Has anyone jumped on this "free" solar energy thing?

Has anyone had panels installed recently?
I swore I would never do it for purely aesthetic reasons. But with the house being fully electric along with a pool and electric heater, the bill has been out of control.
The industry seems like it's full of scammers, so I was wondering if anyone that has done it can recommend an installer....
 
Working as an electrical inspector, I’ve seen a hundred or more systems. I would start with Tesla and Green Power Energy(local). After that it’s a bit of a crapshoot
 
Rollin Dice said:
Working as an electrical inspector, I’ve seen a hundred or more systems. I would start with Tesla and Green Power Energy(local). After that it’s a bit of a crapshoot
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Thanks, green power did pop up when I did a search. Glad to hear they seem to be legit
 
Cole said:
Has anyone had panels installed recently?
I swore I would never do it for purely aesthetic reasons. But with the house being fully electric along with a pool and electric heater, the bill has been out of control.
The industry seems like it's full of scammers, so I was wondering if anyone that has done it can recommend an installer....
Click to expand...

We explored it. For us it would take like 25 years to pay itself off. The title of this thread is misleading.
 
Norm said:
We explored it. For us it would take like 25 years to pay itself off. The title of this thread is misleading.
Click to expand...
I've gotten $700 electric bills recently. Not sure on the cost of the overall system yet, but I might be able to pay it off a little bit faster than 25 years at that rate... And yeah I didn't want to start a new thread though. Figured I'd jump on this
 
Why does an industry that was creating to create clean energy and benefit the earth have to be full of scammers? Crazy. But typical....
 
Coworker had big wave solar and roofing install a new roof and an 8 panel system recently and he seemed happy with the results. I looked at the contract and it was confusing so I'm not sure if he got scammed.
 
Cole said:
Has anyone had panels installed recently?
I swore I would never do it for purely aesthetic reasons. But with the house being fully electric along with a pool and electric heater, the bill has been out of control.
The industry seems like it's full of scammers, so I was wondering if anyone that has done it can recommend an installer....
Click to expand...
I had a solar array installed in January this year. The 30% Federal income tax credit expires December 31st, so the break-even point changes dramatically and it takes six to eight months to get the installation, permits, inspections.
I went with a ground mount rather than rooftop. The pitch of the roof and orientation of the house are rarely ideal. Both are solved with a ground mount.
I included two Tesla Powerwalls. With NJ's net metering, I use the electric company as a battery: I send excess production to the grid during the day and take that excess back at night. I send excess production to the grid in January and take it back in August, etc. The Powerwalls are my backup batteries for when both the sun and the grid are down. There have been five outages this year and the Powerwalls have seamlessly covered all.
The economics are a standard annuity calculation. I made an upfront outlay, and then got 30% back through the federal income tax, another $85 a month from NJ SRECs for 15 years, and the elimination of an electric bill for as long as the equipment lasts. Put those numbers in a spreadsheet. My break-even was about nine years but then NJ utilities got a 20% rate increase June 1st, so I'm figuring about a six year break-even.
Considerations beyond my electric bill: AI and data centers need lots of electricity. The East Coast has the oldest grid and will need costly upgrades. Utilities are regulated; they will always make money and be granted rate increases. For these reasons I had already been investing in electric utilities. Considering how that would impact my future electric bills, it was not a leap but a small step to install solar.
There are worries. Good luck finding an electrician. These solar companies are installers, not account managers. The panels and batteries are warrantied. I anticipate some future glitch that would require a diagnosis and have been unable to find a residential electrician for solar. Hopefully, when the federal credit expires in December and these solar installers go bankrupt, their laid off electricians will branch out into residential service.
 
