New Member, looking to install solar before tax credits

[mida68]

I live on So. Cal and hear the tax credits may end this year (I have no idea what to believe anymore). I am getting some quotes on leases and buying outright and would love to get some advice on what way to go. I'll try to outline my information best I can. I have an online personalized quote from Sungevity I can pass along. What is the best forum to ask quote questions?

[SoCalsolar]

Right now the incentives are

Right now the incentives are

CSI rebate levels available in current step:

PG&E Residential: 29.51MW Non-Residential: 70.49MW
SCE Residential: 2.83MW Non-Residential: 36.28MW
CCSE Residential: (On-Hold) Non-Residential: 11.18MW
LADWP Residential: -1.32MW

The only one you most likely care about is the SCE one it's at 35 cents per AC watt. It shows 2.83 mW which sounds like a lot but it goes quickly when it goes (projected to be early next week there is no certain time table) drops from 35 cents to 20 cents per AC watt. Not going away just decreasing. The Federal tax credit is approved until 2016. Now is that to say that one of the candidates should they win would cancel it? nobody knows and whoever tells you so is a liar but it is conceivable. So if you have a quote which it sounds like you do, you can post here and get a lot of opinions and views and being that it is Sungevity it's likely a lease and yes the lease price will be affected (more dramatically ) than a purchase price by the coming decrease (not elimination) of the CSI rebate. It can be confusing but you ought to have a firm grasp on what you are getting into. Most leases last 20 years or more and there is a lot of fine print. Read the lease contract because yes folks it is binding even if you change your mind in year 3. If you want to talk specifics you can also private message me I'm familiar with the area in which you reside, the going rate for solar, and some of the better companies down there. Just don't let fear of rising costs and losing the rebate cloud your decision making. Good luck

[mida68]

Thank you - here are my initial details...

Thank you for your reply with all the great information. Looks like I need to start asking about price per MW or KW? The companies I'm talking to right now are:

1) PacSun/Sungevity Lease (here is my actual quote: https://oursungevity.com/iquote/inde...0000000IGvIMAW ) The most attractive offer they have is a pre-paid lease to get the same unit for $23K, not sure of the details, I almost need a template to ask the same details across the board. The payments are fixed and something about buying it back for $1 at the end of the least (FMV) which sounds a little off to me.

2) PacProSolar - the owner will meet with me next week, not sure who does their leasing

3) RealGoods - they are meeting with me today, not sure who does their leasing

4) I'm so curious about this guy:http://www.solarhome.com/ the website is all over the place but the lack of sleek/corporate marketing talk makes me thing he's passionate about what he does. They even offer AC only solar installs.

I'm having my AC and ducting looked at on Monday - if my 11 year old AC has a fixable problem that could reduce my energy bills. I'm also looking into a more energy pool pump. I did an hour by hour look at the month that cost me so much this summer and i noticed the usage would spike every other hour - that tells me it must be the AC. It was very consistent and the spikes were lower during the early morning and night.

Thanks for all your input!!

[SoCalsolar]

My guess is that...

My guess is that RGs will be less than Sungevity. The month to month leases are becoming less and less attractive in SCE territory. Not always a terrible option but nearly always a third option behind a prepaid lease and a straight purchase. The $1 or $0 buyout is fools gold. FMV will always be more and when companies project FMV the number they use most often is 20% of the original cost. Will it be 20%? Nobody knows for sure but it's a rule of thumb. Laws change every year but as of now the companies that offer residential leases if they offer a guaranteed buyout those leases don't qualify for Federal Tax incentives. SunPower got hit by this with their leases that offered a guaranteed year 7 buyout price on their leases back in about August 2011-Dec 2011.

To lease or not largely depends on your access to capital and how long plan to be in the house. If you see yourself in the home indefinitely and you have $ or can get it for a reasonable rate then most of the time a purchase will workout best for you. In this situation a PPD lease is a few $s less but the possibility in year 21 of paying FMV for the system is not worth the 2-3k more it would cost to purchase the system now. Yes with a string inverter you will likely pay to replace one now( extended warranty) or later. Keep in mind while a string inverter can cost a few grand now in 10-15 years if solar continues to become more main stream it would be likely that the cost of inverters would drop accordingly or just go with micros.

If you see yourself in the house less than ten years and you have access to capital than a PPD Lease will usually work out better for you. My experience has been that in SoCal the houses with solar tend to sell faster (all anecdotal evidence although there is a study by Berkeley too) but not for much more money. Real estate is it's own beast however and I don't think the RE market will be greatly influenced by solar. Most buyers will like and understand that they will have a reduced or eliminated bill and no maintenance, complete warranty, and save a few pre-solar bills to show the difference before and after.

The monthly is a good option if you don't have access to low cost money and the monthly payment is preferably fixed (no escalator) and is lower than your current payment. There may be other thoughts but I prefer a zero escalator but could be persuaded to go as high as 1.9% if the numbers still make sense.

Sungevity (home of the online site visit) is more of a marketing company than solar company, RGs is a good company never heard of PacPro,solarhome and neither has the BBB. Your online quote needs a password to access which I suggest not sharing with us. You can use a pdf printer and post a pdf of it here or just relay the pertinent info size of system, current SCE bill amount, roof type, production numbers, solar cost, etc..