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Solar panels
Considering getting solar. We have a program through work with SUNPOWER. Is it worth it? I think I would have to finance? My bills are usually 60-80 a month
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Posted 5/11/17 2:11 PM  |
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Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate
Long Island's Largest Bridal Resource | Long Island Weddings |
NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
Name:
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Re: Solar panels
They will come to your house and do an analysis of how many panels you could get, how much daylight you get and how much electricity you use. They'll tell you if it would be worthwhile, tell you when you would break even, and approximate your monthly bills/annual refund.
We bought a house with solar panels and I LOVE it. We're going to be selling and I plan on getting solar when we can afford it on our new house, too.
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| Posted 5/11/17 4:32 PM |
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jamnmore
LIF Adult
Member since 6/16 989 total posts
Name:
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Solar panels
We have solar panels and love it. Our bills with PSEG were between $250-$300 per month. With our loan payment and the connection charge we are at $220/month. Once the loan is paid off, it will only be the connection charge which is minimal.
However, with a monthly bill of only $60-$80 I do not think it would be a cost effective purchase. You are not saving much with the cost of the solar panels. Any solar installer will do a quick analysis for you. I used Long Island Power Solutions.
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| Posted 5/12/17 9:50 AM |
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BabyBoy
is Skylar Elizabeth
Member since 5/05 4189 total posts
Name:
Tom
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Solar panels
Just finished my first year of solar and it has been great ever since.
I just pay for my panels and the connection fee. We hope to pay off panels early. Our panels cost us less on avg then our PSEG bill so we are already saving. SunNation is by far the best on Long Island (IMO)
If you need a contact, please let me know
I thought i have more credits but PSEG sent me back 10 bucks as credits work on a yearly basis.
If you want more info, feel free to message me.
Message edited 5/15/2017 8:11:24 PM.
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| Posted 5/15/17 8:10 PM |
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worrywort
LIF Infant
Member since 2/12 161 total posts
Name:
meghan
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Solar panels
Harvest Power ask for Dean
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| Posted 5/26/17 8:23 PM |
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Diane
Hope is Contagious....catch it
Member since 5/05 30683 total posts
Name:
D
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Re: Solar panels
they will also inspect your roof to make sure it will last for 20 years.
If your electric bill is only 60-80 a month, like someone said, it may not be worth it.
My neighbor just put panels on. Her monthly budget is $80 a month. She is only saving like $40 a month. To me, it is not worth it.
Message edited 5/30/2017 11:48:14 AM.
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| Posted 5/30/17 11:45 AM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Solar panels
I had Solarcity come out to give me a quote, figured maybe prices came down since I last checked a few years ago. $18,000 after rebates to save $165 a month on my electric. Would take me nine years just to break even. No thanks.
I guess I don't have the correct facing house. The technology is just too expensive to be worth the headache of having a 9 year debt on my house.
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| Posted 6/1/17 7:32 AM |
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Diane
Hope is Contagious....catch it
Member since 5/05 30683 total posts
Name:
D
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Re: Solar panels
Posted by ave1024
I had Solarcity come out to give me a quote, figured maybe prices came down since I last checked a few years ago. $18,000 after rebates to save $165 a month on my electric. Would take me nine years just to break even. No thanks.
I guess I don't have the correct facing house. The technology is just too expensive to be worth the headache of having a 9 year debt on my house.
That is why we did not do it. The rebates are not good anymore. I would NEVER lease them.
Message edited 6/1/2017 9:05:07 AM.
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| Posted 6/1/17 7:57 AM |
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BabyBoy
is Skylar Elizabeth
Member since 5/05 4189 total posts
Name:
Tom
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Re: Solar panels
Posted by ave1024
I had Solarcity come out to give me a quote, figured maybe prices came down since I last checked a few years ago. $18,000 after rebates to save $165 a month on my electric. Would take me nine years just to break even. No thanks.
I guess I don't have the correct facing house. The technology is just too expensive to be worth the headache of having a 9 year debt on my house.
The issue here is, you think it debt (it technically is) but think of it as an investment because once you own them, you will only have the connection fee to pay.
From my avg PSEG, i'm already saving 20 a month and once i'm paid off, no more bill and the panels will still be efficient to capture the savings. So now, i'm paying for panels instead of rolling money to PSEG. To me, its the same thing only except when i'm done, i save everything.
Message edited 6/1/2017 8:05:56 AM.
