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Ok so i priced out a new solar system thru Sea Bright in New York . We currentyl use Con Edison for power and we are on budget billing which costs me $317 a month. I currently use 14,778 killowatts from Con Ed. This does NOT include my pool which was just installed last July , so I will need more energy to make up for May June and 1/2 of July. Sea Bright proposal is 37 E327 sunpower panels on south side of my roof. Two inverters SPR-5000P-Tl , and an estimated 15,057 of power. The company is hoping to eliminate 90% or more on my bill. I know i still need to pay con ed $18 a month for meter etc. Things in NY are very different . The cost to buy the system is as following : Layout $57k, minus federal incentive brings it to around $44k , the rest of incentives are on tax returns and property tax abatements. To LEASE it the cost to me would be $172 a month with NO increases for twenty years. It does save me money each month and even more savings as the utilitiy companies raise their prices. My net savings over 20 years is around $72k. My question is , is anyone else out there leasing ? havent found anyone locally. The prices to buy system outright have doubled since last year and dont think its worth buying considering the inverter will need replacing in 10-14 years for $6k. Thoughts and ANY FEEDBACK would be great. I know it sounds high but in NY these are the prices as I had two other companies with sunpower panles price about the same or higher. thanks in advance
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Weird, both the NJ and NY locations seem to be part of Casale Tile, whose only Yelp review reads "Roaches. Roaches roaches roaches. Absolutely disgusting. I haven't even been inside but the roaches crawling around through the gated area next to/behind it was enough to make me never go in."
Anyway, is that lease price with zero down? That seems way, way cheaper than the purchase price; something seems off? Only 41,280 after 20 years?
By the way, thank you for inadvertently doing legwork for me, as I'm also in NY.
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the cost to buy it is really 57k, minus incentives and rebates. Salesmen stated we can also do an interest free 12 month loan for around $22-25k , to own the system. I like this idea too. I have not run across many people who leased this type of system. Also the newer panels which are all black and no grid add about $30 a month to lease but also produce more power then the E327's with grids. Wow so much info to digest and get into our brains !!! It would probably eliminate almost my entire bill from con ed but lease vs buy out has some differences like the inverter replacement in 10-15 years.Comment
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Have you looked at cheaper panel options as well? 57k makes my head spin. For that amount of money, saving 125 a month with no upfront cost at all sounds much more enticing. The only issue is that you have to absolutely make sure that you will live in that house for 20 years. Purchase is the only option that makes sense if you plan to sell before 20 years.Comment
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I'm in NY and buying outright for substantially less, although with lower production, see here:
http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showth...houghts-please. SolarWorld black mono panels, not sunpower, but is it really worth the cost difference? I've been impressed with my dealing with Astrum so far, we'll see when they finally install it. Of course we are still waiting for building plan approval from my town... PITA.Comment
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Also, in NY you really max the state incentive at 7.5kW. Above that your tax incentive margin decreases, since the NYSERDA installer rebate is capped. Don't forget about the additional $5k tax credit that NY offers on leases now, too.Comment
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Two good options
It looks to me as though you have two good options with the 2.99% loan and the monthly lease. As far as I can tell your out of pocket cost after 20 years is less with the purchase than with the lease. You can insure the inverters for 10 additional years at the time of purchase for about 2k. All this means is your lease option looks to cost you less until about year 16. So if you are going to be in the house more than 16 years go with the purchase if you plan to be in the house less than 16 years go with the lease. Let us know how your solar experience turns out.Comment
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Wow. NY has CA beat with the incentives. 70% of the system paid by the taxpayers! That's a no-brainer.Comment
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Can someone tell me how a prepaid lease works when you sell your home before the lease is up?Comment
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The new Solar renewables program in NY is way oversized. But - with the Democratic government there also blocking fracking - you know this is going to happen. Who will win? Higher-income people who can take advantage of the programs like this.
That is a big system for your house. Why not consider non SunPower modules and save some cash further and end up with a really low cost? You can get US-made modules in the 260W range and use a similar pair of inverters and save perhaps $10K on the project (guesstimates).
The problem here is - you probably don't need the savings, correct? Using financing logic - if you put that money into an investment, you could make back more than if you cut your electric bill with Solar PV. Or, if you conserve a little bit, you can cut 10-20% of your electric bill. A new pool? If you can afford a new pool, you can afford the electric bill. (I'm not digging on you - just being objective and rational). So, what if you put in the $50K into an investment of say a high yield bond fund? Paying 5% yield now or higher, that pays you back $90K after 10 years. using the solar system for 10 years, your savings will be about $30K. We don't know what the market will do long term but you do hedge your electric costs should they go up. Electric prices will go up with the same surity that the markets will go down - or vice versa. It all depends on how you want to do your ROI calculations.
I'm a solar pv owner as of last December. I also invest. Solar PV is not a good investement. It was a fun, cool, hobby for me to do. It's a dumb investment, though. And if you have to take a loan out for a PV system (not sure if you do), then it's even dumber.PowerOne 3.6 x 2, 32 SolarWorld 255W monoComment
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You own the lease. You must get legal transfer sign-off by the home buyer to the lessor company (bank, solar city, sunpower, etc.) Sometimes, people don't want to take-over a lease. Others would be fine since they're saving electric costs. If power from ConEd goes down to .05/kWh due to higher efficiency in 10 years then the buyer has the right to refuse the solar lease. Then you're stuck paying for it after you move out.PowerOne 3.6 x 2, 32 SolarWorld 255W monoComment
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I can pay the electric bill no problem at all but why not save $100-$130 a month instead of giving it to the evil people at con ed. Its a rip off anyway u look at it . Leasing it for $172 a month for 20 years is a savings in itself and then in 20 years with rates only going up it will be like a $160- $200 a month savings. Putting money into market is never a sure bet at 5% anyways. To buy this system at say $25-27k on a 12 or 18 month interest free loan makes it look attractive but not sure worth it either. I saw the other post for Atrium (sp?) comapny . The only problem is that i want to maximize my roof to eliminate con ed as much as possible and sunpower panels can do that with the resources,while the sunvia panels probably cant.. I plan on staying in this house for another 7-10 years, then move .. Thoughts ?Comment
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I don't know about the North East but in Florida while my rates have slowly risen slightly over the last 5 years, they have also fluctuated as much as +/- $0.013/kwh. They were at $0.115/kwh in 2008 and got as high as $0.148/kwh a year or so ago but are now around $0.135/kwh. I couldn't really tell you why they went down since my Utility is not very clear on all charge aspect of my bills but they did go down.Comment
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