Fire Lord Jim said:
I had a solar array installed in January this year. The 30% Federal income tax credit expires December 31st, so the break-even point changes dramatically and it takes six to eight months to get the installation, permits, inspections.
I went with a ground mount rather than rooftop. The pitch of the roof and orientation of the house are rarely ideal. Both are solved with a ground mount.
I included two Tesla Powerwalls. With NJ's net metering, I use the electric company as a battery: I send excess production to the grid during the day and take that excess back at night. I send excess production to the grid in January and take it back in August, etc. The Powerwalls are my backup batteries for when both the sun and the grid are down. There have been five outages this year and the Powerwalls have seamlessly covered all.
The economics are a standard annuity calculation. I made an upfront outlay, and then got 30% back through the federal income tax, another $85 a month from NJ SRECs for 15 years, and the elimination of an electric bill for as long as the equipment lasts. Put those numbers in a spreadsheet. My break-even was about nine years but then NJ utilities got a 20% rate increase June 1st, so I'm figuring about a six year break-even.
Considerations beyond my electric bill: AI and data centers need lots of electricity. The East Coast has the oldest grid and will need costly upgrades. Utilities are regulated; they will always make money and be granted rate increases. For these reasons I had already been investing in electric utilities. Considering how that would impact my future electric bills, it was not a leap but a small step to install solar.
There are worries. Good luck finding an electrician. These solar companies are installers, not account managers. The panels and batteries are warrantied. I anticipate some future glitch that would require a diagnosis and have been unable to find a residential electrician for solar. Hopefully, when the federal credit expires in December and these solar installers go bankrupt, their laid off electricians will branch out into residential service.
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That permit process seems excessive, I am hoping that varies by municipality. My town has been pretty good with all the work we have done.
The tax credit ending in January is a motivator.
Not sure Tesla will be in my price range...
 
Fire Lord Jim said:
There are worries. Good luck finding an electrician. These solar companies are installers, not account managers. The panels and batteries are warrantied. I anticipate some future glitch that would require a diagnosis and have been unable to find a residential electrician for solar. Hopefully, when the federal credit expires in December and these solar installers go bankrupt, their laid off electricians will branch out into residential service.
Click to expand...

This would be a a major concern. It's hard enough to find a decent contractor or repair person these days. That's a major expense to outlay only to leave it inoperable.
 
I have been wrestling with the "free" part of free solar. Suppose you are over age 59.5 and have fixed income in your IRA. Maybe you can get to free by substituting solar for that fixed income.

Taking an IRA distribution at that age is subject to tax but no penalty. The solar cost has a 30% tax credit. Depending on your marginal tax bracket, this could net to no cost. You essentially replaced fixed income in your pre-tax with an annuity AND moved the money to after-tax at no cost.

That annuity pays $85 a month in SRECs. It also effectively pays you the electric bill you now avoid. These should be considered non-taxable cash flows. Using my numbers a 4% after-tax annuity return approximates those cash flows.

Finally, it is totally unclear how those $85 a month SRECs are treated by the IRS. I understand the cash flows to be tax free. The upfront investment in solar that was taken from the IRA without cost is recouped in home sale price eventually, which is usually tax free.

So I can make a case for removing the liar quotes around the free in free solar. Damn, I should have been a solar salesman.
 
Fire Lord Jim said:
I have been wrestling with the "free" part of free solar. Suppose you are over age 59.5 and have fixed income in your IRA. Maybe you can get to free by substituting solar for that fixed income.

Taking an IRA distribution at that age is subject to tax but no penalty. The solar cost has a 30% tax credit. Depending on your marginal tax bracket, this could net to no cost. You essentially replaced fixed income in your pre-tax with an annuity AND moved the money to after-tax at no cost.

That annuity pays $85 a month in SRECs. It also effectively pays you the electric bill you now avoid. These should be considered non-taxable cash flows. Using my numbers a 4% after-tax annuity return approximates those cash flows.

Finally, it is totally unclear how those $85 a month SRECs are treated by the IRS. I understand the cash flows to be tax free. The upfront investment in solar that was taken from the IRA without cost is recouped in home sale price eventually, which is usually tax free.

So I can make a case for removing the liar quotes around the free in free solar. Damn, I should have been a solar salesman.
Click to expand...
Does a solar setup really increase the sale price of a home? I've never looked. Personally I'd treat it like a house with a pool when shopping and avoid it completely but I'm sure some might be enticed by it.
 
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