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| Posted 6/1/17 8:05 AM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Solar panels
Posted by BabyBoy
Posted by ave1024
I had Solarcity come out to give me a quote, figured maybe prices came down since I last checked a few years ago. $18,000 after rebates to save $165 a month on my electric. Would take me nine years just to break even. No thanks.
I guess I don't have the correct facing house. The technology is just too expensive to be worth the headache of having a 9 year debt on my house.
The issue here is, you think it debt (it technically is) but think of it as an investment because once you own them, you will only have the connection fee to pay.
From my avg PSEG, i'm already saving 20 a month and once i'm paid off, no more bill and the panels will still be efficient to capture the savings. So now, i'm paying for panels instead of rolling money to PSEG. To me, its the same thing only except when i'm done, i save everything.
Yeah but what happens if I decide to sell within those 9 years? I am stuck trying to transfer that solar contract to the buyer.
As a buyer, I would NEVER assume somebody's solar plan, I would require the seller to pay it off. So i am sure there are others with the same views.
Laying out 18,000 of liquid funds and/or being locked in for 9+ years with a $18,000 liability before breaking even is not really a great financial decision. If break even was 3-4 years, maybe it makes sense.
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| Posted 6/1/17 10:25 AM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Solar panels
Posted by Diane
Posted by ave1024
I had Solarcity come out to give me a quote, figured maybe prices came down since I last checked a few years ago. $18,000 after rebates to save $165 a month on my electric. Would take me nine years just to break even. No thanks.
I guess I don't have the correct facing house. The technology is just too expensive to be worth the headache of having a 9 year debt on my house.
That is why we did not do it. The rebates are not good anymore. I would NEVER lease them.
The rebates are still OK, $5,000 from the state and close to 10k from the Federal for the size of the system I was quoted. The issue for me is the price of the system. I can't believe the price of the actual hardware hasn't gone down in recent times.
It's like these Solar companies are trying to entice potential buyers that they will save on their electric while hiding the fact that they will have this long term liability on their net worth asset sheet. All of this while lining their pockets with a fact profit on the install.
As I said previously, maybe when the break even price is down to 3-4 years it will be worth it.
The other issue I had was i may not even qualify for all of the rebates. I had to pay AMT last year and that might disqualify a good portion of the tax credits that Solar would give me.
Message edited 6/1/2017 10:28:42 AM.
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| Posted 6/1/17 10:27 AM |
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FranB
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/06 686 total posts
Name:
Fran
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Re: Solar panels
Posted by ave1024
Posted by Diane
Posted by ave1024
I had Solarcity come out to give me a quote, figured maybe prices came down since I last checked a few years ago. $18,000 after rebates to save $165 a month on my electric. Would take me nine years just to break even. No thanks.
I guess I don't have the correct facing house. The technology is just too expensive to be worth the headache of having a 9 year debt on my house.
That is why we did not do it. The rebates are not good anymore. I would NEVER lease them.
The rebates are still OK, $5,000 from the state and close to 10k from the Federal for the size of the system I was quoted. The issue for me is the price of the system. I can't believe the price of the actual hardware hasn't gone down in recent times.
It's like these Solar companies are trying to entice potential buyers that they will save on their electric while hiding the fact that they will have this long term liability on their net worth asset sheet. All of this while lining their pockets with a fact profit on the install.
As I said previously, maybe when the break even price is down to 3-4 years it will be worth it.
The other issue I had was i may not even qualify for all of the rebates. I had to pay AMT last year and that might disqualify a good portion of the tax credits that Solar would give me.
Explain this to me like I'm 5 years old.... If it costs $18000 and you are getting $15000 in rebates, how is it not a good deal? Is it actual rebates? Or tax credit... We are moving at the end of the month and I want to really start researching but if it still will cost the same monthly out of pocket for 10 years, and then I have obsolete equipment, I don't see the benefit...
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| Posted 6/1/17 11:30 AM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Solar panels
Posted by FranB
Posted by ave1024
Posted by Diane
Posted by ave1024
I had Solarcity come out to give me a quote, figured maybe prices came down since I last checked a few years ago. $18,000 after rebates to save $165 a month on my electric. Would take me nine years just to break even. No thanks.
I guess I don't have the correct facing house. The technology is just too expensive to be worth the headache of having a 9 year debt on my house.
That is why we did not do it. The rebates are not good anymore. I would NEVER lease them.
The rebates are still OK, $5,000 from the state and close to 10k from the Federal for the size of the system I was quoted. The issue for me is the price of the system. I can't believe the price of the actual hardware hasn't gone down in recent times.
