# Solar Panels anger neighbors.



## BucksCoBernie (Jan 5, 2010)

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/loc...ary/05/man-saves-energy-angers-neighbors.html

Sounds like sour grapes to me. The guy lives on over an acre of property. I'm glad my neighbors arent petty and snobby.


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## SolarAndWood (Jan 5, 2010)

I can understand the neighbors position.  We live on an acre and a half and didn't want to look at them in our own backyard.  But, we had the luxury of designing our solar south roof to the ideal angle for overall annual production as part of the house rebuild.


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## edporch (Jan 5, 2010)

Sure, the neighbors have a right not to like it, but we all have neighbors who do things we don't like, and even ones who break the law and the city won't enforce it.
I know I do.
But these people who put up the solar panels seem to have followed the law as it was when they installed them.
It's just part of life when living with neighbors nearby.
They need to find a way to live with it, or move to the country with enough acreage that they don't need to worry about neighbors doing things they don't like.


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## CarbonNeutral (Jan 5, 2010)

Heads up neighbors - tough luck. Some things you just have to deal with.


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## peakbagger (Jan 5, 2010)

Many states have solar rights laws which specifically allow the installation of solar panels and also limits future development from shading the panels. California has had some interesting cases where neighbors were forced to trim their trees. 

Overall its hard to make an argument against nothing, which is what the neighbors saw before the solar panels.


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## CarbonNeutral (Jan 5, 2010)

In the UK, and here I believe also, there is no "right to a view".


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## mikeyny (Jan 6, 2010)

before you know it the government will be taxing the square ft of solar panels daily. It will be a SUN tax. We will all have to camoflage our panels somehow to avoid the tax man once again.


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## woodgeek (Jan 6, 2010)

16' tall panels on the property line seems like a real FU to the neighbors if you ask me.  Why can't he distribute the same square footage of PV on shorter panels in a couple rows on his property?


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## m0jumb0 (Jan 6, 2010)

I think the guy should be able to erect whatever he wants on his property, but the last paragraph says it all.  He's concerned about being "green" yet he has a 4000 square foot house.  16' solar panels are the new "green" status symbol.


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## tjnamtiw (Jan 6, 2010)

peakbagger said:
			
		

> Many states have solar rights laws which specifically allow the installation of solar panels and also limits future development from shading the panels. California has had some interesting cases where neighbors were forced to trim their trees.
> 
> Overall its hard to make an argument against nothing, which is what the neighbors saw before the solar panels.



Georgia has the same law protecting the solar panel owner from neighbors shading them.  Just wait until the guy puts up about 3 windmills!  Part of the Crap and Trade has to be protection for those who must put up alternate sources to survive.


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## zknowlto (Jan 6, 2010)

I think that smoke stacks, high voltage lines, and telephone poles are ugly too.  But they're all part of out energy/communication infrastructure and I wouldn't want to do without them.  Sooner than later, solar panels and windmills are going to be a larger part of our energy landscape, both figuratively and literally.


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## verne (Jan 6, 2010)

plant a row of tall trees and her property value will go up .but.. then her taxes will go up.


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## Delta-T (Jan 6, 2010)

I think its funny that the neighbor sites that the panels are in view from their swingset. Most of those things are eyesores (swingsets) especially if they are uncared for and have that tree fort like appendage. I bet one of the neighbors also has a '51 Buick with no wheels sinking into the ground that somehow isn't an eyesore. Americans get more foolish every day (present company excluded of course). Somehow we've turned into the Land of the Home and Free of the Brave.I don't remember any law that says you can complain until you get your way, but I bet we're close to getting one.


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## Flatbedford (Jan 6, 2010)

I say he should appease the neighbors, take down the panels, and start generating his own electricity with a coal fired power plant in his basement where the neighbors can't see it. No panels, but maybe some smoke or soot.   :cheese:


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## tjnamtiw (Jan 6, 2010)

Or maybe a few old 'hit and miss' gas engines out back turning generators.  No mufflers, of course.


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## richg (Jan 7, 2010)

The neighbor is a total whiner.....if it were me, I would put 20 ft panels on my side of the property and say "Nyaa Nyaa, mine's bigger!" 

I'd be interested to see how much work was done on the 4000 sq ft house to conserve energy. Did they put spray foam insulation in the attic? are all exterior penetrations (dryer vents, pipes, air intakes etc) sealed? do they use setback thermostats? Did they put a radiant barrier in the attic, and insulate any attic ductwork? 

Yes, solar panels are a wonderful idea and help conserve/generate energy. You can get a lot more bang for the buck, and quickly,  by stopping energy loss in your house. A hoome energy audit by a qualified contractor is a good place to start.


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## timfromohio (Jan 7, 2010)

I agree with Flatbed, except that I think the guy should not use coal either since the stack might impede view.  How about some nice steaming manure bio-pile?


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## woodsman23 (Jan 7, 2010)

This was the reson i moved from the shitty and now live on 63 acres of prime NYS country. I built my own home, i have spring water, solar and heat with pellets , walk around nude, it is simply a better way to live for me, and i am 1/2 mile off the road where i can,say,pee what ever i want.......


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## northwinds (Jan 7, 2010)

It's hard to feel too sorry for the complaining neighbors; it is this guy's property, and he followed all of the 
regulations.  There are some big honking houses in this neighborhood.

