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I had the local solar reseller estimate for installing on my flat roof house. I would like to think I am keen on going green, but after three visits, some hard

by ptaffs 4y ago

I had the local solar reseller estimate for installing on my flat roof house. I would like to think I am keen on going green, but after three visits, some hard sell and spreadsheets showing when and how I would break even, i really felt like I was just engaging in a long-term finance deal. I would pay the same as I currently do, but to the solar finance lender, not to my local electricity company. And some of the cost benefit was speculated based on my local electricity company buying from me. I also had concerns about roof maintenance when it was inaccessible due to the panels. I also worried that to sell my house I would have to find a buyer willing to take-on the debt, the reseller unrealistically insisted the opposite, that this would add value. I didn't sign up, having seen companies fold, be acquired, change terms and conditions and essentially screw consumers, it just wasn't appealing.

mulletbum 4y ago
This is exactly my experience as well. I got a lot of hard sales tactics that all sounded like "Pay us instead of your power company." I see no incentive to do that honestly, it just leaves a bunch of pain and complicated math for me to take care of and they eat up all the savings. From what I can tell, just like recycling, it is almost useless unless we all group together and do it at once. In this case, it is better for my power company to innovate that each individual take on the problem themselves.
- toomuchtodo 4y ago
  > it is almost useless unless we all group together and do it at once. There are coops that perform group buys if you don't feel sophisticated enough to compare bids and select an installer (which is a reasonable position to take): https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/ https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/ https://reddit.com/r/solar https://reddit.com/r/solar is also a resource for having bids reviewed, asking for system and install advice, etc. (i collectively own ~100kw of residential solar and provide guidance gratis to others constructing or purchasing their own systems)

by ptaffs 4y ago

mulletbum 4y ago

This is exactly my experience as well. I got a lot of hard sales tactics that all sounded like "Pay us instead of your power company." I see no incentive to do that honestly, it just leaves a bunch of pain and complicated math for me to take care of and they eat up all the savings. From what I can tell, just like recycling, it is almost useless unless we all group together and do it at once. In this case, it is better for my power company to innovate that each individual take on the problem themselves.

toomuchtodo 4y ago
> it is almost useless unless we all group together and do it at once. There are coops that perform group buys if you don't feel sophisticated enough to compare bids and select an installer (which is a reasonable position to take): https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/ https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/ https://reddit.com/r/solar https://reddit.com/r/solar is also a resource for having bids reviewed, asking for system and install advice, etc. (i collectively own ~100kw of residential solar and provide guidance gratis to others constructing or purchasing their own systems)