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Yeah, I'm tired of handing over a big chunk of my paycheck to PG&E. I have finally started seriously thinking of adding solar to my home. A buddy of mine signed a lease with Solar City over a year ago and he is a happy clam. Because of this, I called Solar City and their guy came out and we sat down for a couple of hours after which he presented their bid to me. I have not looked at anybody else yet, but i plan to call a couple others to get their quotes as well. I just wanted to deliver the details of this bid and ask you all whether you think this is a fair deal or whether I should keep looking.
I have to admit, I am very attracted to the idea of leasing after hearing everything that is entailed. They presented me 3 lease options, all of them are for a 20 year term:
1) no money down, a monthly fee of $137 that ramps up 2.9% each year.
2) $500 down, a flat monthly fee of $153 that stays that way for the 20 years, they also give me a $500 Visa gift card.
3) prepay option, $16,600 paid up front, and no further payments made to SC.
I will now post the pertinant details of my proposed system and their prognosticated savings:
System size 6.48kWh, I believe it's 27 panels all sitting on my south facing roof. I live in Fresno, CA, which gets alot of sun and alot of heat. This proposed system would produce 8442 kwh annually.
Based on my consumption over the last year, my average bill for electric alone was $276, with avg PG&E price at 21.6 cents /kwh.
With the new system my average PG&E electric charge would be $96 with an average cost of $15.5 cents/ kwh. Supposedly a very conservative estimate because they do have to meet this estimate per contract. The reality is that average bill could be much lower, especially if I convert my PG&E rate plan to what's called an E6 Time of Day usage plan, (I'm currently on an E8). Since nobody is at home during the weekdays, it is felt that the E6 plan would serve us better, especially if I program my pool and spa to run at night. Their conservative estimate states that I will save 65% from PG&E bill.
They also have a purchase plan and my system would cost out of pocket $32,279 with a Federal tax credit of $9594 for final system cost of $22,685.
Looking at each of these options, I have to admit that I am really attracted to option 3, the prepay lease. No, I do not have $16,600 in my hand but I can easily draw a loan from my fed gov. retirement fund with an extremely low interest rate of 1.3%. I'd probably do that on a 2 year term, kicking in approx. $700 a month. This option shows the highest savings over the 20 year period. They estimate $58,367, higher even than the purchase plan which states a savings of $50,261. It beats by far the other 2 lease options which show a $39,520 savings.
You all probably know the deal with Solar City lease, they have constant monitoring, warranty, insurance for the 20 years. They will also provide a free home energy audit as well as fully replace my old decrepit power panel at no charge.
I have a ranch style single story 2000sf home 90% wood, 10% brick, built in 1973 and a 30 year comp shingle roof that is 10 years old. I have only 1 tree that might need a little pruning but other than that, based on their satellite topography calcs, all of my panels would sit in full reception of whatever light they can get.
Another thing I like about the prepay is that if I decide to sell my home before the 20 years is up, the buyer could take over the lease and not have to worry about a monthly payment to Solar City.
So I guess the reason for this post is just to get some feedback on the cost. Is this a fair deal in the area that I live? I do plan to call a couple of other players and get their numbers before I commit.
I have to admit, I am very attracted to the idea of leasing after hearing everything that is entailed. They presented me 3 lease options, all of them are for a 20 year term:
1) no money down, a monthly fee of $137 that ramps up 2.9% each year.
2) $500 down, a flat monthly fee of $153 that stays that way for the 20 years, they also give me a $500 Visa gift card.
3) prepay option, $16,600 paid up front, and no further payments made to SC.
I will now post the pertinant details of my proposed system and their prognosticated savings:
System size 6.48kWh, I believe it's 27 panels all sitting on my south facing roof. I live in Fresno, CA, which gets alot of sun and alot of heat. This proposed system would produce 8442 kwh annually.
Based on my consumption over the last year, my average bill for electric alone was $276, with avg PG&E price at 21.6 cents /kwh.
With the new system my average PG&E electric charge would be $96 with an average cost of $15.5 cents/ kwh. Supposedly a very conservative estimate because they do have to meet this estimate per contract. The reality is that average bill could be much lower, especially if I convert my PG&E rate plan to what's called an E6 Time of Day usage plan, (I'm currently on an E8). Since nobody is at home during the weekdays, it is felt that the E6 plan would serve us better, especially if I program my pool and spa to run at night. Their conservative estimate states that I will save 65% from PG&E bill.
They also have a purchase plan and my system would cost out of pocket $32,279 with a Federal tax credit of $9594 for final system cost of $22,685.
Looking at each of these options, I have to admit that I am really attracted to option 3, the prepay lease. No, I do not have $16,600 in my hand but I can easily draw a loan from my fed gov. retirement fund with an extremely low interest rate of 1.3%. I'd probably do that on a 2 year term, kicking in approx. $700 a month. This option shows the highest savings over the 20 year period. They estimate $58,367, higher even than the purchase plan which states a savings of $50,261. It beats by far the other 2 lease options which show a $39,520 savings.
You all probably know the deal with Solar City lease, they have constant monitoring, warranty, insurance for the 20 years. They will also provide a free home energy audit as well as fully replace my old decrepit power panel at no charge.
I have a ranch style single story 2000sf home 90% wood, 10% brick, built in 1973 and a 30 year comp shingle roof that is 10 years old. I have only 1 tree that might need a little pruning but other than that, based on their satellite topography calcs, all of my panels would sit in full reception of whatever light they can get.
Another thing I like about the prepay is that if I decide to sell my home before the 20 years is up, the buyer could take over the lease and not have to worry about a monthly payment to Solar City.
So I guess the reason for this post is just to get some feedback on the cost. Is this a fair deal in the area that I live? I do plan to call a couple of other players and get their numbers before I commit.
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