North County San Diego estimates for new install

[kylechoffman]

I just got 500 off the Metro price so its down to 28K

21802 for 20 LG 305s @ 3.57watt
Tax credit = 6540
Total Price to pay over term = 15262

The above doesnt bake in the same finance fees for Metro or HERO. Hero is 4.99 % on top while Metro is like 12%.

The finance fees will still apply with LGs so for less SP panels, its not a huge difference in price.

[kylechoffman]

Another way to look at it is this:

SP Deal with Metro -4.26 watt
SP Deal with HERO - 3.91 watt
LG deal with Metro (assuming I can use them) - 4.11 watt
LG deal with HERO - 3.75 watt

So Hero is much better based upon the much lower fees upfront but the interest paid over the life of the loan is more than the difference in upfront fees. It comes down to tax deduction vs non tax deduction. With respect to the price per watt, 4-5% premium per watt for SP vs LG.

[thejq]

So I have gone around and around on this trying to work out using our Heloc but its not possible so I am left with the following options (I would appreciate input):

SD Metro 2.99 rate

Contract Price - $24633
Bank upfront fee - $3867
Rate - 2.99
Term - 12 years
30% credit - $8550
Sunpower F&F Credit - $3000
Re-amortized loan balance to pay off - $16950
Total cost over 8 years - 19079
I can pay this off in 8 years at $200 a month and only incur 2100 in interest costs over the life of the term. I cannot deduct the interest as its a secured loan against the equipment but should I need to move, I could pay it off in the sale of the home or move it with me.

HERO program

Contract Price - $24633
Bank upfront fee - $1324
Annual fees - $35
Rate - 7.69
Term - 10 years
30% credit - $7787
Sunpower F&F Credit - $3000
Re-amortized loan balance to pay off - $15170
Total cost over 8.5 years - $21007

I can pay the same 200 a month over 8.5 years but incur 5500 in interest over the term. I can deduct the interest but would need to manually pull it out from the tax bill annually. No payments would be due monthly but we would need to be ontop of the money being put away because we dont have an impound account for taxes. This loan takes 1st priority against the home and can cause issues if we were ever to sell but we are never moving which is the reason I am going strongly on this.

I could use the deduction but not sure its worth it for the hassel involved. I looked at point loma credit but their rates were higher than the HERO program.

Without looking at other options, the difference in cost between the two options is $1928. I doubt that you save that much from tax deductions ($5500), but of course, I don't know your tax rate. Also strictly speaking, I don't think you can deduct the HERO interest even it's part of your tax bill. Only the property tax portion is deductible (not even mello roose, school bonds, water bonds etc.). But most people do it any way, so YMMV. Moreover with option 1 you can pay it off anytime assuming there's no prepayment penalty. So if you property value increases so you can get a bigger HELOC, or you hit the lottery, you can potentially pay it off early. Not sure if HERO allow you to do that.

[mhines6]

OP, did you get your system installed? I'm interested to hear the details