NorTracNY
Platinum Member
After reading all these post it's incredibly clear that you need to do some serious investigation for if solar is right for you.
It appears that for many people leasing is horrible. As I mentioned, when the guy called me to tell me that NY just had passed the law allowing leasing, he said it didn't work out for everyone. They also did have the option for me to make monthly payments. I believe at the time that it wasn't nearly a deal for me. I was basically going to have to pay the same to the solar company as I had been to the electric company.
In NY, they are not allowed by law to consider solar panels for assessment. Which really p@%@ me off when we've had to challenge our assessment and the town's assessor looks at a picture of our house and says, "I see you have solar panels."
The inverter in downstairs. It's nearly silent and I only notice when it turns on and off if I'm near it. It doesn't impact the WiFi.
One of the two companies we were dealing with when we were looking to buy them let me know that one person wouldn't buy until they gave him a quote to remove and reinstall the panels. At the time it was $1K that he'd need to add to getting a new roof. For us, a ground mounted system would have added $1-2K, but we didn't have as good of a sun view with the trees around.
We were careful about leasing and potentially needing to sell the home. Our lease agreement was incredibly clear that it was just a matter of letting the company know the name of the new owners.
As mentioned prior, we were interested in panels, but this was really a financial investment decision for us. It was ridiculous for taxpayers. I believe the system was $30K, but tax incentives would take it to $12-13K, and then leasing allowed a company to factor in depreciation and let us have it for $5200. If we wanted to own it at year 7, it was going to be about another $700. An now, because of bankruptcy, we ended up owning that $30K system for just $5200.
And all this discussion is just around residential.... I know someone that over the years has been approached about using some of their land to put in a solar farm. At least 3 separate companies have given him 10s of thousands of dollars, just for him letting them consider doing it! None have gone through with the final deal, but they've paid him just to let them investigate further...
It appears that for many people leasing is horrible. As I mentioned, when the guy called me to tell me that NY just had passed the law allowing leasing, he said it didn't work out for everyone. They also did have the option for me to make monthly payments. I believe at the time that it wasn't nearly a deal for me. I was basically going to have to pay the same to the solar company as I had been to the electric company.
In NY, they are not allowed by law to consider solar panels for assessment. Which really p@%@ me off when we've had to challenge our assessment and the town's assessor looks at a picture of our house and says, "I see you have solar panels."
The inverter in downstairs. It's nearly silent and I only notice when it turns on and off if I'm near it. It doesn't impact the WiFi.
One of the two companies we were dealing with when we were looking to buy them let me know that one person wouldn't buy until they gave him a quote to remove and reinstall the panels. At the time it was $1K that he'd need to add to getting a new roof. For us, a ground mounted system would have added $1-2K, but we didn't have as good of a sun view with the trees around.
We were careful about leasing and potentially needing to sell the home. Our lease agreement was incredibly clear that it was just a matter of letting the company know the name of the new owners.
As mentioned prior, we were interested in panels, but this was really a financial investment decision for us. It was ridiculous for taxpayers. I believe the system was $30K, but tax incentives would take it to $12-13K, and then leasing allowed a company to factor in depreciation and let us have it for $5200. If we wanted to own it at year 7, it was going to be about another $700. An now, because of bankruptcy, we ended up owning that $30K system for just $5200.
And all this discussion is just around residential.... I know someone that over the years has been approached about using some of their land to put in a solar farm. At least 3 separate companies have given him 10s of thousands of dollars, just for him letting them consider doing it! None have gone through with the final deal, but they've paid him just to let them investigate further...
