But wait - after the Messiah heals the planet by tripling or quadrupling your electric rates, that payback might come in at 20 years or so.

Have you seen that ihouse thing from clayton homes? It already comes with solar panels and all that solar energy junk.

I think people are being scared and bullied into buying and doing things to their homes just to makle money off them.

Ok, so solar panels aren't as efficient as hoped. There's additional efficiency and toxicity problems with the necessary batteries, inverters, and the manufacturing process of the panels themselves. But hey, think of all the "green" jobs it creates. And don't worry...the government (perhaps state or federal) will likely subsidize your installation these days anyways. Case in point.

Actually solar water heaters are especially cost effective,
since certain states offer a rebate or state income tax credit.

When we built our house on Maui, we installed two panels for an eighty-gallon tank, which reduced our
electric bill by 2/3rds. The unit cost about $4,000 and the state offers 50% ($2,000) tax credit, so it paid for itself in no time. (energy is expensive in Hawaii)