You first need to check with your homeowners association to see if they are permitted and whether state laws protect you should you desire to install. In Illinois a HOA cannot forbid them, but keep them off the front elevation. To determine whether they are worth it, you would need to calculate the rate of return for the project which you can do in excel.

Thanks for the info @bellburgmaggie and @cancork floor inc! We actually just submitted our solar panel plans/drawings to the dept of buildings. Still not completely sure if we are going through with it, but we're going through a renovation for our house too so we thought we'd submit it with the other plans and see what's "allowed". I believe we're the first ones in our town to attempt to put in solar panels! Once I know more I will update and hopefully my experience can help people down the line who are interested or considering solar panels.

Another thing to check on is if there are any rebates from your local utility company for installing your panels. You probably have already checked into this but I thought I would mention it. It does help with the ROI for projects like these.

I live in the Puget Sound area in Washington State. I know several people who have installed solar systems, recieved a rebate from a local utility company and also sell the excess energy they produce back to the utility company and get a credit on their bill.

I agree with Cancork,,, you payback period will be longer in the northern latitudes. With so much cloudy weather and shortened daylight hours in the winter it sometimes makes it a hard sell to take the plunge. But I don't know how expensive your electricity rates are in New York. We have a plentiful supply of hydro power in the Northwest, so our rates are probably some of the lowest in the country. That is why we have a lot of manufacturing companies moving the eastern part of our state to take advantage of that.

If most of your power in NY state comes from coal fired or natural gas fired turbines then it's likely you pay more for a Kwh of electricity and having a passive system like solar definitely makes more sense.

Another thing you can do to make it more feasible to make your solar project a success is to streamline your energy consumption. Convert to LED lighting everywhere, convert all your major appliances to low energy consumption devices and also make sure you have a well insulated home with energy efficient windows.

But I'm sure you have probably thought about all these things already. The thought of paying the utility company less money brings a smile to my face. I hope to do something similar to my home someday. Thanks for posting, it's an interesting topic.

Spend a dollar and save 99 cents. In 20 years time. Technology is changing much too fast for a current investment in solar. When it gets to spend a dollar and save two in 10years, then you'll see some return on investment. Right now, solar on a home doesn't give you any payback at resale. It's actually a detractor in many cases.

Tessla is also coming out with a workable battery to store solar energy. I believe when that happens it will be more feasible.

Thank you @Big Rock Tile and @Sophie Wheeler! I wish we could say we're doing it 100% to help the environment, but like you mentioned it really depends on the cost and ROI for us. We were quoted a very big number by one solar company and were told we would be able to get almost 80% back in tax credits/refunds. We balked at the number and figured we could instead invest in real estate with that amount and pay our electricity usage costs from that rent income! Anyway, it seemed a little iffy so we decided to reach out to a couple of other companies to compare. Still waiting to hear back from them. The tax credit and incentives part of it is all very very confusing to me. I hope I'll find a company that'll explain it more straightforward. We plan to live in this house for a long time after our renovations. One of the goals is to make the house a lot more energy efficient and we were hoping the solar panels would help control the electric bill a bit.

Chi, It is very exciting to hear that you have decided to go solar. We install solar energy systems in the Greater New York City area. You can check our profile and/or website. We are very familiar with all the incentives and paperwork in the area. You can reach us by phone 914-222-3510 or email...think@sunblueenergy.com. All the best.