Salesman trying to sell me a solar panel system

[ultrarunner]

Utility cost varies much around the country…

Some pay less 20 cents and others easily several times that.

The SF Bay Area is very high on the spectrum so what makes sense here might not elsewhere.

I’m glad I have my solar and would do it again!

 

[ericm979]

I was approached this week by a solar company.

Run away!

Anyone done anything like this? I am very skeptical about this.

You should be. Door to door solar companies are usually sleazy. Some of the lease terms are really awful. Having leased solar can make it much harder to sell the house. Most leases have really expensive buy out provisions and a lot of buyers don't want to be locked into a potentially expensive lease. Also a lot of door to door companies go bankrupt, then you may not be able to get service or warranty work.

Depending on your state's rates and rules about net metering, solar can pay back well before the life of the panels. Sometimes in just a few years. You should contact a couple reputable local companies who have been around for a while and get some quotes. It's a lot better if you can pay up front for the system or get a home equity loan to pay for it.

I'm putting solar on the new house in Oregon. They have net metering, which is very good. Power prices are about the US average but have been going up by double digit percentages each year for the last few years. They're asking for 22% this year. With the existing prices the system won't pay for itself because we're also putting in batteries for power outages. But I'll feel better not using as much power from coal plants (my power company there is about 40% coal). And with the rate increases it'll probably pay off eventually. It doesn't take many 20% increases to dramatically change the equation.

 

[WVH1977]

Did he tell you how much your initial monthly lease payments would cost?

$ 109 a month then increase 2.99 percent every year after for 25 years. I think I will look into something I can own myself.

The only reason for even thinking about this is because in Virginia, the power company is going completely solar. They are getting rid of coal and nuclear. This is causing everyones electric bill to go up to help pay for it all.

 

[Dftodd]

My panels are 2008 and still cranking out more than I use and newer panels are more efficient.

I own mine and several neighbors have lease agreements entered into when incentives were generous and they are ahead with all the California rate hikes.

The devil is in the details and leased panels or provider agreements add another step should you want to sell.

That said a home up the street with a huge provider agreement went foreclosure and the new owner was told by the solar company he has to sign up… new owner is lawyer and said to solar you missed your opportunity at the foreclosure sale so you no longer own them…

The short of the story is new owner negotiated a contract where he pays 28% of the current rate and is pleased… the system was software locked so it would not have been simple to salvage what’s there by a third party.

We looked into purchasing a house that had solar panels.

ROI for us wouldn't have been achieved.

Our last house we had an average electric bill of $135, with electric everything in the home.

The solar contract was an introductory rate of $150 a month. Then increased after that

If I'm paying more than my average electric bill for solar, there wasn't any benefit of going solar.

Grid tied solar payments to a homeowner are now next to nothing.

The only person benefitting from it would be the power company purchasing my electricity.

 

[Carl_NH]

It all depends on your rate per KWH - today 1000 KWH in NH is $260/Month, last year it was $350 per 1000 KWH as it varies based on fuel costs.

I would think a full electric home in AR is at least 2000 KWH ./ Month - here that's $500/month bill.

Solar ROI is regional - highly populated regions like CA and the Eastern US have the highest rates.

 

[ultrarunner]

We looked into purchasing a house that had solar panels.

ROI for us wouldn't have been achieved.

Our last house we had an average electric bill of $135, with electric everything in the home.

The solar contract was an introductory rate of $150 a month. Then increased after that

If I'm paying more than my average electric bill for solar, there wasn't any benefit of going solar.

Grid tied solar payments to a homeowner are now next to nothing.

The only person benefitting from it would be the power company purchasing my electricity.

I got under the wire for a better 20 year grid tie and when it’s all said and done I receive a true up check in the $250 to $350 range.

 

[Oaktree]

If I was younger, in a place with more sun than VT, I'd do it again, the same way.

Both valid points. Like you, I'm in northern New England and at this house we get almost no direct sun from mid Nov. thru mid Feb., the exact time of year our electric usage is the highest. Sun's just too low in the sky.
We're both in our mid 70s, not likely it'll pay for itself in our lifetimes.

6kW with 160W panels 2008 and SunnyBoy Inverter

Is that picture from your Oakland property or one of your others? If the former, it's a lot different than I pictured it.
Good way to utilize a steep, otherwise minimally useful piece of land.

 

[hube2]

As others have said, I would not lease, not the best deal.

I have a 10kw ground mounted system that was put in, in 2017 while the state and federal incentives were extremely good and paid for nearly 50% of the cost. My system paid for itself, or at least what it cost me, sometime last year (7 years). When it was installed it produced all the power I used each year. Now it is below my usage because my usage has gone up do to installation of heat pumps 2 summers ago so I now have a couple of months that I'm paying, but I'm still good with that because I'm spending less on heat than I was with the oil fired boiler so I'm spending less overall.

Even though I purchased outright the company that put it in guaranteed it for 20 years, and they are still in business. I did have to pay them to upgrade my monitor to 4G when they shut down 3G in 2022. Even if I have to replace the inverter after the 20 years we'll still see 13 years of nearly free power.

I don't know what your state offers in incentives, but I expect the federal incentive to disappear in 2026, or maybe even this year. Now may not a good time to be thinking about going solar.

And about going green, that had nothing to do with my decision, is was all about money and how much it would save me in the long run. I'm now getting ready to retire, I hope, and having solar and very low yearly electric costs was part of my retirement plan.

Funny story, I had a guy show up at my door in January trying to sell me solar. I pointed at the system behind my house and asked him what he was thinking.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have a few clients that had solar panels installed because they felt they would save money or even make money by selling power back to the Electric Company. They have all told me that it was a huge mistake that they wish they had never done. I don't remember the details enough to write them down, it's just what they told me.

I also work with a bunch of local realtors. Every one of them have told me that solar panels make selling the house harder. Buyers do not want them, and in most cases, the seller has to remove them to sell the house or lower the price of the house in order to sell it.

I wonder what happens when you need a new roof? Hail is very common here and most people wait for a hailstorm to get a new roof. Their insurance pays for it, or most of it, and it's usually just a matter of time until happens. Spring thunderstorms can be extreme here. What happens to solar panels in a hailstorm? What do you do with solar panels when you get a new roof? How much does that ad to the cost of a new roof?

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I have a few clients that had solar panels installed because they felt they would save money or even make money by selling power back to the Electric Company. They have all told me that it was a huge mistake that they wish they had never done. I don't remember the details enough to write them down, it's just what they told me.

I also work with a bunch of local realtors. Every one of them have told me that solar panels make selling the house harder. Buyers do not want them, and in most cases, the seller has to remove them to sell the house or lower the price of the house in order to sell it.

I wonder what happens when you need a new roof? Hail is very common here and most people wait for a hailstorm to get a new roof. Their insurance pays for it, or most of it, and it's usually just a matter of time until happens. Spring thunderstorms can be extreme here. What happens to solar panels in a hailstorm? What do you do with solar panels when you get a new roof? How much does that ad to the cost of a new roof?

Everyone has a story an opinion. Most solar companies will not put on roof unless roof is less than 7? years old. Our system was 90% or more coverage over asphault shingles, so it will extend the life to a large degree. I was told that if a removal, reinstall was needed, it would be roughly $2500. Who knows what price is now. I wish I could have gone ground mount, but too much shading.
When we sold our home, OWNING the system was a positive. 6 offers well over asking price, estimated to be $50k because of solar. This is not for everyone, each has to weigh pros and cons. For me, and others just on this forum, it was money well spent.