Solar City / Solar Panels - Anyone?

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In MA. Considering solar panels from Solar City on garage and back of the house (can't do the front - Cape and my lord it would cover the entire front roof).

After doing the numbers, looks like it would be a bill swap with National Grid.

Solar City deal: 20 years and would not increase monthly -lock in at this rate. 20 Year loan bugs me a bit but again, even swap and ...well be nice in 20 years! They would be paid off and no electric bill. 99% sure will be her in 20. My concern a bit is will they come up with something more attractive/efficient and a better deal...I think yes but again, my panels will be on back of house which no one can see and small garage that is set back in yard.

Anyone have them, pros / cons.
 
Have you looked into buying a share of a solar panel field? I believe they do that.

Solar panels on your roof can be ugly. And unless the roof is new what happens if the roof need replacement?

They are installing something like 500,000 panels a day world wide and I would bet a low percentage are on people's roofs.
 
Originally Posted By: coopns
In MA. Considering solar panels from Solar City on garage and back of the house (can't do the front - Cape and my lord it would cover the entire front roof).

After doing the numbers, looks like it would be a bill swap with National Grid.

Solar City deal: 20 years and would not increase monthly -lock in at this rate. 20 Year loan bugs me a bit but again, even swap and ...well be nice in 20 years! They would be paid off and no electric bill. 99% sure will be her in 20. My concern a bit is will they come up with something more attractive/efficient and a better deal...I think yes but again, my panels will be on back of house which no one can see and small garage that is set back in yard.

Anyone have them, pros / cons.


There are now solar roof tiles that look like a tile roof that would probably be allowed on your house.
https://www.tesla.com/solarroof

The Solar Sales guys also don't talk about the loss of the efficiency of the panels as the years pile on. Is your existing roof good for 20 years? If not-the panels would need to be removed for your residence to have a new roof installed. If you went with the tiles-assuming the tiles stopped producing electricity at all-you would still have a viable roof!

Finally-we have found in Utah buyers do not wish to assume a solar loan/lease deal if the home is resold prior to the lease terms ending. We have also found the the solar panel values are NOT PERCEIVED by potential buyers as it is by a bank's appraiser-leading to issues.
 
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Originally Posted By: Chris142
Stay far away from solar city!



They are the largest company that installs solar panels. Personally-beyond that I know very little about them. Are you going to "hit and run" with your statement or provide some information?
 
Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: coopns
In MA. Considering solar panels from Solar City on garage and back of the house (can't do the front - Cape and my lord it would cover the entire front roof).

After doing the numbers, looks like it would be a bill swap with National Grid.

Solar City deal: 20 years and would not increase monthly -lock in at this rate. 20 Year loan bugs me a bit but again, even swap and ...well be nice in 20 years! They would be paid off and no electric bill. 99% sure will be her in 20. My concern a bit is will they come up with something more attractive/efficient and a better deal...I think yes but again, my panels will be on back of house which no one can see and small garage that is set back in yard.

Anyone have them, pros / cons.


There are now solar roof tiles that look like a tile roof that would probably be allowed on your house.
https://www.tesla.com/solarroof

The Solar Sales guys also don't talk about the loss of the efficiency of the panels as the years pile on. Is your existing roof good for 20 years? If not-the panels would need to be removed for your residence to have a new roof installed. If you went with the tiles-assuming the tiles stopped producing electricity at all-you would still have a viable roof!

Finally-we have found in Utah buyers do not wish to assume a solar loan/lease deal if the home is resold prior to the lease terms ending. We have also found the the solar panel values are NOT PERCEIVED by potential buyers as it is by a bank's appraiser-leading to issues.


The roofing tiles require an upfront cost of north of $50K for the average American home (more for Canadians). So either you have a ton of capital that you for some reason don't have tied up in investments or you are willing to carry a note on them for a set duration in hopes that the generation and eventual profit outdoes what you've paid in interest.
 
Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Stay far away from solar city!



They are the largest company that installs solar panels. Personally-beyond that I know very little about them. Are you going to "hit and run" with your statement or provide some information?
they dont tell you everything you need to know. Plus they put a $30k~ lein on your house.

