[DetectDefect]

Missing from your calculus is the cost of creating, cleaning, maintaining and eventually replacing the hardware. None of that is "free" - it is merely externalized to a vulnerable population or to your future self.

[microtonal]

Missing from your calculus are the healthcare costs of every person in a country breathing in fumes from electricity plants that burn coal and fumes from cars that burn gasoline.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266675922...

(And a gazillion other studies.)

[boringg]

Not supporting OP because I think hes backwards on the matter. However in Canada the electricity that is being burned isn't coal based - so you need to compare the actual grid not some hypothetical grid.

[vixen99]

Especially when they are offshored to China. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-023-01308-x

[cmxch]

Those costs can be safely deemed as 0, especially when you use Reed Elsevier.

[munk-a]

Roof maintenance is a need in Canada regardless of the presence of solar. Solar roofs do demand additional maintenance but the benefits over relying on natural gas for power (which is the alternative in Canada outside ON/QC) is worth it.

I will stand by your statement from the philosophical point of view that nothing in life is free and everything has its trade offs - but this is a pretty clear positive. In addition, Canada has pretty decent workplace safety enforcement for the sort of workers that'd be doing the maintenance - it certainly isn't perfect but it is something that Canadians seem to find important.

[adrianN]

Panels have warranties of over twenty years now. They pay for themselves much earlier. You probably have to replace the inverter earlier, but that’s not a huge expense. I don’t know anybody who lives in a place where it rains who cleans the panels on their roof.

[DetectDefect]

Oh, okay. Does a warranty cover sweeping snow off your panels and washing them many times throughout the years? I guess if one does not value time, then solar panels could be considered "free" - but this is a bizarre sacrifice.

[micromacrofoot]

I've had my system for 10 years and maintenance has literally been 0. Rain and snow clean the panels. Panels themselves warrantied for 30 years but will likely last longer.

Roof-based panels also take on some roof wear, increasing longevity of roofing as well.

[testing22321]

I’ve had the system 18 months now. I’ve never once cleared snow or washed them. We get tons of snow.

Zero maintenance.

[direwolf20]

Solar panels last practically forever. Despite the official lifetimes of 25-30 years, that was a conservative estimate for budgeting purposes, and they're still working after that time, with moderately reduced efficiency (around 70-80%).

[account42]

Yeah of course solar is cheap if you get everyone else to pay for it.