Solar Panels

Been tossing around the idea of adding panels to my roof after seeing some advertisements. I contacted a couple of companies and the jist of free install is that they lock you in and guarantee your electric rate for 20 yrs.
It would cut my current bill about $100 bucks a month regardless of what the rates do. The contract is locked in on the property and is fully transferable. If at any point you need or decide to break from the contract you pay out the prorated balance...
I'm sure in 10-20 yrs, rates will be higher but have a hard time having someone tied to my property.
Anyone ever done this??? Not a tree hugger, just trying to get ready for retirement...

GAF has a good estimate system on their website. Tells you how many you need at your current consumption rate. Doesn't work for me in the pacific northwest as it will take 29 years to pay off the $30,000 cost of the panels and install in what I'd save on electricity. Ensure that you do this bit of figuring, as solar doesn't make sense in all locations. Unless you have more $$ than brains or really do want to save those trees/whales/owls etc.

post #16 & #36

https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/energy-realities-bites-millenials.106692/page-2

Didn't have those kind of panels, but had a solar water heater. The deal was, that the total cost of the system was $4000. Something like $400 down. Finance $1600, then pay $100 a year for 20 years with a 20 year warranty. When you got the rebate back from the government, you pay off the loan and all you had was the $100 per year for the 20 years of warranty.
Problem was that the company went out of business about one month after the system was installed. Went to refinance the house and discovered that there was a $2000 lien to pay to this non existent company(can of worms). Funny thing is the panel way more than paid for itself in water heating costs and the panel did last (with some repairs) for about 20 years.

Ya the company I spoke with said It was $40k, they would do everything for the install, even provide me a new roof if mine was wore out. All the maintenance , leak protection included.
It's a peak load generation that you put back into the system, unlike an emergency back up with batteries.
So what they did was look at a satellite view of my roof and trees to see how many panels ( 1/2 my roof), calculated my demand and rate figures how they could make more than the cost and throw me a small savings.
Now I think the exact number was $138 a month savings which equals about $1700 annually & $33k over the term.
I however do not plan on staying here for 20 years as I will move to the farm/shop once the need arises to take care of my wife's dad.
My intention was to keep my home and lease it out once that happens as my area is growing with hospitals and attractions which I believe I could demand a higher than normal rent much like the areas around the Med Center in Houston. Once the term is realized you own it and can pay for maintenance and keep all of the savings or have it removed.
My concern was that if I decide to sell and buyers do not want the system, what were my options? Well that is to pay off the balance of the amortized cost...their contention was that the contract was transferable and "who wouldn't want to know what their bill was every month and get a savings????"

I'm not a fan of the leased systems..You might speak to a real estate professional, they can explain all the hassles that occur with leased systems and trying to transfer or sell property, since that is the a concern. In my opinion the best bet is to shop around with your preferred financial institutions and finance through them,(unless you're buying the system outright)they offer more stability and YOU will get the rebates/incentives..

Be careful and do your due diligence when entering into any agreement that involves borrowing money or having some else's property attached to yours. I imagine that until it's paid off, it still belongs to them. I remember reading something about these kinds of solar deals and if I recall correctly, experts say you are much better off going with what you can afford in a system that can be upgraded and added to. Depending where you are, you might find some Solyndra panels. State of the Art, utterly affordable at $1.50 per watt, and still the best quality out there.

here it is 20 year contract and a bunch on pipes and boxes on the side of your house. Not a pretty sight. My friend did it to their house and said it was a joke,bill is still high. S Carolina is sunny almost all the time.I think they are the ones making out.

I agree. I would look around and if you buy look into these people.
Lots of info and they have been around and will give you what you want based on what you design. https://www.wholesalesolar.com/specials
(I am building a new house and going all solar, battery, and few winds turbines)

The house im selling was quoted 28 panels @ 28k bought outright and installed, 12k would have been paid for by gov rebates, and some banks do green loans that are at 2.5 to 2% interest. Never installed because i wouldnt get the money out when I sell. But depending on where you live some places realtors have gotten dollar for dollar spend on solar in the sale of the house.

Also be aware of the brand of solar equipment. Check the product to see if in the pass if it had failed the UL listing. Because if the roof panels didn’t last and failed after a few years. And UL recalled the company to haunt the production, UL will not approve the sale of the same component to replace yours until it passes another listing test, which could take sometime. So your solar would be inactive until the component is replaced.

Also figure in removal and reinstall for new roofing. My neighbor just got a quote of $4k just to do that on a tile roof, that's just the solar not the roof.

I would stay clear of leased systems. If you are like us in Dallas areas your home values have sky rocketed in the last 2yrs and it may make more since to do a cash out refi or home improvement line of credit and buy the system outright. Also check with your insurance company because it's apparently difficult to get your home insured in Texas with solar panels.

I think it really depends on where you live, not obviously just the amount of sun you receive, but the available incentives. Many of them are expiring, solar panel production costs are going back up (and tariffs on Chinese panels will have their effect). We just got them on our house this fall, had them a couple of months now. Washington state has several programs (like discounts for buying panels made in the state) and our utility company has a net metering program. We have a grid-tied system (no batteries, but I might eventually add in a couple Tesla Walls, or similar) and once everything was penciled-out, we’ll pay about 12k on a 20k system. Our ANNUAL power bill will be offset by about 40%. We also got a solar powered attic fan, which made a huge difference in the temps upstairs. Solar really makes sense when you look at overall savings over a long period of time - the environmental aspect is nice, but really secondary, so don’t let it scare you off! Look at these large box stores doing solar - WalMart being one of them, many universities also. They have the means to handle the upfront costs (obviously) but they see it as future-proofing their energy costs. They’ll toot their horn about ‘doing it for the environment’ but it’s really about the long-term bottom line. That all being said, check out the solar company thoroughly before signing on the line and really look at available state and federal incentives, factoring in how long you plan to stay in the house. Solar only improves resale in our neck of the woods and I would avoid leased systems. Just my opinions.