We had a sales man from solar city out and when my brother asked about that the guy packed his bags,called us names got in his car and peeled out lol.

Plus they dont do ground mounts
 
If one is looking at this as "after 20 years of paying off the loan, the energy will be free", than I think it's probably the worst approach. The reality will be more likely that after 20 years the cells will need to be replaced.

The question should be, how many years does it take for the panels to pay for themselves? And the answer better be less than 10 years, preferably 5 in order for this venture to be worth while.
 
While I can't speak for Solar City in MA, I can tell you that here in Arizona, Solar City has an 'iffy' reputation, at best.

Also: Consumer Affairs page on Solar City

I held off getting solar on my house for a while, and looked at a lot of different companies. Ultimately, when I did get solar installed, I went with a different company, and not Solar City (mainly due to their less-than-impressive overall ratings).

If you do decide to pull the trigger on solar, make SURE you do your homework. Biggest company does not necessarily mean best.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: coopns
In MA. Considering solar panels from Solar City on garage and back of the house (can't do the front - Cape and my lord it would cover the entire front roof).

After doing the numbers, looks like it would be a bill swap with National Grid.

Solar City deal: 20 years and would not increase monthly -lock in at this rate. 20 Year loan bugs me a bit but again, even swap and ...well be nice in 20 years! They would be paid off and no electric bill. 99% sure will be her in 20. My concern a bit is will they come up with something more attractive/efficient and a better deal...I think yes but again, my panels will be on back of house which no one can see and small garage that is set back in yard.

Anyone have them, pros / cons.


There are now solar roof tiles that look like a tile roof that would probably be allowed on your house.
https://www.tesla.com/solarroof

The Solar Sales guys also don't talk about the loss of the efficiency of the panels as the years pile on. Is your existing roof good for 20 years? If not-the panels would need to be removed for your residence to have a new roof installed. If you went with the tiles-assuming the tiles stopped producing electricity at all-you would still have a viable roof!

Finally-we have found in Utah buyers do not wish to assume a solar loan/lease deal if the home is resold prior to the lease terms ending. We have also found the the solar panel values are NOT PERCEIVED by potential buyers as it is by a bank's appraiser-leading to issues.


The roofing tiles require an upfront cost of north of $50K for the average American home (more for Canadians). So either you have a ton of capital that you for some reason don't have tied up in investments or you are willing to carry a note on them for a set duration in hopes that the generation and eventual profit outdoes what you've paid in interest.



Without checking your figures-If you need a new (conventional) roof at 20ish Grand-then the difference would be the cost of solar panels-might as well go with the tiles.

If your roof doesn't need replacement anytime soon-then-yes I see your point.
 
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Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: coopns
In MA. Considering solar panels from Solar City on garage and back of the house (can't do the front - Cape and my lord it would cover the entire front roof).

After doing the numbers, looks like it would be a bill swap with National Grid.

Solar City deal: 20 years and would not increase monthly -lock in at this rate. 20 Year loan bugs me a bit but again, even swap and ...well be nice in 20 years! They would be paid off and no electric bill. 99% sure will be her in 20. My concern a bit is will they come up with something more attractive/efficient and a better deal...I think yes but again, my panels will be on back of house which no one can see and small garage that is set back in yard.

Anyone have them, pros / cons.


There are now solar roof tiles that look like a tile roof that would probably be allowed on your house.
https://www.tesla.com/solarroof

The Solar Sales guys also don't talk about the loss of the efficiency of the panels as the years pile on. Is your existing roof good for 20 years? If not-the panels would need to be removed for your residence to have a new roof installed. If you went with the tiles-assuming the tiles stopped producing electricity at all-you would still have a viable roof!

Finally-we have found in Utah buyers do not wish to assume a solar loan/lease deal if the home is resold prior to the lease terms ending. We have also found the the solar panel values are NOT PERCEIVED by potential buyers as it is by a bank's appraiser-leading to issues.


The roofing tiles require an upfront cost of north of $50K for the average American home (more for Canadians). So either you have a ton of capital that you for some reason don't have tied up in investments or you are willing to carry a note on them for a set duration in hopes that the generation and eventual profit outdoes what you've paid in interest.



