Decided to go solar. Anyone done it?

[Vipergrün]

I hate paying utilities, especially to a monopoly like SoCal Edison. Rebates for Edison customers were running out (gone now I guess) and I decided to jump into the realm of Solar.

Went with Solar City as they have done quite a few houses in my facist HOA-driven neighborhood.

Doing a zero down 20 year lease. The system should cover 98+ plus of my current usage, or even over produce. The lease payment is lower than any electric bill I've ever had. Anticipating a tiny bill from Edison.

Installation is a month or more off. Looking forward to kissing off Edison. They are wanting a 16%+ increase in fees.

This is probably as 'green' as I will get. I will never drive a Prius :--)

Anyone else gone solar? Experiences??

Thanks
-Brad

[Chocaholic]

I went "commando" once. Probably not the same thing though.

[jyl]

Joeaska did, you might PM him as he doesn't post here much lately.

Care to share some details? Square feet of panels, cost of system, kWh capacity, where you live? I've been interested in solar but don't want to do it until it is time for a new roof.

[tadink]

The no money down thing is very attractive, but you are giving up some benefits that might not be apparent.

If you have the cash, you are far better off to purchase....that way you are not paying interest on the money, and you have ZERO payments. The 'lower' monthly payment is still advantage SolarCity.

They are taking the rebates, they are taking the ITC of 30%. IF you don't have much of a tax load, then the ITC is not much of a driver, but being able to reduce your tax bite by 30% of the cost of the system is a big deal for some.

But - if you want solar and don't want to cough up the upfront capital, the SolarCity program is great. You will save some money in the long run, and you are doing a great thing for the planet.

Be aware, however, that even though you have solar, if there is a power outage, your panels go down too. Its a safety thing for the line workers at the utility.

There is also Solar HOT WATER to consider, particularly if you have a lot of teenagers that use a lot of hot water. Your hot water is probably gas-fuel, and when gas goes back up, that is likely to become attractive too. If you'd like to investigate that in a bit more detail, my company is coming out with a 'zero money down, fixed monthly charge' for solar Hot Water systems. We'll own the system, you pay a low monthly rate, you get the hot water.

Ping me if you need any more info - and congrats on going SOLAR!

td

[McLovin]

I'd be very, very wary of a 20 year lease obligation.

without even reading it, i can tell you there's a 99.99% chance I would not do it.

[Vipergrün]

Originally Posted by McLovin

I'd be very, very wary of a 20 year lease obligation.

without even reading it, i can tell you there's a 99.99% chance I would not do it.

I am a lot more leery about the utility companies and their constant increases.

For example, I receive a huge bill from Edison. It has 3 months retroactive increase. I call Edison and they explain I was getting "too much" tier 1 electricity. Evidently, because of the nice area (their words) I live in, they seemed to assume I could just afford more. They actually told me that was one of the reasons! I had no notification, they just did it.

I will take my chances with the solar program...

[Vipergrün]

JYL, the system is sized for ~7800 KWh/year, looks like 25 panels on a SW facing roof in So Cal. Cost is around 16K.

Tadink, thanks for the info. I am not really worried about tax credits and would prefer my money work for me, rather than paying a huge chunk up front.

[pavulon]

Originally Posted by Vipergrün

This is probably as 'green' as I will get. I will never drive a Prius :--)

leaf, c-max, volt...you'll have even more options with each passing year!! I wonder how many will eat their words some day.

now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

[Vipergrün]

Originally Posted by pavulon

leaf, c-max, volt...you'll have even more options with each passing year!! I wonder how many will eat their words some day.

now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I said Prius :--) I'd drive a Tesla S in a heartbeat if I could afford it.

[Brando]

One of my coworkers did the same deal. Definitely a racket. As stated above, buy in full. The power companies will continue to jack rates and you pay the solar panel company + the energy company still.

[Noah930]

A co-worker went solar a year ago. Leasing, like you want to do. I asked him about it recently and he said in retrospect, if you have the funds, financially it's better to buy than to lease.

[Vipergrün]

Thanks for the real world insight. I have bit of time to decide which program I want. I'll run the numbers to see what makes more sense.