It's like these Solar companies are trying to entice potential buyers that they will save on their electric while hiding the fact that they will have this long term liability on their net worth asset sheet. All of this while lining their pockets with a fact profit on the install.
As I said previously, maybe when the break even price is down to 3-4 years it will be worth it.
The other issue I had was i may not even qualify for all of the rebates. I had to pay AMT last year and that might disqualify a good portion of the tax credits that Solar would give me.
Explain this to me like I'm 5 years old.... If it costs $18000 and you are getting $15000 in rebates, how is it not a good deal? Is it actual rebates? Or tax credit... We are moving at the end of the month and I want to really start researching but if it still will cost the same monthly out of pocket for 10 years, and then I have obsolete equipment, I don't see the benefit...
For me it was 18k after all the tax credits. The system before credits was around 33k. And that was cash price. If you finance then add another 4-5% per year for interest.
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| Posted 6/1/17 12:31 PM |
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FranB
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/06 686 total posts
Name:
Fran
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Re: Solar panels
Posted by ave1024
For me it was 18k after all the tax credits. The system before credits was around 33k. And that was cash price. If you finance then add another 4-5% per year for interest.
Ok, gotcha. Again, I am starting the process now and haven't gotten prices yet. That makes more sense now... I was hoping this was going to work out but it doesn't seem like the savings are that great to make it worthwhile
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| Posted 6/1/17 12:55 PM |
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jamnmore
LIF Adult
Member since 6/16 989 total posts
Name:
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Re: Solar panels
Posted by ave1024
Posted by BabyBoy
Posted by ave1024
I had Solarcity come out to give me a quote, figured maybe prices came down since I last checked a few years ago. $18,000 after rebates to save $165 a month on my electric. Would take me nine years just to break even. No thanks.
I guess I don't have the correct facing house. The technology is just too expensive to be worth the headache of having a 9 year debt on my house.
The issue here is, you think it debt (it technically is) but think of it as an investment because once you own them, you will only have the connection fee to pay.
From my avg PSEG, i'm already saving 20 a month and once i'm paid off, no more bill and the panels will still be efficient to capture the savings. So now, i'm paying for panels instead of rolling money to PSEG. To me, its the same thing only except when i'm done, i save everything.
Yeah but what happens if I decide to sell within those 9 years? I am stuck trying to transfer that solar contract to the buyer.
As a buyer, I would NEVER assume somebody's solar plan, I would require the seller to pay it off. So i am sure there are others with the same views.
Laying out 18,000 of liquid funds and/or being locked in for 9+ years with a $18,000 liability before breaking even is not really a great financial decision. If break even was 3-4 years, maybe it makes sense.
But if you sell the home with solar panels that you have loan on, you would build that into the price of the home. Then you would pay off the loan and the new purchaser would have electricity for only a monthly connection charge. The only transfer of contract would be if you were to lease solar panels. Technically you could even remove them from the roof and take them with you.
My electric bills were $300 a month on average. So for 12 years (length of my loan) I would pay $43200 (assuming rates do not go up). My loan is $20000. So over the life of the loan, I will save $23200. Then I will only be paying connection charge monthly with a rebate at the end of the year for over production. It is an investment in our home and our retirement. We won't have a $300/monthly electric bill when we retire.
We have also begun to use more energy efficient appliances. We have started changing to LED bulbs. All these little changes affect the numbers as well.
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| Posted 6/2/17 11:39 AM |
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BabyBoy
is Skylar Elizabeth
Member since 5/05 4189 total posts
Name:
Tom
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Re: Solar panels
Posted by jamnmore
Posted by ave1024
Posted by BabyBoy
Posted by ave1024
I had Solarcity come out to give me a quote, figured maybe prices came down since I last checked a few years ago. $18,000 after rebates to save $165 a month on my electric. Would take me nine years just to break even. No thanks.
I guess I don't have the correct facing house. The technology is just too expensive to be worth the headache of having a 9 year debt on my house.
The issue here is, you think it debt (it technically is) but think of it as an investment because once you own them, you will only have the connection fee to pay.
From my avg PSEG, i'm already saving 20 a month and once i'm paid off, no more bill and the panels will still be efficient to capture the savings. So now, i'm paying for panels instead of rolling money to PSEG. To me, its the same thing only except when i'm done, i save everything.
Yeah but what happens if I decide to sell within those 9 years? I am stuck trying to transfer that solar contract to the buyer.
