My son and I have a farm in Northern Michigan west of Kalkaska (He is running it 95% of the time). We have a barn that has no power. I would like to put up a few solar panels up that can run 4 shop LED 4-foot long light bars and possible power heat lamps for the chicks when needed.

I have read a few post online about some panels, but there are always a few reports that say stay away from these units. Do you use solar panels, which brands do you have success with and how much cash do you have invested into your system?

Running power lines to the barn is approximately $2500 to $3000 (and you still have the monthly bill).

I have a few friends who have used Tesla and were very happy with both the service and the results. I will likely be looking into them for the new house as well...

https://www.tesla.com/solarpanels

Maybe related, its well known that solar cells have a limited useful life span, is that impacted at by still boxed, on the shelf storage?

My buddy 3 miles from me in Pa had his whole house done for free. Check into it.

Good question, though I doubt not being exposed to sun harms them much

Most are rated for at least 80% of their initial output after ~20 years of use, so sitting in the box for a while won't really hurt them. Even then they aren't "dead" or completely useless, they just don't output as much as they did when new.

Tesla states they do not serve our area.

I wonder why? Do you receive a LOT of sun where you are at?

i've done our '3' houses ... all with sunpower.. 1st house is with their 327;s, the other two with 335's - all with solaredge equipment - all have a 25year bumper to bumper warr... which is great... provided they are in bizz in 25yrs - over the 7years we have had em, we have had a few of the solaredge optimizers crap out , and all replaced without cost to us... and the panels do lose some power over time, but its hard to gauge... for instance nov and dec of 2020 have produced better then nov and dec of 2015- its all a question of the weather...

I just had panels installed on my 40x36 barn in Iowa and they cover most of one half the roof. The company I worked with was Green Solar and they use LG solar panels and have a 25 year warranty. Shoot me a pm if you want more information as far as contact details and can use me as a reference as they will do all the design work and then work with local electric companies for install.

-Zack

I have Vivint. Installed for free thru Govt and power co. agreement. I was VERY skeptical at 1st but after 2 1/2 years I'm very satisfied with outcome.

How did he manage that ??

I honestly don’t know but I’ve seen advertisements for it. I know I wouldn’t want it because it sure uglies up the whole house spread across the roof like his is. I’ll pay my electric bill.

my bro lives in PA, in the poconos ... he pays like 6.9cents a kwh for power- it would take him close to 15+ yrs to pay off the panels- its senseless in areas where electric is so cheap...

Ya I think my last bill was 65.00 and that’s running the gas blower on the furnace, 220 volt well pump, everyday house usage, shop lights, welder, flowbench, 8 horsepower air compressor, and a few other goodies. Air conditioning in the summer usually drives it over 100.00

I just went to one website and put all my info in to see the estimated cost. It was over $17,000. I will trench and have an electrician pull lines in the Spring..

Around these parts Gulf Power works with solar companies to solicit door-to-door for customers to install solar (not off the grid, but connected to it). They survey your electric bills, and work up an estimate to install solar panels on your home sufficient for your usage to be neutral. I would be connected to the power grid, and the meter turns both directions. At the end of the year, if I'm in a deficit, I owe Gulf power whatever that's worth. If I'm in surplus, Gulf Power gets that for free. HOWEVER, the system isn't free. The cost estimate for me was around $25K on a 20-year loan. The payments on that loan are equal (+/-) to my average monthly electric bill. But if my system happens to last longer than that 20 year loan, I get free electricity for however long they last. The panels they tried to sell me have a 25 year warranty.