Hi All,
Hope this holiday season is treating everyone well!
My wife and daughter and I are in the pursuit of solar electricity as our latest house venture. Two years ago, it was the wood stove, which is working out really well (much warmer in our house), so now it's the solar pursuit.
I write this diary entry, of sorts, for several purposes: A) it chronicles our experiences of pursuing solar energy, in case it could be of help to anyone who is along a similar path, but also: B) in case someone has ALREADY walked this path, and might be able to help by offering assistance.
scenario:
Up until a month ago, I had never really thought seriously about putting solar panels up on our house, given the enormous expense that I know they command, and the continual emptiness of our bank account. It just didn't seem in the cards for us. Then, on our local news channel, I heard a compelling advertisement from a company called Solar City, a California company offering something I hadn't heard before: leasing a system. No down. No maintenance. Sounded like a no brainer.
Jump ahead a couple of weeks... we had the rep here a couple of times and signed on to do a 20 yr. lease. The contract can be nullified within a couple of weeks, should we decide to change/drop out. The terms of the lease are as follows:
- 20 years
- $0 down payment (good for poor folks like us!)
- $30 a month payment for lease
- $20 a month payment (per average) to National Grid (our local electric vendor)
- our usual elec. bill is approx. $60.00/mos.
- 16 panels - rooftop - approx. 4.3 mw
- full purchase cost of system (after rebates) = $13,500
- full 20 yr. warranty
Facts: Our 255 year old house has some likely problems
- gets a bunch of shade on the roof in the winter - trees that we aren't willing to part with...
- has an older roof
- we won't likely qualify for the MA state tax credit because of the shade (needs 80% of their calculation of direct exposure)
- solar site visit guys may not even suggest our house as being a good candidate
More Facts:
We'll never own the panels, we'll never really break even, the main goal is to contribute our part to reducing carbon footprint, etc.. I was ready to live with all this.
Now... recently, upon coming back on to Hearth, I notice the "Green Room" forum, and decide to take a look... On here are some great threads. One in particular, started by Slow1 (thank you boatloads, Erick!), gave his accounts of his pursuit. I asked a few questions to him, and one one in particular:
What did he think of buying the panels outright, rather than leasing them?
His answer was a fantastic financial analysis of why purchasing them will be a much better investment. I, or he, will surely share that conversation, should anyone be interested.
So.... right now, I'm researching the best way to finance this project. Last night, I came across a MA energy/lending group out of Boston who offers 0-5% loans for solar candidates. I wasn't thinking I was going to need that portal, so I closed the webpage. Today, I find that I will likely need to look into this possibility, and now I can't find the name of this organization if my life depends on it.
Anyone have ANY idea of the organization I'm thinking of??? Geeeze.
Also, if anyone has any interesting ways of funding a system like this... maybe something creative, let me know... It would great to get folks to chime in.
We would rather not have a big loan payment that isn't somehow funding itself in some ways. I'm hoping it can look something like this:
loan of $13,500. Maybe $1,200 down, so loan = $12,300
The monthly payment for the loan, plus expected SREC credits, has to be equal to or lower than the cost of our regular electric bill, at about $60.00/mo. (ok, a tad bit more and maybe we could be convinced)
Am I pipe dreaming here?
So, this is the first installment of many in our pursuit of solar serenity! Any input is welcomed!! Wish us luck!
Mr. Kelly
Hope this holiday season is treating everyone well!
My wife and daughter and I are in the pursuit of solar electricity as our latest house venture. Two years ago, it was the wood stove, which is working out really well (much warmer in our house), so now it's the solar pursuit.
I write this diary entry, of sorts, for several purposes: A) it chronicles our experiences of pursuing solar energy, in case it could be of help to anyone who is along a similar path, but also: B) in case someone has ALREADY walked this path, and might be able to help by offering assistance.
scenario:
Up until a month ago, I had never really thought seriously about putting solar panels up on our house, given the enormous expense that I know they command, and the continual emptiness of our bank account. It just didn't seem in the cards for us. Then, on our local news channel, I heard a compelling advertisement from a company called Solar City, a California company offering something I hadn't heard before: leasing a system. No down. No maintenance. Sounded like a no brainer.
Jump ahead a couple of weeks... we had the rep here a couple of times and signed on to do a 20 yr. lease. The contract can be nullified within a couple of weeks, should we decide to change/drop out. The terms of the lease are as follows:
- 20 years
- $0 down payment (good for poor folks like us!)
- $30 a month payment for lease
- $20 a month payment (per average) to National Grid (our local electric vendor)
- our usual elec. bill is approx. $60.00/mos.
- 16 panels - rooftop - approx. 4.3 mw
- full purchase cost of system (after rebates) = $13,500
- full 20 yr. warranty
Facts: Our 255 year old house has some likely problems
- gets a bunch of shade on the roof in the winter - trees that we aren't willing to part with...
- has an older roof
- we won't likely qualify for the MA state tax credit because of the shade (needs 80% of their calculation of direct exposure)
- solar site visit guys may not even suggest our house as being a good candidate
More Facts:
We'll never own the panels, we'll never really break even, the main goal is to contribute our part to reducing carbon footprint, etc.. I was ready to live with all this.
Now... recently, upon coming back on to Hearth, I notice the "Green Room" forum, and decide to take a look... On here are some great threads. One in particular, started by Slow1 (thank you boatloads, Erick!), gave his accounts of his pursuit. I asked a few questions to him, and one one in particular:
What did he think of buying the panels outright, rather than leasing them?
His answer was a fantastic financial analysis of why purchasing them will be a much better investment. I, or he, will surely share that conversation, should anyone be interested.
So.... right now, I'm researching the best way to finance this project. Last night, I came across a MA energy/lending group out of Boston who offers 0-5% loans for solar candidates. I wasn't thinking I was going to need that portal, so I closed the webpage. Today, I find that I will likely need to look into this possibility, and now I can't find the name of this organization if my life depends on it.
Anyone have ANY idea of the organization I'm thinking of??? Geeeze.
Also, if anyone has any interesting ways of funding a system like this... maybe something creative, let me know... It would great to get folks to chime in.
We would rather not have a big loan payment that isn't somehow funding itself in some ways. I'm hoping it can look something like this:
loan of $13,500. Maybe $1,200 down, so loan = $12,300
The monthly payment for the loan, plus expected SREC credits, has to be equal to or lower than the cost of our regular electric bill, at about $60.00/mo. (ok, a tad bit more and maybe we could be convinced)
Am I pipe dreaming here?
So, this is the first installment of many in our pursuit of solar serenity! Any input is welcomed!! Wish us luck!
Mr. Kelly