As a buyer, I would NEVER assume somebody's solar plan, I would require the seller to pay it off. So i am sure there are others with the same views.
Laying out 18,000 of liquid funds and/or being locked in for 9+ years with a $18,000 liability before breaking even is not really a great financial decision. If break even was 3-4 years, maybe it makes sense.
But if you sell the home with solar panels that you have loan on, you would build that into the price of the home. Then you would pay off the loan and the new purchaser would have electricity for only a monthly connection charge. The only transfer of contract would be if you were to lease solar panels. Technically you could even remove them from the roof and take them with you.
My electric bills were $300 a month on average. So for 12 years (length of my loan) I would pay $43200 (assuming rates do not go up). My loan is $20000. So over the life of the loan, I will save $23200. Then I will only be paying connection charge monthly with a rebate at the end of the year for over production. It is an investment in our home and our retirement. We won't have a $300/monthly electric bill when we retire.
We have also begun to use more energy efficient appliances. We have started changing to LED bulbs. All these little changes affect the numbers as well.
Correct, solar has been known to raise house prices and i would bury the cost of the remaining part of the deal into the house sale.
With the above said, this is only if you own them. If you lease it, that is a whole different animal in terms of transferring which I know nothing about and don't recommend leasing to anyone.
Our loan is locked at 3.25 percent and we hope to pay it off early. Small price to pay to have bigger reward at the end. Our system was 30k and we got back 14K in rebates.
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| Posted 6/2/17 3:47 PM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Solar panels
Posted by jamnmore
Posted by ave1024
Posted by BabyBoy
Posted by ave1024
I had Solarcity come out to give me a quote, figured maybe prices came down since I last checked a few years ago. $18,000 after rebates to save $165 a month on my electric. Would take me nine years just to break even. No thanks.
I guess I don't have the correct facing house. The technology is just too expensive to be worth the headache of having a 9 year debt on my house.
The issue here is, you think it debt (it technically is) but think of it as an investment because once you own them, you will only have the connection fee to pay.
From my avg PSEG, i'm already saving 20 a month and once i'm paid off, no more bill and the panels will still be efficient to capture the savings. So now, i'm paying for panels instead of rolling money to PSEG. To me, its the same thing only except when i'm done, i save everything.
Yeah but what happens if I decide to sell within those 9 years? I am stuck trying to transfer that solar contract to the buyer.
As a buyer, I would NEVER assume somebody's solar plan, I would require the seller to pay it off. So i am sure there are others with the same views.
Laying out 18,000 of liquid funds and/or being locked in for 9+ years with a $18,000 liability before breaking even is not really a great financial decision. If break even was 3-4 years, maybe it makes sense.
But if you sell the home with solar panels that you have loan on, you would build that into the price of the home. Then you would pay off the loan and the new purchaser would have electricity for only a monthly connection charge. The only transfer of contract would be if you were to lease solar panels. Technically you could even remove them from the roof and take them with you.
My electric bills were $300 a month on average. So for 12 years (length of my loan) I would pay $43200 (assuming rates do not go up). My loan is $20000. So over the life of the loan, I will save $23200. Then I will only be paying connection charge monthly with a rebate at the end of the year for over production. It is an investment in our home and our retirement. We won't have a $300/monthly electric bill when we retire.
We have also begun to use more energy efficient appliances. We have started changing to LED bulbs. All these little changes affect the numbers as well.
While a home with solar may look more attractive to buyers, it's very questionable how much higher you can raise the price on your home because you have solar. Houses still have to appraise in order to get top dollar and appraisers aren't going to put a heavy weight on solar vs. other items like square footage, bedrooms, property size, etc.
Plus if I was a smart buyer, I would be armed with this information and I would not be paying a premium for your house that has solar. Why? Because I too can get my own solar. Get my own tax credits that I wouldn't get if I bought a house with an inflated price that already has solar. I just spent 10k on a super top of the line oil burner for my house. I am not going to raise the price of my house by 10k if I sold it tomorrow. The same applies to solar.
So you are saying that your solar pays for ALL your electric every month? If your bills are $300 a month, your solar system has to be generating a ridiculous amount of power with the perfect facing panels to wipe out a $300 per month bill. Solarcity was only able to reduce my bill by $160 a month with their system and I too have bills that are about $300 per month. If your bill was $300 every two months, then it makes more sense.
