4 ms·

I’m surprised. At the rate PV has been falling these subsidies are probably negligible (federal rebate withstanding). I purchased PV because the cost with a 20

I’m surprised. At the rate PV has been falling these subsidies are probably negligible (federal rebate withstanding). I purchased PV because the cost with a 20-year loan comes out to be 13c kWh, meanwhile PG&E charges 29c kWh. And the loan interest is tax-deductible.

sgc 9y ago
What company did you use? I have received 3 quotes and none make much sense.
- matt_wulfeck 9y ago
  Solarcity. Highly recommended.
  - sgc 9y ago
    Weird. I had them come by for a quote and they were about 25% more than the second closest bid. I never did the full math. This was on a 5kW installation.
    - matt_wulfeck 9y ago
      My email is in my profile if you want my details. Our system is 6.8kwh. I didn’t go with solarcity because they were the cheapest.
20years 9y ago
If you purchase with a loan, you can get a much better deal and it can make sense. A lot of the solar companies were selling their low interest $0 down lease programs and they themselves were benefiting from the credits/rebates not the homeowner. Homeowners didn't really have to have a great credit score either. Once the credits and rebates went away, the lease programs weren't sustainable for the solar companies.
vonmoltke 9y ago
That rate is much higher than I paid in Texas or pay in New Jersey. In fact, I can buy wind power from Green Mountain for less than your solar install cost.
- matt_wulfeck 9y ago
  Totally agree, it makes sense in many parts of the country because of a combination of incumbent electricity costs as well as high number of sunny days. Just a few miles away in Santa Clara it would make no sense at all, since they have their own utility where power costs just 10c kWh. There is something nice knowing your electricity costs are relatively fixed for 20 years though, since the price tends to follow the rate of inflation and the loan is fixed.

4 ms·

I’m surprised. At the rate PV has been falling these subsidies are probably negligible (federal rebate withstanding). I purchased PV because the cost with a 20

by matt_wulfeck 9y ago

sgc 9y ago
What company did you use? I have received 3 quotes and none make much sense.
- matt_wulfeck 9y ago
  Solarcity. Highly recommended.
  - sgc 9y ago
    Weird. I had them come by for a quote and they were about 25% more than the second closest bid. I never did the full math. This was on a 5kW installation.
    - matt_wulfeck 9y ago
      My email is in my profile if you want my details. Our system is 6.8kwh. I didn’t go with solarcity because they were the cheapest.
20years 9y ago
If you purchase with a loan, you can get a much better deal and it can make sense. A lot of the solar companies were selling their low interest $0 down lease programs and they themselves were benefiting from the credits/rebates not the homeowner. Homeowners didn't really have to have a great credit score either. Once the credits and rebates went away, the lease programs weren't sustainable for the solar companies.
vonmoltke 9y ago
That rate is much higher than I paid in Texas or pay in New Jersey. In fact, I can buy wind power from Green Mountain for less than your solar install cost.
- matt_wulfeck 9y ago
  Totally agree, it makes sense in many parts of the country because of a combination of incumbent electricity costs as well as high number of sunny days. Just a few miles away in Santa Clara it would make no sense at all, since they have their own utility where power costs just 10c kWh. There is something nice knowing your electricity costs are relatively fixed for 20 years though, since the price tends to follow the rate of inflation and the loan is fixed.