving but I don't want to leave my 54 panels behind. They're paid off and I don't think I'll recoup the investment when we sell.

Has anyone ever paid to have them taken down and put on a new house and roughly what would that cost? Even if it's pretty expensive, I still think it would be worth it vs. just leaving them and not getting the return.

[azdave]

I would not bother with it myself, especially if they are more than 7-8 years old (you said they are paid off so I'm guessing at the system age). If the panels are removed before the sale, won't you have to pay to repair all the anchor points in the roof anyway? I would prefer to start a new home with fresh panels under warranty than panels that got disturbed and might not do well being relocated after gaskets and seals have been jostled in the moving process.

[solarix]

A) Your interconnect agreement with your utility probably obligates you to keeping the old house going.
B) No installer wants to do an install when they can't sell you the panels. Taking the system off and adapting it to the new house will be expensive.
C) You should be able recoup at least some of the value in the old system by selling it with the house.

[jimmytwotimes]

A) Your interconnect agreement with your utility probably obligates you to keeping the old house going.
B) No installer wants to do an install when they can't sell you the panels. Taking the system off and adapting it to the new house will be expensive.
C) You should be able recoup at least some of the value in the old system by selling it with the house.

A - you're probably right
B - I was hoping to find some guys to do an off the clock job
C - How much value are people seeing on the sale? How are realtors valuing them into sale price?

[peakbagger]

Folks are always trying to sell old systems on Ebay. I dont think they get a lot of bites as unless labor is free the labor to remove and reinstall cost eats up most of the value. Moving stacks of panels long distances can cause cracking short term and sealing issues that crop up later. IMO a used inverter more than 5 years old is not worth anything to me unless someone is desperate. Wiring and racking rarely is of much value. Few pros would design or install a system using used components.

I have heard of but but not seen during the last mortgage crisis that folks with leases who were going to lose their homes anyhow were selling their leased systems for cash on craigslist. I guess the price was attractive and expect once removed the lease company would not find it worth it to track the components down. The buyer would just plead ignorance and the seller would be bankrupt.

Of course if I put on my "scrounger hat" and put no value on my time and do my own design I might consider it as I like the challenge of DIY. I have built 3 arrays DIY including one with used panels (the price was right but I eventually changed out the used ones with new panels as they were starting to cloud up.) I am currently moving a 1000 pound plus used wood boiler out of a basement to my house. If I didn't like the challenge of doing it and don't count my time doing it, its great deal Its the second one I have salvaged. I have a DC Solar trailer sitting in the front yard that needs a semi permanent install sooner than later before I take on any more projects.

[jimmytwotimes]

I mean how much value are they adding to a house for sale? I'm not going to sell mine. Honestly, I kind of want to move but not if it means eating like $30K on lost value plus the costs of a new system.

[azdave]

Of course life comes along and changes our plans sometimes but I always tell people not to risk adding solar to a home if there is any chance they will move before the system reaches ROI. The value to a buyer is very subjective and varies by the market. Appraisers are all over the place with assigning value to solar setups.

In my case, I can prove with seven years of POCO records that my system saves roughly $1800 per year in energy costs and that the contract can be transferred to a new owner at no cost for the 13 remaining years of the agreement. What is that worth to a buyer? Certainly no where near the $23,000 it could save them over 13 years. I feel I would be lucky to get 25% of that. Buyers know you can't easily take the system with you so that leaves them holding the cards if you need to sell.

[solarix]

The national assessors association says that a solar system should add the net present value of 20 years of utility savings. Pretty reasonable I think, but of course, your local appraiser or realtor may have their own opinion...
Around here, realtors used to say not to put in solar as it would limit your pool of interested buyers to just "solar nuts", but now the attitude is "why don't you have solar on this house you are selling?"

[SunEagle]

The national assessors association says that a solar system should add the net present value of 20 years of utility savings. Pretty reasonable I think, but of course, your local appraiser or realtor may have their own opinion...
Around here, realtors used to say not to put in solar as it would limit your pool of interested buyers to just "solar nuts", but now the attitude is "why don't you have solar on this house you are selling?"

While the attitude may have changed I still think that location is a major motivating reason that people get additional money out of a solar pv system when they sell their house. In some areas no one wants an existing pv system even if it is paid in full.

[J.P.M.]

We're considering moving but I don't want to leave my 54 panels behind. They're paid off and I don't think I'll recoup the investment when we sell.

Has anyone ever paid to have them taken down and put on a new house and roughly what would that cost? Even if it's pretty expensive, I still think it would be worth it vs. just leaving them and not getting the return.

FWIW, around here (N. County San Diego) it seems like tree huggers who don't have solar want it and are clueless about how do acquire it in a sane fashion - too much money spent by too few brains.

As a subgroup and on a purely anecdotal basis, folks who already have solar and are moving don't seem to want homes with existing systems and claim to want to add new systems when they find a home they like and usually will also want to add storage.

Add to that: The ignorance surrounding residential storage is great, and how to calculated its cost effectiveness from a process cost standpoint is generally missing, making the likelihood of getting screwed by storage peddlers astoundingly high to me.

[Mike90250]

C - How much value are people seeing on the sale? How are realtors valuing them into sale price?

In 2008 ( or thereabouts) I got 100% of my investment back on a GT house in a Los Angeles suburb. I carefully instructed my Realtor about them, so he could explain things to the buyers. I got asking price shortly after the first open house.

[bcroe]

The larger part of my investment is in the panel mount foundations and wiring, underground
and in buildings. That is never going to be recovered, so canceling its value by removing
the panels would not make much sense. Bruce Roe

[jimmytwotimes]

I bought mine three years ago after sticker shock of a utility bill moving into an all electric house with a pool. My first bill in the spring, not even summer yet, was over $400. I live near San Antonio. Very very hot summers.

My system was around $45K before rebates for a 54 panel 16.2 KW. After rebates, it was about $25K.

I gamed the system to get another $11K off. The company I bought the panels from offered a one time off and back on for free. I needed a new roof. The insurance company gave me $11K to remove and reinstall after the new roof. I used my one time free on/off and used the $11K to help further pay off the panels.

So I guess I'm really only out about $15K if I moved, but still...

How much have prices improved in the last few years? Is 16.2 for 45K good or outrageous now?

[SunEagle]

I bought mine three years ago after sticker shock of a utility bill moving into an all electric house with a pool. My first bill in the spring, not even summer yet, was over $400. I live near San Antonio. Very very hot summers.

My system was around $45K before rebates for a 54 panel 16.2 KW. After rebates, it was about $25K.

I gamed the system to get another $11K off. The company I bought the panels from offered a one time off and back on for free. I needed a new roof. The insurance company gave me $11K to remove and reinstall after the new roof. I used my one time free on/off and used the $11K to help further pay off the panels.

So I guess I'm really only out about $15K if I moved, but still...

How much have prices improved in the last few years? Is 16.2 for 45K good or outrageous now?

That comes to about $2.80/watt which in some places is an ok price but for others it is still very high and comes with a very long payback period. I guess it comes down to what a person is willing to spend and if they want a quick payback on their investment.

[jimmytwotimes]

That comes to about $2.80/watt which in some places is an ok price but for others it is still very high and comes with a very long payback period. I guess it comes down to what a person is willing to spend and if they want a quick payback on their investment.

This was about 3.5 years ago. At the time, it seemed like a good price because I got quoted much higher by like 5 different companies and haggled this one down.