New house + solar panel
- Thread starter yaliu07
- Start date
SubSolar
Active member
From my limited research I'm not seeing the benefits of the leased system. Here's the disadvantages I see:
1. Harder to sell house. You'll have to either buyout the lease (which ends up costing more than if you purchased to begin with), convince the new buyers to take over the lease and/or offer a discount on your house to make up for it.
2. Your bill is always going to be at least $150-175 vs paying outright where after the break even period you will have low electric bills.
3. After 20 years you will need to lease another system or buy the system which will be more expensive.
4. Does not add value to home (may decrease, see #1) whereas a purchased system adds an average of $25k to the house.
The advantages to leased systems I see are that you don't have to put up the cash up front and some vendors maintain and warranty the leased ones longer than purchased ones.
1. Harder to sell house. You'll have to either buyout the lease (which ends up costing more than if you purchased to begin with), convince the new buyers to take over the lease and/or offer a discount on your house to make up for it.
2. Your bill is always going to be at least $150-175 vs paying outright where after the break even period you will have low electric bills.
3. After 20 years you will need to lease another system or buy the system which will be more expensive.
4. Does not add value to home (may decrease, see #1) whereas a purchased system adds an average of $25k to the house.
The advantages to leased systems I see are that you don't have to put up the cash up front and some vendors maintain and warranty the leased ones longer than purchased ones.
J
jmoney74
Guest
I'm with Qwerty on this one. Just too long to recoup your money.. if you ever get there. Plus, solar is still relatively new in terms of adoption.. this stuff should come down in price over the next few years. Plus, do we factor in any costs for repair say 15 years down the road?
+1. Up front cost seems to be the major (only) deterrent.SubSolar said:
It's nice that builders are either making solar standard with an option to upgrade or straight optional. Aesthetics are so much better when they're able to inset the panels to the roof vs a raised panel aftermarket. Also, cabling and wiring is inside the structure. I believe it's also cheaper to install during construction, not sure if solar companies pass on those savings to the buyer, but I bet the buyer gets some type of discount cuz they want people to upgrade.
I think solar panels are a no brainer with the incentives and especially if you know you're historically a high electricity user in new construction. I would max out the panels, JMHO.
SubSolar
Active member
The problem is that in 2003 I moved into a new house in Corona. My neighbor across the street installed solar panels cause he had a pool/jacuzzi to heat. I remember looking at the prices and they were around $30k, plus or minus a few thousand. I remember telling myself, I bet in 5 to 10 years it will be half that. Here we are now and it's the same price. It's probably not that much more efficient either. For whatever reason the technology doesn't seem to be advancing and getting cheaper as fast as it should.
ZeroLot
New member
irvinehomeowner said:
Some companies offer lease to own systems. After 20 years I pretty much own the system. Should I sell my house in 10 years, I can still buy the system outright (~10k) and bake the cost into the price of the house. Hopefully buyers will see value in a house whose monthly energy cost to Edison is $5/month.
The energy credit by the federal government, in my opinion is the only thing that's making the solar panels worth their while. It is true that 5 years from now the panels will be more efficient but not by much. The technology just isn't advancing as quickly as it should.
Should the panels ever drop in price and the government subsidy runs out, it's a wash out either way.
Solar is definitely NOT worth it for someone who is paying less than $125 / month. The price is too much to recoup.
But do be aware, San Onofre being decommissioned is going to cost ALL energy users dearly in the very near future. Especially anyone in the Tier 2+ zone.
ZeroLot
New member
Yaliu07 brings up a good point. It would be interesting to know the life expectancy of solar panels after 20 years. I know Solar City pretty much gives it to you for $500 after 20 years. So if I do take that bait, how long will it last after it's already 20 years old?
At least when it's leased, I do zero maintenance on the panels plus the transformer/converter. The transformer needs to be swapped out every 8~10 years. If I lease, it's a free repair and replacement.
At least when it's leased, I do zero maintenance on the panels plus the transformer/converter. The transformer needs to be swapped out every 8~10 years. If I lease, it's a free repair and replacement.
ZeroLot
New member
qwerty said:
Exactly. Unless by miracle the prices of solar panels drops suddenly to make it a wash.
However the tech for solar panels is much trickier than engineers think. The efficiency rate is extremely low and no one is able to even make them 30% efficient.
The best solar panels are all made in the USA. It's like a SSD drive, make sure it's made and manufactured in the USA.
SubSolar
Active member
ZeroLot said:
Yeah but some places such as SolarCity (which has the most installs in Irvine in the last year) offer maintenance/repairs on purchased systems too. From their website:
30-year protection plan?You own the solar panel system, but we?ll still take care of all repairs and insurance at no added cost.
ZeroLot
New member
SubSolar said:
Is that an extra price for the 30 year protection plan? I'm weary of the protection plans because often times they take their time coming out to the house to repair. Also transformers tend to be excluded from the list of repairs because they KNOW those need to be replaced constantly.
SubSolar
Active member
qwerty said:
Says here it's part of the "Purchase Package"
http://www.solarcity.com/residential/how-much-do-solar-panels-cost
No idea if their purchased panels cost more than other companies.
It seems like the best rated company by far is Sullivan Solar Power:http://www.yelp.com/biz/sullivan-solar-power-irvine
They have more reviews on their San Diego Yelp page:http://www.yelp.com/biz/sullivan-solar-power-san-diego?osq=sullivan+solar+panel
The main players like Solarcity, Sungevity etc don't have very good reviews. Although in fairness it seems that most people unhappy with them are people that don't actually have their panels installed. Just angry at bad response times by the salespeople getting back to them.
ZeroLot
New member
yaliu07 said:
25 years for a transformer??!! I'd like to know what brand they are giving you guys. Every solar panel forum I've visited complains about that darn transformer. People out in boonieville USA that has no access to a grid are experts at replacing that transformer every 5 to 10 years.
As for 20 year life expectancy for solar panels ... That sounds logical. Otherwise they would drag out the lease to 30 years.
ZeroLot
New member
SubSolar said:
Yup, I agree with you. I have a great sales rep from Solar City and I get a nice referral bonus if anyone wants to go with them ... Of course I'll split with you ... 50/50.
I have an appointment with Sullivan on Friday to see what their lease programs are. I like their solar panel manufacturer over Solar City but it also comes down to price and maintenance.
But if Sullivan goes out of business when the government subsidy runs out ... QWERTY still hasn't answered whether I get to keep my solar panels or if they'll take it off my roof like a tow truck with a leased car.