Hi all,
I've read a number of threads on this site along with many solar panel system websites to determine if investing in a solar panel system for our home is a good idea and if we can afford buying and paying for installing a system.
First, about me:
* I live in Denver, CO which sees a massive amount of sunlight each year.
* My house roof is south facing seeing daylight almost the entire day.
* I'm looking to ditch our energy provider (xcel) as much as possible to be more environmentally-friendly.
* Ideas regarding "your money would work better as an investment in ..." aren't as important to me as I see brought up here.
* I've run through our bills for the last 2 years. Our last XCEL summer bill charged $0.124 per kwh and $0.1088 per kwh in the non-summer.
I first looked into leasing from SolarCity. With no money down, they promise a reduction of $18/month on a 20 year lease. It seems like the standard SolarCity contract from what i've read here -- they insure their system for the 20 years, install the inverter and internet connection for free, provide internet monitoring, and will replace any part of their system that fails over that 20 years for free. Of course, they collect all the rebates. I have yet to ask them what happens if they damage our roof when putting the system on, and haven't yet seen an official lease/contract, only a glossy estimate of how much we could save. I also haven't yet brought in competing estimates. (SolarCity is offering $1,000 applied to our leasing costs if we sign by the end of March, but i figure $1,000 isn't much in the grand scheme, so i'm looking for more options.)
After reading through many threads on this forum, especially a 22-page thread on "is this too good to be true? solarcity vs [another provider]", i understand that it's better to buy one's own system with cash in full. However, we don't have $25,000-or-so cash to put down on a system, even if the rebates could be $10k+.
My questions:
* Does anyone have experience in Colorado of buying their own solar panel system and how much cash it costs up-front before rebates are applied? I've seen up-front estimates ranging from $15,000 to $35,000+ and can't get a handle on the actual up-front cost. If it's closer to $15,000, then we can afford this.
* When do the rebates arrive? Can these be applied when paying for the system up-front, or do they come later like rebates usually do?
* The main 2 rebates i know of are the 30% federal rebate (good through 2016) and one through XCEL. I haven't seen anything for Colorado or Denver city. Does anyone from Colorado, especially Denver, have experience with this? (I know Boulder has special incentives, but that doesn't apply.)
* If we install our own system connected to "the grid", how easy is it to "sell off" energy we don't use (on a monthly basis) ?
* Is there a good website online to find recommended contractors to install systems? How about one for leasing companies?
* There's a good chance that the cost is just too much to pay for this up-front. Does anyone in Colorado have an experience leasing with SolarCity or one of their competitors? I've read a few testimonials here online and it seems SolarCity does a good job, but the installation phase, depending on issues found, could take many months. Are there any other considerations?
I've scoured many threads here on these forums and couldn't find answers to my questions, specifically Colorado-based examples -- i apologize if i'm asking something that could be found in another thread. If i can provide any more information to help you help me, then let me know.. Thank you for your help.
I've read a number of threads on this site along with many solar panel system websites to determine if investing in a solar panel system for our home is a good idea and if we can afford buying and paying for installing a system.
First, about me:
* I live in Denver, CO which sees a massive amount of sunlight each year.
* My house roof is south facing seeing daylight almost the entire day.
* I'm looking to ditch our energy provider (xcel) as much as possible to be more environmentally-friendly.
* Ideas regarding "your money would work better as an investment in ..." aren't as important to me as I see brought up here.
* I've run through our bills for the last 2 years. Our last XCEL summer bill charged $0.124 per kwh and $0.1088 per kwh in the non-summer.
I first looked into leasing from SolarCity. With no money down, they promise a reduction of $18/month on a 20 year lease. It seems like the standard SolarCity contract from what i've read here -- they insure their system for the 20 years, install the inverter and internet connection for free, provide internet monitoring, and will replace any part of their system that fails over that 20 years for free. Of course, they collect all the rebates. I have yet to ask them what happens if they damage our roof when putting the system on, and haven't yet seen an official lease/contract, only a glossy estimate of how much we could save. I also haven't yet brought in competing estimates. (SolarCity is offering $1,000 applied to our leasing costs if we sign by the end of March, but i figure $1,000 isn't much in the grand scheme, so i'm looking for more options.)
After reading through many threads on this forum, especially a 22-page thread on "is this too good to be true? solarcity vs [another provider]", i understand that it's better to buy one's own system with cash in full. However, we don't have $25,000-or-so cash to put down on a system, even if the rebates could be $10k+.
My questions:
* Does anyone have experience in Colorado of buying their own solar panel system and how much cash it costs up-front before rebates are applied? I've seen up-front estimates ranging from $15,000 to $35,000+ and can't get a handle on the actual up-front cost. If it's closer to $15,000, then we can afford this.
* When do the rebates arrive? Can these be applied when paying for the system up-front, or do they come later like rebates usually do?
* The main 2 rebates i know of are the 30% federal rebate (good through 2016) and one through XCEL. I haven't seen anything for Colorado or Denver city. Does anyone from Colorado, especially Denver, have experience with this? (I know Boulder has special incentives, but that doesn't apply.)
* If we install our own system connected to "the grid", how easy is it to "sell off" energy we don't use (on a monthly basis) ?
* Is there a good website online to find recommended contractors to install systems? How about one for leasing companies?
* There's a good chance that the cost is just too much to pay for this up-front. Does anyone in Colorado have an experience leasing with SolarCity or one of their competitors? I've read a few testimonials here online and it seems SolarCity does a good job, but the installation phase, depending on issues found, could take many months. Are there any other considerations?
I've scoured many threads here on these forums and couldn't find answers to my questions, specifically Colorado-based examples -- i apologize if i'm asking something that could be found in another thread. If i can provide any more information to help you help me, then let me know.. Thank you for your help.
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