Solar power is nice and we think of it as the green thing to do to save money on our electrical bill and this is one of the biggest reason’s we are considering solar power for a new addition to your home or business.
Lets go over some of the options for leasing or buying solar!
These solar companies are really making a ton of money by taking advantage of the consumers by either a lease or purchase of solar power! I am sure you have got a quote or are thinking about getting one! I am going to give you some advice and questions that your solar provider should be asked!
Leasing solar? ok they say you have no out of pocket costs and they will just install the system for free and it will be cheaper than your current electrical provider charges! Well, this is true but not all the facts have been put on the table! The leasing company will be asking you to sign a 20 – 25 year contract! This means if you go to sell your home within the lease timeline you will have to have the new or the people that want to buy your home agree to the lease! There might be costs for transfers, new contract with new prices and could make the home sale not as great as expected! We have to look at the fine print the costs you will be paying each month and the increases! Most of our gas and electric companies are regulated by the utilities trade commission and cannot raise the prices without government approval! Solar companies are telling you that you will be seeing price increases in the utilities to hard sale you the importance of solar! This is not true! Most power companies will tell you on the phone what the increase will be and those numbers will not be the same so who is not telling the truth?
Solar Lease Selling Back Power To The Customer
With the lease your solar company now that is not a part of the federal trade commission has the authority to change your rate without anyone’s authority but their own! With the lease the solar company will be taking your 20% federal tax credit and trust me if you don’t want that I will take it!
Please read the small print if this is the option you are considering! Ask if their electrical rate is locked in for the term of the lease! Ask if your usage goes over the lease plan what the penalties and fee’s are? Ask about the transfer if you were to sell or the buy out!
Buying Your Solar System vs Leasing
Buying you solar system? I like this a lot and I am currently working on installing my own system soon! I am a mechanical contractor but there are some easy ways I can help you save money! I didn’t want to have my guys do my solar system because we are busy with air conditioning jobs! I asked 3 companies that sell solar in Orange County California to come out and give me bids! These companies quoted me prices from $28,000.00 to $32,000.00 I was surprised at these numbers and it would take years to pay off or get a return from these numbers! I did my research on the internet taking to companies like wholesalesolar.com and found a system exactly what these companies had gave me a bid on! Here is what I have found the solar system has a 20 year warranty and the cost was $8750.00 tax shipping and all that good stuff! Ok so far so good right? If I purchase the system I still have a good $20,000.00 to spend or so far $20,000.00 of savings but I still need to have the unit and panels installed! I called a local roofing contractor and he told me no problem I can mount the brackets and install the panels for you my guys will take 2 days and the cost will be around $1250.00! Now I need to run my electric and also hook the system up to my electrical panel! I have the electrician come look and he said 1 day $875.00 ok I need to buy a city permit owner builder $250.00 do these numbers and what I am saying look good or better yet look great?
Here Is how I Did My Solar System And Saved Money
Here are my quotes and you tell me what looks good for you
Solar company bids $28,000.00 – $32,000.00
Did the system myself $11,125.00
Both quotes are entitled to federal tax credit so doing the system myself will be money in my pocket! Why are these solar companies huge and billion dollar companies? Well you can see by the numbers that they will hard sell you their systems and leasing will even cost you more in the long run!
Always remember that going solar will take years before you get back your initial investment! There are many other fast and cost effective ways to save on your electric bill! These things are LED lighting, More or proper home insulation, door and window seals. I have great topics and blogs on how to save money on electrical on this website
Dc's Mechanical HVAC 24872 Wells Fargo Drive Laguna Hills, CA 92653 Call 949-770-9616 www.dcsair.com