Here's the link to Cheshire Road and Essex Drive:  If you zoom in on the satellite view, you get an idea of what kind of 
neighborhood this is:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...wn,+pa&ie=UTF8&geocode=FbHkZwIdOceF-w&split=0


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## Flatbedford (Jan 7, 2010)

Low rent district.


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## fattire (Jan 8, 2010)

That was probably the most interesting article I read today.   Sometimes I am embarrassed by my fellow Americans.    While we try to do everything we can think of to conserve fossil energy, some guy down the road has over 30 exterior lights on every night.  (He has more light on his porch than we keep on inside our entire house!)     I hate to say it, but I've come around to thinking that we need a big friggin carbon tax.


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## fattire (Jan 8, 2010)

Did I just advocate for higher taxes?   Yikes.


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## richg (Jan 8, 2010)

woodsman23 said:
			
		

> This was the reson i moved from the shitty and now live on 63 acres of prime NYS country. I built my own home, i have spring water, solar and heat with pellets , walk around nude, it is simply a better way to live for me, and i am 1/2 mile off the road where i can,say,pee what ever i want.......



you are my hero


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## amkazen (Jan 9, 2010)

It is sour grapes.  Neighbors complaining because they want everything to be like their stuff, where everyone is the same, and nobody stands out.  I could understand if he had parked junk cars, etc on his property line but solar panels?  They look very neat.  Now, if they fall apart in a few years because he is not maintaining them, etc, just as if he let the house & yard get run-down, that  would be something else.  NIMBY...those neighbors should just be quiet.

And, the CA solar rights issue where the trees were forced to be cut down? That was ridiculous because 1)  the trees had been there for years; 2) the folks put their panels on the ground under the existing trees; 3) they could have put the panels on the roof.  Yes, solar rights do exist but common senses needs to come into play.


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## Valhalla (Jan 10, 2010)

Solar panels anger Arabs!

I thought that we were working toward energy independence?


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## btuser (Jan 10, 2010)

I dunno.  The frosted side of me wants to say live and let live, but if I spent big money on a view and someone put up solar panels to block it I'd be pissed.

They could put those on the roof, but I'm sure it was cheaper where they are.
They could put them closer to their house, but I'm sure it would be an inconvenience for THEM, not their neighbors.  It would have left  them less room for their $5000 swing sets and $40,000 in-ground pool (heated?)  
They could have built a smaller house if they wanted to save the planet.
They could have asked the neighbors what they thought of it.

That's, I guess the worst part of it.  Buying a house and not giving a chit about the people you share space with.  Part of me wants to say screw 'em, because I've had those conversations with the nosy neighbors who want to know when I'm going to move that canoe from the side of my house to the back of my house.


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## Bobbin (Jan 10, 2010)

Pretty easy to see who fertilizes their lawns, huh? think they're using organic lawn care services?  Also who knows how to properly plant trees along a driveway, or not... 

I can see both sides of the issue, but for Pete's sake, it's not the end of the world.  I'm not thrilled about the house going up behind our's, but we didn't have the money to buy the lot and I have no control over what'll be built.  My best option? be friendly and look at the "newcomers" as potentially good friends.  There are way bigger "fish to fry" and being a pain in your neighbor's ass isn't likely to improve neighborhood relations.


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## PapaDave (Jan 10, 2010)

Everything in excess. Seems to be the American way.
Looks like every other cookie cutter neighborhood I've ever seen.
Al Gore comes to mind here. 
Possible to relocate the panels without losing efficiency, or does the neighbor just not want panels in HIS neighborhood. Maybe he thinks it's too lowbrow to want to save. Hard to tell from here.


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## Freefall_Doug (Jan 10, 2010)

Too bad so sad. It is his property, he followed zoning, and gave proper easement.

If you don't want neighbors compromising your vista you should buy more property. I don't even think it is inconsiderate, I think the neighbor's are a bunch of asses to expect that he should own this land and pay taxes on it, but not use it how he sees fit. I don't think they ever sent him a check to help subsidize the free view they were enjoying.

It would be hard to say if they solar panels were a smart investment, maybe the house is insulated to the hilt and low energy consuming all around, but it isn't the point. It could be a shed, and it wouldn't change a thing.

Typical NIMBY suburban domesticated morons. They are pissed because they bought into a high rent area with big houses, and now they think they are owed something. No, you just bought into high property taxes. Waaa waaaa.


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## amkazen (Jan 10, 2010)

16 feet high is not unusual given the size of panels.  An approximate 4kW PV system (including 24 - 32 batteries) is sufficient to provide electrical power a 2,500 - 4,000 sq. ft., insulated home, and not need any grid-power and not be concerned about power, meaning it is not thought about, just like people do not think about power when they are connected to the grid.  PV panels can be different sizes, such as 3x5.  You take two 3x5 panels and put then on a rack ened to end and that gives you a little less than 10' tall because they are mounted at an angle.  Add in the distance off the ground you mount the panels, at say 2' - 4', and the top of the rack, the high point, is now probably about 10' - 14' off the ground, especially in the winter months when the panels are more vertical to catch the winter sun.

We have no idea what the owner of the solar system had in mind when he installed this isystem: complete independence form the grid, partial grid power, etc.  How many people live in this house?  Mom & Dad plus 2 kids, plus grandparents?  What is the shading factor on the panels and is that why they were put on the property line?  Are there plans to build another building on the property, such as a workshop or a garage?  

What view is there in a neighborhood like that?  Do we know if a view exists?

The bottom line is it is on their own property and they abided by county / village / city laws.  The neighbors need to shut up, or put up the money to buy that house and then take the panels down.


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