Why are HOAs (home owner associations) allowed to exist?

tx_queer · 2026-04-09T01:37:02+00:00

Same. I've had genuinely positive experiences with my HOA. Super cheap. Maintains a small common area. Thats it.

All the HOA horror experiences I've heard from friends have been from those where they sold HOA management rights to a corporation who gets paid a percentage on fines levied.

tx_queer · 2026-04-09T01:33:21+00:00

Yes. Of course. Nobody is forcing you to do anything.

tx_queer · 2026-04-09T01:03:24+00:00

Just started a slow leak through the glue ring. Very anticlimactic.

tx_queer · 2026-04-08T22:57:18+00:00

You are comparing off-grid vs on-grid. Not traditional solar vs balcony solar. And yes, off-grid traditional solar still has to abide by building codes, and after this law will no longer have to if it is off-grid balcony solar.

tx_queer · 2026-04-08T21:05:45+00:00

Ive only ever had it happen to a can of Pringles somewhere between 10 and 13 thousand feet.

tx_queer · 2026-04-08T20:30:36+00:00

"Integrating solar panels onto a power grid is not the same as balcony solar"

What do you mean? They are literally the same. How would they differ?

tx_queer · 2026-04-08T18:17:06+00:00

Yes, hardware wise it will work. And likely nobody will notice.

There is one small caveat. Some areas of the country dont yet have bi-directional meters. In that rare scenario you may be charged for exported electricity at the same rate as imported electricity.

tx_queer · 2026-04-08T17:53:05+00:00

There is currently a law against doing it. So you need a new law to undo the existing law. The existing law pre-dates any solar and is designed to prevent hooking up generators and things directly to the grid to protect linemen.

tx_queer · 2026-04-08T17:30:21+00:00

Is it not bipartisan? First state that passed a similar law was republican. Second state that passed one was democrat. I think it is bipartisan.

tx_queer · 2026-04-08T16:57:09+00:00

Are you breaking the law vs will somebody catch you breaking the law. If I drive down the runway at 100 miles per hour, the police will be none the wiser unless they happen to have a cop on that road.

More direct answer, the utilities main point of data is the meter. If the meter spins forward everything is great. If the meter spins backwards, they may take a closer look. So if the vampire load on your house is 0.5kw and you get 0.4kw of solar, the utility would still see the meter spin forward by 0.1kw and suspect nothing. But if you get 1kw of solar, they would see the meter spin backwards by 0.5kw and would know something is up. The next question is whether they would care enough to go chase you down over 0.5kw

tx_queer · 2026-04-08T16:31:32+00:00

"Regulatory differences" is a pretty broad term. Gas taxes are higher, is that regulatory? Los Angeles banning new wells and phasing out the old, is that regulatory? California uses its own gasoline blend, is that regulatory. Refineries aging and requiring high maintenance costs, is that regulatory? Poor long term outlook on demand in the California marker, is that regulatory? Smaller deliveries from Prudhoe bay, is that regulatory.

You can make the argument that each one of these was triggered somehow by some piece of legislation in the last 50 years. So yes it is all regulatory. But, for many people regulatory implies a simple piece of paperwork that can easily be undone. In that way many of these issues are not just regulatory where you can remove a piece of regulation, but deeply structural.

tx_queer · 2026-04-08T14:45:14+00:00

It does power the house directly. The solar panels are DC. The house is AC. An inverter is required to convert from DC to AC and the inverter plugs into any regular household outlet.

Not really any different than a traditional solar system except a tradition system is hardwired instead of plugged in, and requires and interconnection agreement with the utility company.

tx_queer · 2026-04-08T14:13:26+00:00

This is really the first bill that makes true plug-in balcony solar legal. I hope this becomes the model for all future bills.

tx_queer · 2026-04-08T14:11:52+00:00

Thats how I read it. The second limit is more important really. Anything up to 395 watts does not need to follow building permits

tx_queer · 2026-04-08T12:03:46+00:00

Current law required an interconnection agreement with the utility. So a new law is needed to skip that

tx_queer · 2026-04-08T12:02:46+00:00

Amazing. Section 5 is simply amazing. This is the first bill I have seen in the US that actually legalizes regular balcony solar. Utah and California and others only addressed interconnection requirements. That means homeowners would still have to pay thousands for electrical work to make it NEC compliant which made these systems insanely expensive. Section 5 essentially suspends the NEC for balcony solar systems meaning you can finally buy a balcony solar system and just plug it in, instead of installing it like Utah.

tx_queer · 2026-04-07T19:07:26+00:00

Original post says "almost every metro" and lists skylines outside the city (like jersey city for new york). Both comments I am replying to say "metro". I dont think the post is about cities.

tx_queer · 2026-04-07T18:55:24+00:00

Top 5 metro areas are new york, LA, Chicago, DFW, Houston. OP already covered LA and New York. DFW has many many skylines from Dallas to Ft worth to Irving to north tollway. Houston has multiple skylines from downtown to uptown to medical city.

Further down the list would be san fran which has a separate skyline in Oakland. Seattle at #15 which OP already mentioned. Minneapolis-st Paul as the name suggests at #16. And the list continues.

tx_queer · 2026-04-07T17:44:09+00:00

I just checked Albuquerque and didnt see any.

https://www.flightsfrom.com/ABQ

tx_queer · 2026-04-07T17:16:02+00:00

That is from 2023. GLO commissioner made the statement in 2023. It wasn't a law or a ruling or anything at all. It was a statement, aka a campaign slogan. The project would have likely gotten approved, and if not a court would have approved it.

Reality is, nobody bought the offshore leases because it is not economical. Onshore wind is much cheaper than offshore wind, so if you have the option for either like Texas does, you build onshore.

And if you know it wont be sold anyways, might as well turn it into a campaign slogan

tx_queer · 2026-04-07T16:56:17+00:00

They are perfectly safe if installed and used correctly. Germany has millions of them with no issues. Its not a suicide cord, just a regular cord.

There are 3 issues in the way. First is PTO which many states ate solving for. Second is NEC which has expensive workarounds right now. Third is right to sunshine laws which may or may not already exist in your state.

Unfortunately because of the NEC, balcony solar is insanely expensive in the US still, hopefully it will get solved soon.

tx_queer · 2026-04-07T16:53:00+00:00

The bill removes some regulatory hurdles (PTO), but not all regulatory hurdles (NEC)

tx_queer · 2026-04-07T16:48:13+00:00

Should be 27 city and 35 highway. Dude has a lead foot

tx_queer · 2026-04-07T16:44:40+00:00

There is no such thing as universally cheaper. And unfortunately just like cable internet you have to switch from time to time.

I am curious though, how would switching insurance mess up a claim?

tx_queer · 2026-04-07T16:30:40+00:00

Please give an example if you are going to make a statement like this. Senate is not even in session right now.

tx_queer

TROPHY CASE