The goal is to size a system so that 93-98% of current usage is met by solar. Any extra will come from Edison, but should all be at tier one pricing. I am not planning on having a lease payment and a large electricity bill.

Noah, Brando, are your co-workers otherwise satisfied with solar and the offset to their electric bill?

Thanks
-Brad

[Noah930]

I can ask him (co-worker) the specifics for his opinion. He's a pretty level-headed guy, FWIW. But he's stoked with having gone solar.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by tadink

The no money down thing is very attractive, but you are giving up some benefits that might not be apparent.

If you have the cash, you are far better off to purchase....that way you are not paying interest on the money, and you have ZERO payments. The 'lower' monthly payment is still advantage SolarCity.

What? I pay $85 a month for 20 yrs. In 15 yrs. I'll still be paying $85 a month, which will be about $50 in today's dollars. If I had paid cash for the whole set up, it would take me about 15 yrs. to break even AND I'd be on the hook for all repairs and maint. PV panels don't last forever; they degrade. My electric bill was $60 last month, but it's $20ish when the a/c isn't running. If I hadn't gotten a $500 rebate check for the install, it'd be a total wash. The only real benefit of solar is that the rate is locked for 20 yrs., while APS's rates go up every year. It's a total false economy and would be insane if not for the gov't. subsidies, which I also think are insane. It's just that, as a taxpayer, I want to get whatever I can back that they steal from me.

[Neilk]

Just out of curiosity, what are you electricity rates in SoCal?

I am not sure solar would make much sense in Texas where rates are under 10c/ kw.

[Chocaholic]

....and with a 20 year "lease", what happens at the end? Is it a FMV, or $1 buyout? What if you move in 5 years?

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Vipergrün

JYL, the system is sized for ~7800 KWh/year, looks like 25 panels on a SW facing roof in So Cal. Cost is around 16K.

Tadink, thanks for the info. I am not really worried about tax credits and would prefer my money work for me, rather than paying a huge chunk up front.

3.56 kW system. Call it 3.6kW.

$3600 for 16 x 225 Watt panels.
$3200 for 16 x micro inverters

They are getting $10K for the racks, wiring and install? I think you might be able to find it cheaper than that.

Flip it the other way. How much are you paying for electricity right now? @$0.20/kWh and the 30% tax credit, the unit produces $1560/yr. And I bet your average $/kWh is above $0.20.

Show me an investment where $16K (really $11.2K) is going to pay out $1560 per year.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Neilk

Just out of curiosity, what are you electricity rates in SoCal?

I am not sure solar would make much sense in Texas where rates are under 10c/ kw.

Neil,

You are correct if you neglect the value increase in the house with a Solar energy system installed.

@0.089/kWh, 30% tax credit, and I arrange a roofer to install the panels/rack and an electrician to tie the electricity in, I believe I can do a $3.6kW system for ~$7K in Texas.

3.6kWh system will produce 6570 kWh here or about $585 of electricity each year. That is still an 8.4% return on investment. Not bad.

But if we assume the nominal $10K system adds $5K to the value of my house, then the sunk cost is only $2K and will pay off in a couple of years.

When I install a system on my house, it will probably be 70-80 panels or about 16-18 kWh. Initial cost around $50K, with a tax credit of $15K. It should produce around 31000 to 32000 kWh per year, or about $2750 in cost avoidance per year.

[mattdavis11]

My brother works for Solar City, he used to be the project coordinator in California and Colorado. Spent lots of time around LA and Denver. He now works in the Dallas office, hiring and firing, among other things.

My parents installed one of Solar city's units on their home in DFW, and from what my dad told me, his unit generates enough power to run the house during the day, but at night the grid has to take over. He uses a lot of power as ac is necessary 80% of the year. They bought their system, with rebates, outright. $10K I think he said. I can't remember exactly how long he said it would take for the system to pay for its self, but 4 years come to mind.

I have no idea what panels or how many were installed, but I can only gather that it is the top of the line.

Sorry I can't be of much help with actual figures, but if you'd like, I can provide a number for someone who will know most everything about a Solar City system, your utility co, and all ins and outs.

[jyl]

Sadly , in Portland I think the calculations are different :-(