Without checking your figures-If you need a new (conventional) roof at 20 Grand-then the difference would be the cost of solar panels-might as well go with the tiles.


The figure is directly from Tesla:

Originally Posted By: Tesla
When you include the benefits of the solar production, Solar Roof will cost less than a regular roof. In fact it may earn you money – as an example, the out-of-pocket cost of a Solar Roof for a typical home in Maryland will be around $52,000, but after considering the tax credit and the value of energy it generates, the roof will actually pay for itself and earn you about $8,000 over 30 years.


Note that this does NOT include the cost of the Powerwall battery.

BTW, where did you get a $20K figure for an asphalt shingle roof? The average would be around $6K. And yes, if you don't need your roof done in the immediate future, it would seem to be incurring excessive cost for very little if any benefit. Keep in mind, Tesla's "profit" calculator assumes an annual price of electricity increase of ~2% every year for 30 years, I'm not sure if it accounts for panel degradation or not either.
 
Basically you can install solar for 1/3 the price these companies finance you for. Your payback can be as little as five years and then it makes sense.

Solar is essentially a roofing contractor / electrician charging triple. Shop the install, use as few "solar professionals" as possible and play a little GC yourself and you can save big. You can buy the actual equipment online.

Same concept as paying your minimum on the credit card every month. In 30 years you'll have paid the balance over like twenty times.
 
There's many videos on Youtube about solar. Watch them. One of them mentions that if even a small portion of a panel is blocked by something such as a little amount of snow, then the entire panel will not produce.

So one of the things to consider is how easy will it be for you to access those panels to clean them from snow, or leaves, or even dirt.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL


BTW, where did you get a $20K figure for an asphalt shingle roof? The average would be around $6K.


For $6K in New England that might cover a simple one story ranch with 1000 sq ft. assuming you have a buddy doing it. When I had my 1,000 sf roof bid, Home Depot came in at $14,500. Another bidder was around $12K. I ended up buying the materials myself ($5K-6K as I recall) and having my son (a roofer) do it with a friend. Still ran me $8500.
 
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL


BTW, where did you get a $20K figure for an asphalt shingle roof? The average would be around $6K.


For $6K in New England that might cover a simple one story ranch with 1000 sq ft. assuming you have a buddy doing it. When I had my 1,000 sf roof bid, Home Depot came in at $14,500. Another bidder was around $12K. I ended up buying the materials myself ($5K-6K as I recall) and having my son (a roofer) do it with a friend. Still ran me $8500.


Exactly-roofs are VERY EXPENSIVE these days. Owners don't realize because how often does one buy a roof?
 
I always thought their schtick was that they use your roof as free real estate for their panels and then you get a discounted rate on electricity. (but you don't own the panels, ever)
 
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL


BTW, where did you get a $20K figure for an asphalt shingle roof? The average would be around $6K.


For $6K in New England that might cover a simple one story ranch with 1000 sq ft. assuming you have a buddy doing it. When I had my 1,000 sf roof bid, Home Depot came in at $14,500. Another bidder was around $12K. I ended up buying the materials myself ($5K-6K as I recall) and having my son (a roofer) do it with a friend. Still ran me $8500.


Must really be area dependant. I got a quote last year for my place and it was around 8K IIRC. Roof is relatively simple, medium pitch with two dormers and one chimney, but it is two story brick with a finished attic (hence the dormers). Not 100% on my sq-footage, I'm curious now, so I'll do a quick measure when I get home.
 
Here they put a lien on your home. If you ever wanted to sell you would have to convince the buyer to take it on or pay it off yourself.

They are completely dependent government subsidies and tax rebates that could end at any time.In my state the topic of raiding that fund to fix the budget has already come up. What happens in 5 years if SCity goes under? A big mess.

At the end of the term you are stuck with with 20 year old outdated and probably failed panels.

I looked in to Solar and even DIYing it I would never see of payoff. Our electric bills cant be zero. There is a fixed charge thats there even if you use zero electricity.
 
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