Changed my mind about solar panels after seeing my neighbor's electric bill drop to $12

I always thought they were too expensive and not worth it for cloudy areas, but my neighbor in Portland showed me his $12 bill after a full year with them. Has anyone else here been surprised by how well they actually work in less sunny places?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_lee27d ago

Read something about them still working even on overcast days.

jamesroberts27d ago

I've heard that claim too, but I'm not totally convinced. On an overcast day, panels might still pick up some diffuse light, but the output drops way down in my experience.

emery_white25d ago

Wait, is this really worth getting worked up over? I mean, yeah, on a gray day my panels barely push out enough to charge a phone, but people are acting like it's some huge secret that they still work. It's not like they're useless, they just drop to like 10% or less of their normal output. And honestly, who's out here running their whole house on a cloudy Tuesday anyway? Most folks with solar have battery storage or grid backup for that exact reason, so what's the big deal?