Thinking of going Solar

[Kim57]

I'm looking at going solar and curious if any one has used Sungevity.
They have proposed the best package to me for a lease as a purchase just doesn't make sense with my tax/income situation.
I've looked at Verengo and Petersen Dean also.
Petersen Dean mainly sells their systems and was going to cost me more than what my electric is right now.
Thanks for any input.
Kim

[rambler]

check your state for any rebates/tax incentives also see if your power company has a "buyback" program.. I would assume CA would be the most solar friendly state, but so far I have not really seen a good ROI on the packages..

[cdowns]

I've checked out some solar systems and it seems that they really don't start payin off till 7-10 years after installation

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by rambler

check your state for any rebates/tax incentives also see if your power company has a "buyback" program.. I would assume CA would be the most solar friendly state, but so far I have not really seen a good ROI on the packages..

The only real incentive left on a purchase is the 30% tax break which does me no good as our income isn't high enough to benefit.

Originally Posted by cdowns

I've checked out some solar systems and it seems that they really don't start payin off till 7-10 years after installation

That's why I'm looking at the lease.
It starts saving me about $80.00 a month right off the bat and with our rates due to go up about 14% over the next year or two it gets better.
Kim

[leddzepp]

I'll consider it when I look up at roofs and see it as the norm. I've had several companies present their case to me, and I'm still not sold on it. I'm right next door to you in Riverside with municipal utilities and my electric bill is not high enough to justify the cost either by leasing or purchasing. Is Corona on Edison?

[special-K]

Don't forget to consider future rate hikes in your calculations. It's like buying vs renting a home, it gets cheaper with time (relative). I heat my house with wood, which gives a similar feeling of independence. Making my house as warm as I want has no effect on a bill. It's my own heat that I made.

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

I'll consider it when I look up at roofs and see it as the norm. I've had several companies present their case to me, and I'm still not sold on it. I'm right next door to you in Riverside with municipal utilities and my electric bill is not high enough to justify the cost either by leasing or purchasing. Is Corona on Edison?

Yes we're on Edison. We get into tier 3 and tier 4 regularly which drives the price way up. The system I'm getting will hopefully eliminate Edison completely.
There are all ready six of my neighbors with it and it's becoming pretty common around here.

Originally Posted by special-K

Don't forget to consider future rate hikes in your calculations. It's like buying vs renting a home, it gets cheaper with time (relative). I heat my house with wood, which gives a similar feeling of independence. Making my house as warm as I want has no effect on a bill. It's my own heat that I made.

I should save at least a $100.00 a month when they get my system up and running and with the proposed rate increases it will only get better.
Kim

[Lee H]

I looked into this last year, lease wise the numbers never worked, savings where to small for consideration. Buying took 14 years to break even. Not to bad but no one would talk life expectancy of the equipment or how much efficiency would degrade over time. Major headache when reroofing is needed. I think it's going to take some more time for the technology to evolve and the cost to come to make it attractive for me. It's still on my radar. On a side note, our utility bills plummeted when we became empty nesters. Had I researhed this when all the kids where here my decision would have likey be different.

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by Lee H

I looked into this last year, lease wise the numbers never worked, savings where to small for consideration. Buying took 14 years to break even. Not to bad but no one would talk life expectancy of the equipment or how much efficiency would degrade over time. Major headache when reroofing is needed. I think it's going to take some more time for the technology to evolve and the cost to come to make it attractive for me. It's still on my radar. On a side note, our utility bills plummeted when we became empty nesters. Had I researhed this when all the kids where here my decision would have likey be different.

I felt the same as you did. In the past a purchase never made sense because of the long wait for the break even point.
The lease made it much more attractive for us and after talking to my neighbors who have had it a while I should do all right.
As far as warranty the panels are good for 25 years and the inverters go for 10 but it's all covered for the life of my lease which is 20 years.
Kim

[dirtyjim]

I'm looking into solar power for the two story deer stand I'm building, mostly just to charge stiff to keep the nieces and nephews busy and run the spotlights for night time hog hunting.

[davischevy]

Originally Posted by Kim57

I felt the same as you did. In the past a purchase never made sense because of the long wait for the break even point.
The lease made it much more attractive for us and after talking to my neighbors who have had it a while I should do all right.
As far as warranty the panels are good for 25 years and the inverters go for 10 but it's all covered for the life of my lease which is 20 years.
Kim

If you do the lease, do you have a term before you can break the lease?

The lease looks more attractive, because of the ROI, but also because of obsolesence of the equipment. The technology is evolving so fast, the equipment will be obsolete in no time. If you are required to maintain the lease, does the company update your equipment periodically?

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by davischevy

If you do the lease, do you have a term before you can break the lease?

The lease looks more attractive, because of the ROI, but also because of obsolesence of the equipment. The technology is evolving so fast, the equipment will be obsolete in no time. If you are required to maintain the lease, does the company update your equipment periodically?

No real way to get out of the lease until it's complete.
I can buy it out but the cost is the same as staying in it so no real advantage.
If I sell my house the new owners need to take over the lease or I have to pay off the remainder. This isn't a concern for us as we've been here over 14 years and have no intention of moving.
At the end we can do a month by month lease and they will still maintain the equipment or we can just take over the maintenance and basically own it or have them remove it at their cost. They hope we take it over as it lets them off the hook for everything at that time.
Hope that's clear.
Kim

[davischevy]

Assuming you have a retirement account you could put the $80/mo savings into, most aggressive mutual funds have averaged 8% or more over the last 20 years. 80 dollars per month @ 8% return X 20 years = a little over $47,000.

Not bad for money you are giving to someone else now.

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by davischevy

Assuming you have a retirement account you could put the $80/mo savings into, most aggressive mutual funds have averaged 8% or more over the last 20 years. 80 dollars per month @ 8% return X 20 years = a little over $47,000.

Not bad for money you are giving to someone else now.

Yep.
I'm already retired (disabled in 1998) so the extra money will help with every day life.
Kim