Good morning everyone,
This thread seems to have strayed quite a bit from the original topic and there are unfortunately some bits of misinformation in it.
All residential installations in NH must be done according to the 2014 NEC codes and NH PUC regulations. An excellent overview of the regulations for New Hampshire solar installations can be found
here. Obviously I'm biased, but I think the
website in my signature is also an excellent source of information.
Shoreland protection rules apply to solar installations just as they would any fixed structure. Personally I wish these rules had been put in place 40 years ago...
Just because a system is a few years old and can't produce the power that a comparable state of the art array doesn't mean it isn't still valuable. A 20 panel system of ten years ago would have been high performance if it produced 5,000 watts, today the production from that same 20 panel array will exceed 6,000 watts. 'Difference is... the ten year old array is most certainly paid off and for the next 30+ years the power will be coming to the homeowner virtually for free.
If there is a maintenance cost it would likely be the replacement of an inverter. Most are warrantied for 12 years so a 20+ anticipated life would be a fair assumption ...and maybe it never fails at all
I don't know how an owned and properly installed solar system and free electricity could ever be thought of as a detriment in the sale of a property.
A leased system? well that is another ball game
There have been some very specialized solar installation materials and techniques available for years now that pretty much guarantee that a roof mounted array won't leak. If there is a problem it can usually be traced back to workmanship. It would be good to note here though that a solar array should never be installed over an aged roof. The good news though is that the shingle replacement cost on a south facing roof plane being considered for a solar array is could also be considered for the 30% tax credit. Also once the array has been installed it is unlikely that the roof beneath will ever need shingling again due to the fact that the array shades the shingles from the sun's harmful UV rays.
The cost of energy storage has come down considerably in the last few years and will likely continue to declining. Installing a battery system has two main advantages; self consumption and backup power. There is a lot to this subject and if you want to learn more I'd suggest going
here. Self consumption is mainly an advantage for NHEC customers at the present while backup power ...well who doesn't like the thought of power after the storm!