Depends on your cost of electricity. In most places, a solar setup pays for itself long before the warranty runs out max 5-10 years typically (depending on a lot of factors). Even in the US which has a lot of extra cost related to people making things needlessly complicated and costly, lots of people are installing solar and earning their money back.
I can actually get balcony solar here in Germany for about 240 euros. Here's how that works:
- I buy a kit on Amazon. I found several nice ones. This one is rated for 850w and includes cables, inverters and other bits and bobs needed.
- I zip tie the panels to my balcony
- And I plug in the equipment and connect it to a wall socket
The idea is that this would offload some of the power used by e.g. my fridge. Not the same as a rooftop setup obviously and in my case quite pointless since I don't have a lot of sun on my balcony.
But I might actually qualify for a rebate if I do this and get all or most my money back. The government is sponsoring this and landlords can't stop you from doing this. Nor do you need their permission, a permit, or special insurance.
The point is that this stuff is cheap, easy, and pretty much plug and play. Roofs aren't a whole lot more complicated than this from a technical point of view. You need more panels and more expensive equipment and you probably need some professional electricians and installers to do the work.
The rest is just nonsense that relates more to your local government and legislation than anything being inherently expensive or difficult. I'd suggest reminding your local politicians of their responsibilities during the next elections and maybe voting for the ones that aren't being jerks on this front.
Otherwise, solar panels are pretty reliable and generally covered by long warranties. Repairing them is mostly not a thing, somebody would come and simply replace them. I doubt that a lot of solar panel companies and installers are suffering a lot under the enormous burden of this happening all the time for the simple reason that it this isn't a thing.
Balcony solar sounds brilliant and probably has clear ROI. Rooftop solar is an awkward middle between grid-scale solar and balcony solar. Rooftop solar might only make sense in developed countries through subsidies.
Actually, there's a lot of unsubsidized solar popping up in a lot of developing countries all over the middle east, Africa, etc. Anything from villas to shanty towns. Reason: local grids are unreliable and solar is affordable enough. Add some batteries and you are pretty much energy independent. Most of that solar goes on people's roofs.
The reason that's affordable there and requires subsidies in wealthier nations is all the nonsense the nanny states we live in come up with to over complicate things. You need certified this and that. Only people in possession of a special license can plug component A into component B, or strip some wires. And then there is the local grid monopoly that throws up all sorts of obstacles.
There's a way around this. Just buy some panels and batteries on amazon and wire up your shed, boat, cabin in the woods, etc. It's all plug and play. You don't need any permits, special skills, etc. And you end up with a system that can provide a couple of KW of power. Not that hard. There's nothing special about a rooftop. You might need a ladder to get there and you might want to take some safety precautions to avoid dropping off.
I can actually get balcony solar here in Germany for about 240 euros. Here's how that works:
- I buy a kit on Amazon. I found several nice ones. This one is rated for 850w and includes cables, inverters and other bits and bobs needed.
- I zip tie the panels to my balcony
- And I plug in the equipment and connect it to a wall socket
The idea is that this would offload some of the power used by e.g. my fridge. Not the same as a rooftop setup obviously and in my case quite pointless since I don't have a lot of sun on my balcony.
But I might actually qualify for a rebate if I do this and get all or most my money back. The government is sponsoring this and landlords can't stop you from doing this. Nor do you need their permission, a permit, or special insurance.
The point is that this stuff is cheap, easy, and pretty much plug and play. Roofs aren't a whole lot more complicated than this from a technical point of view. You need more panels and more expensive equipment and you probably need some professional electricians and installers to do the work.
The rest is just nonsense that relates more to your local government and legislation than anything being inherently expensive or difficult. I'd suggest reminding your local politicians of their responsibilities during the next elections and maybe voting for the ones that aren't being jerks on this front.
Otherwise, solar panels are pretty reliable and generally covered by long warranties. Repairing them is mostly not a thing, somebody would come and simply replace them. I doubt that a lot of solar panel companies and installers are suffering a lot under the enormous burden of this happening all the time for the simple reason that it this isn't a thing.