On 3/12/2015 1:56 PM, Moe DeLoughan wrote:

I'd say it's the typical buyer beware, YMMV, yada yada, same as any
lease for anything.

Something I've always wondered is what the effect a solar setup might
have on one's homeowner's insurance coverage and premium costs,
especially in Tornado Alley. Every time I see the roof arrays, I
visualize wind damage. The replacement costs have got to be steep, and a
disincentive to go solar in areas where windstorms are common. Maybe
those community solar arrays would be preferable for that reason -
shared infrastructure like the power grid, but on a neighborhood level,
with the expenses spread out over several households, instead of just one.

I like the idea of having solar for backup power since our local grid is
old and poorly maintained. Thing is, my electric usage/cost is so low,
there's no economic incentive for me to buy into it -- yet.

It's not just buyer beware on leases, it's buyer beware on buying too.

Here is what I've learned in looking into solar panels. Some of it
applies mainly to California in general and to for-profit power
providers with high rates.

Consider the following:
--------------------------------
1. What's Your Monthly Usage? Unless you have some high consumption
stuff like air conditioners and pool pumps, or a Tesla or Leaf, your
bill probably isn't high enough to ever break even. I don't think many
people in this area have electric water heaters, electric heat, or
electric dryers.
2. How Long Will You Live There?
3. Is Your Roof Suitable? You need sufficient south and west facing
roof, some east is okay too.
4. Are your taxes high enough to get the federal tax credit
5. Do you need an electrical panel upgrade. A lot of 1960's era houses
in Cupertino need an upgrade if they have only a 100 amp panel Newer
houses will not need an electrical panel upgrade. An electrical panel
upgrade adds about $2000 to the cost. But if done when the system is
installed you get the 30% tax credit on the panel too. You can look at
your panel and see the amperage of the main breaker.


If You Do Go Forward
------------------------------
1. Buy don't lease.
2. Get monocrystalline panels not polycrystalline panels
3. Get panels that are at least 325 watts per panel so you need fewer
panels even though the cost per watt may be slightly higher.
4. Go direct to the panel manufacturer, who will assign a local
installer, not through a local installer reselling that panel
manufacturer's panels. The reason for this is because a good panel
manufacturer is going to be around a lot longer than most local
installers and the panel warranty is through the manufacturer.
5. Avoid micro-inverters, there is no need for them in this area
(California) and they add complexity and additional points of failure,
and they want to charge you for system monitoring.
6. Look at the financial health of the panel manufacturer since the
warranty will be through them. A lot of panel manufacturers have gone
bankrupt and a lot are barely hanging on.
7. The way PG&E is doing the tiers, increasing the KWH rate for the
lower tiers and slightly lowering the cost for the highest tiers, means
that it may make sense to offset most of your bill and not just tiers 3
& 4 & 5. It used to be that the base rate was very low and it made no
sense to offset the base tier (or second tier) but this is not so clear
anymore. The break-even time is greater if you offset the lower tiers
but it may still be worthwhile.
8. Get an inverter that works off-grid as well as on grid. If the power
goes out, in the daytime, you'll still have power though not enough to
run multiple high current devices simultaneously.


Avoid at All Costs
--------------------------
1. Leases.
2. Prepaid Power Agreements.
3. €œOne Year Same as Cash.€�
4. Companies that advertise: €œSave 20% on Your Electric Bill€�
5. Any Provider with Infomercials


Remember
---------------
1. Prices are Highly Negotiable.
2. Net cost, after all rebates and credits, should not be more than $3/watt.
3. Look for €œFriend's and Family€� Rebates.
4. Get multiple quotes
5. Each vendor will likely propose a different configuration.
6. Most salespeople know very little
7. Salespeople will create all sorts of bizarre configurations of panels
to fit what they sell
8. What they don't want to sell you is what you probably want to buy
9. Beware of phony discounts (senior, veterans, cash, 1 year same as cash).
10. If they take credit cards, and don't offer cash discounts, then get
a 2% cash back credit card (Citibank Double Cash). Ask for a big credit
limit so you can charge the whole system. This is a better deal than
"one year same as cash" if you have the money to pay for the whole thing
up front.
11. Beware of companies that do excessive advertising.
12. Beware of companies that want to talk only about your usage and how
much you'll save, and not about the equipment they want to sell you.