Jogging by this house in August, the new addition quickly caught my eye. Before I finished processing that these were solar panels, I thought, “Oh, boy. I wonder what the neighbors think.”
From a neighbor, I just found out.
Before getting to that, some items of note. First, the house faces north. Look behind the house, which is to the south. Those trees would allow for scant rays to penetrate, except during the summer when the sun is higher than they are. Even on the roof, a majority of months the solar panels would not soak in much heat.
No one would advocate taking down trees, right? And many of us agree that capturing solar energy is a good thing. Sooo, if you or I wanted to take this step in going green, what might we do?
I jog by this house often, so I was forced to ponder this. It didn’t take me long to decide two things. First, if I lived next door to these folks, I wouldn’t be crazy about these panels in the front yard. Second, however, I decided that if there are no city ordinances against them I would not put up a fuss; I would get used to them.
What is it I recently learned about those who actually live near this house? I learned that they’ve met regarding the panels. That everyone has an opinion. And that they have spoken with a nearly-united voice.
They want them removed.
From the neighbor who informed me, it sounds as though the solar-panel person is being understanding, that she’s looking toward removing the structure.
If this is true, for the sake of peace in the neighborhood I applaud the woman. And I hope the neighbors have not been hard on her, but have expressed their dismay in a kind and friendly manner.
Landmark personal moves have a way of travelling onto larger pastures. I have my eye on Indy Star, curious how long before the newspaper reports that our city council has taken this up for discussion, and even ruled on it.
If I were a betting man, my money would be on it happening, and on front-yard solar panels being given a strong thumbs down.
I don’t see us as being ready for this step. Some day, we will—when our wallets can’t take any more—but I suspect that’s still quite a few years off.
What do you think?
Eilers Pizza 
Information which has been reported to me:
Most solar panels are made in China. Moving to solar power supports China’s economy.
Solar panels are virtually unrecyclable. It costs about $25-$30 to extract $3-$4 worth of materials which can be recycled.
The sun doesn’t shine at night, which reduces the availability of solar power. Solar panel output varies with the amount of daylight available, and therefore cannot be counted on to produce a steady amount of power.
Solar panels require clear and unobstructed access to sunlight. This might well mean cutting back or even cutting down trees to make room for panels.
Solar power is generated as direct current, while power available from one’s local utility is alternating current. This means that direct current must be converted to alternating current to run one’s washing machine or Xbox. There always is a loss when converting AC to DC or DC to AC. Thus, the full output of the solar panels is nearly always reduced by conversion losses.
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