I live in Hawaii where our cost per kWh is $0.42, the highest in the nation. My typical usage is around 1,000 kWh per month and my monthly electric bill is about $425.
With all the federal and state tax credits, going solar is a no-brainer. The major solar providers/financiers like SunRun and SolarCity are here offering pre-paid lease plans where they own the equipment and receive the tax credits, and lease the system to you for 20 years for about 40% of the purchase price and no monthly payments. A whole-home grid-tie solar system which would cost $50,000 to purchase, I could instead lease for 20 years for $20,000 upfront with no monthly payments. This is the type of plan I want to do. For now, I can only afford a half-system.
So it comes down to which provider/installer. Here's what I've come up with so far from my discussions with their local salespeople:
SolarCity
Cost: $10,530 for a 4.165 kW DC 17-panel system installed ($2.53 per W)
Yelp Rating: 3.5 (48 reviews)
BBB Rating: A+
PROS:
Sales, installation, support, maintenance all under one roof one company.
Owner also started Tesla motors, plans to incorporate car-charging and off-grid options in the next 5 years.
Kyocera 245W panels, made in Japan (and Mexico).
CONS:
More expensive than SunRun.
Reimbursement rate for panel under-production averages to 10.8 cents per kWh, less than SunRun.
SunRun
Cost: $9,970 for a 4.250 kW DC 17-panel system installed ($2.35 per W)
Yelp Rating: 3.5 (11 reviews)
BBB Rating: A
PROS:
Cheaper than SolarCity.
Reimbursement rate for panel under-production averages to 12.5 cents per kWh, more than SolarCity.
CONS:
Contracts installation with local installers (who may come and go).
Does not have any off-grid plans.
Trina (Chinese) 250W panels (assuming Chinese panels are lesser quality than Japanese).
So, that's where I'm at. I could really go with either one and am trying to decide whether cost-savings of SunRun trumps the pros of SolarCity. I asked SC to meet the SunRun price but they said they can't do that. I think they figure their benefits outweigh the cheaper cost.
Which one do you think is the way to go?
With all the federal and state tax credits, going solar is a no-brainer. The major solar providers/financiers like SunRun and SolarCity are here offering pre-paid lease plans where they own the equipment and receive the tax credits, and lease the system to you for 20 years for about 40% of the purchase price and no monthly payments. A whole-home grid-tie solar system which would cost $50,000 to purchase, I could instead lease for 20 years for $20,000 upfront with no monthly payments. This is the type of plan I want to do. For now, I can only afford a half-system.
So it comes down to which provider/installer. Here's what I've come up with so far from my discussions with their local salespeople:
SolarCity
Cost: $10,530 for a 4.165 kW DC 17-panel system installed ($2.53 per W)
Yelp Rating: 3.5 (48 reviews)
BBB Rating: A+
PROS:
Sales, installation, support, maintenance all under one roof one company.
Owner also started Tesla motors, plans to incorporate car-charging and off-grid options in the next 5 years.
Kyocera 245W panels, made in Japan (and Mexico).
CONS:
More expensive than SunRun.
Reimbursement rate for panel under-production averages to 10.8 cents per kWh, less than SunRun.
SunRun
Cost: $9,970 for a 4.250 kW DC 17-panel system installed ($2.35 per W)
Yelp Rating: 3.5 (11 reviews)
BBB Rating: A
PROS:
Cheaper than SolarCity.
Reimbursement rate for panel under-production averages to 12.5 cents per kWh, more than SolarCity.
CONS:
Contracts installation with local installers (who may come and go).
Does not have any off-grid plans.
Trina (Chinese) 250W panels (assuming Chinese panels are lesser quality than Japanese).
So, that's where I'm at. I could really go with either one and am trying to decide whether cost-savings of SunRun trumps the pros of SolarCity. I asked SC to meet the SunRun price but they said they can't do that. I think they figure their benefits outweigh the cheaper cost.
Which one do you think is the way to go?
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