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| Posted 6/7/17 12:19 PM |
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jamnmore
LIF Adult
Member since 6/16 989 total posts
Name:
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Re: Solar panels
Posted by ave1024
Posted by jamnmore
Posted by ave1024
Posted by BabyBoy
Posted by ave1024
I had Solarcity come out to give me a quote, figured maybe prices came down since I last checked a few years ago. $18,000 after rebates to save $165 a month on my electric. Would take me nine years just to break even. No thanks.
I guess I don't have the correct facing house. The technology is just too expensive to be worth the headache of having a 9 year debt on my house.
The issue here is, you think it debt (it technically is) but think of it as an investment because once you own them, you will only have the connection fee to pay.
From my avg PSEG, i'm already saving 20 a month and once i'm paid off, no more bill and the panels will still be efficient to capture the savings. So now, i'm paying for panels instead of rolling money to PSEG. To me, its the same thing only except when i'm done, i save everything.
Yeah but what happens if I decide to sell within those 9 years? I am stuck trying to transfer that solar contract to the buyer.
As a buyer, I would NEVER assume somebody's solar plan, I would require the seller to pay it off. So i am sure there are others with the same views.
Laying out 18,000 of liquid funds and/or being locked in for 9+ years with a $18,000 liability before breaking even is not really a great financial decision. If break even was 3-4 years, maybe it makes sense.
But if you sell the home with solar panels that you have loan on, you would build that into the price of the home. Then you would pay off the loan and the new purchaser would have electricity for only a monthly connection charge. The only transfer of contract would be if you were to lease solar panels. Technically you could even remove them from the roof and take them with you.
My electric bills were $300 a month on average. So for 12 years (length of my loan) I would pay $43200 (assuming rates do not go up). My loan is $20000. So over the life of the loan, I will save $23200. Then I will only be paying connection charge monthly with a rebate at the end of the year for over production. It is an investment in our home and our retirement. We won't have a $300/monthly electric bill when we retire.
We have also begun to use more energy efficient appliances. We have started changing to LED bulbs. All these little changes affect the numbers as well.
While a home with solar may look more attractive to buyers, it's very questionable how much higher you can raise the price on your home because you have solar. Houses still have to appraise in order to get top dollar and appraisers aren't going to put a heavy weight on solar vs. other items like square footage, bedrooms, property size, etc.
Plus if I was a smart buyer, I would be armed with this information and I would not be paying a premium for your house that has solar. Why? Because I too can get my own solar. Get my own tax credits that I wouldn't get if I bought a house with an inflated price that already has solar. I just spent 10k on a super top of the line oil burner for my house. I am not going to raise the price of my house by 10k if I sold it tomorrow. The same applies to solar.
So you are saying that your solar pays for ALL your electric every month? If your bills are $300 a month, your solar system has to be generating a ridiculous amount of power with the perfect facing panels to wipe out a $300 per month bill. Solarcity was only able to reduce my bill by $160 a month with their system and I too have bills that are about $300 per month. If your bill was $300 every two months, then it makes more sense.
Yes my panels eliminate my entire electric bill and I generate a credit at end of year. I have 42 panels on my home. This was in no way shape or form a small investment. This was designed to do exactly what it did, provide the home with a lifetime of electricity for an upfront investment. And yes you could purchase a home and install panels on your own, but then you would need to lay out the money or take a loan. Rebates are also not as good as they once were. My house is worth more than I paid for it regardless of solar panel installation. You could pay $20k more for my home with 2 year old panels and a brand new roof and never pay for electricity or you can buy a home without panels and potentially need a new roof and an unknown amount for the panels, but lets face it panels and a roof will be a $50k investment. For me it is irrelevant as I have no intention to sell my home. I would not have made such a large investment in my home and future if I planned to sell. If the solar panels would not have completely eliminated my electric bills I would not have moved forward with the pruchase. I have a 3000 SF+ ranch home so I have a very large roof.
Message edited 6/7/2017 12:41:29 PM.
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| Posted 6/7/17 12:38 PM |
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ave1024
I Took The Wrong Road
Member since 12/07 6153 total posts
Name:
That Led To The Wrong Tendencies
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Re: Solar panels
Posted by jamnmore
I have a 3000 SF+ ranch home so I have a very large roof.
Yeah that would make a lot of sense to do it then as you likely have a significant amount of roof space on a ranch.
I have a two story colonial with some unusual peaks on my roof so they can't even use my entire roof for panels. Maybe if I could have added more panels maybe.
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| Posted 6/7/17 3:19 PM |
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