Sunpower system in San Diego - Good deal?

[sduser]

I wanted to post an update here as thanks for the guidance I received on my initial question. Here is the review I just posted on Yelp.

TLDR version (After two full months of lower electricity bills, I am very happy with my Sunpower lease. Payback within 5 years on a 20-year lease with zero maintenance/replacement costs.)

I got bids from 5 different solar installation companies, including 3 bids with identical specs for the Sunpower pre-paid lease. The Sunpower lease program is an inexpensive, low risk way to go solar. Sunpower agrees to install and maintain the equipment, replace any failing equipment, and guarantees to generate at least a specific amount of electricity every year for 20 years. I pay a low up-front amount (subsidized by incentives and tax breaks that Sunpower receives) that I will recoup in 4-6 years from electricity savings.

I selected xxx Solar over the other 2 Sunpower lease installers for several reasons:
- xxx Solar offered a comprehensive warranty for all the work, protecting my home from any collateral damage from working on my roof
- xxx Solar has good online reviews and I liked the people I talked to
- xxx Solar offered the lowest price

I wanted to wait to post my review until I had 2 electricity bills that were fully "solar". Here are my electricity bills for the past few months.

Apr25: $329.90
May24: $341.98
Jun25: $391.80
Jul25: $301.89
Aug24: $ 0.00
Sep24: $ 28.00

The July bill had solar for part of it, but as expected, the system is saving me about $300-$350 per month. This gives the system an ROI of just under 5 years, but I will continue to generate electricity for another 15 years with zero maintenance/replacement costs.

I was very pleased with xxx Solar. They worked with me to configure the panels on my roof so that they are nearly invisible from the front of the house. They worked with me on the layout of wiring and cables so it looks very clean. They are a truly professional outfit and I recommend them highly.

[russ]

You can be as happy as you wish but don't try flogging a particular supplier.

[bstr]

Sean, thanks for posting to Yelp. I contacted the company you recommended for a quote.

Russ, I don't see why laying out facts about suppliers is an issue here on this forum. It would be one thing to spew meaningless accolades, but providing something useful with quantifiable data is valuable to others. I agree, it reads like a big kudos for xxx company, but then again this thread is a big ad for Sunpower, isn't it?

Cheers!

I wanted to post an update here as thanks for the guidance I received on my initial question. Here is the review I just posted on Yelp.

TLDR version (After two full months of lower electricity bills, I am very happy with my Sunpower lease. Payback within 5 years on a 20-year lease with zero maintenance/replacement costs.)

I got bids from 5 different solar installation companies, including 3 bids with identical specs for the Sunpower pre-paid lease. The Sunpower lease program is an inexpensive, low risk way to go solar. Sunpower agrees to install and maintain the equipment, replace any failing equipment, and guarantees to generate at least a specific amount of electricity every year for 20 years. I pay a low up-front amount (subsidized by incentives and tax breaks that Sunpower receives) that I will recoup in 4-6 years from electricity savings.

I selected xxx Solar over the other 2 Sunpower lease installers for several reasons:
- xxx Solar offered a comprehensive warranty for all the work, protecting my home from any collateral damage from working on my roof
- xxx Solar has good online reviews and I liked the people I talked to
- xxx Solar offered the lowest price

I wanted to wait to post my review until I had 2 electricity bills that were fully "solar". Here are my electricity bills for the past few months.

Apr25: $329.90
May24: $341.98
Jun25: $391.80
Jul25: $301.89
Aug24: $ 0.00
Sep24: $ 28.00

The July bill had solar for part of it, but as expected, the system is saving me about $300-$350 per month. This gives the system an ROI of just under 5 years, but I will continue to generate electricity for another 15 years with zero maintenance/replacement costs.

I was very pleased with xxx Solar. They worked with me to configure the panels on my roof so that they are nearly invisible from the front of the house. They worked with me on the layout of wiring and cables so it looks very clean. They are a truly professional outfit and I recommend them highly.

[inetdog]

Sean, thanks for posting to Yelp. I contacted the company you recommended for a quote.

Russ, I don't see why laying out facts about suppliers is an issue here on this forum. It would be one thing to spew meaningless accolades, but providing something useful with quantifiable data is valuable to others. I agree, it reads like a big kudos for xxx company, but then again this thread is a big ad for Sunpower, isn't it?

Cheers!

I think that there is a distinction between a known regular touting a particular supplier and including a link and new member, who might actually be the supplier, putting in a rave review with a link to the supplier's website.
Just having the embedded link here will raise the supplier website's search engine rating.

[bstr]

I see. Well, I guess I came late after the link was removed. It looked like a request for feedback in May with good discussion followed up four months later with results if his decision. The search that led me to this site/thread was for just that reason, to find someone who has done the homework and has been through the whole process. The only thing that could have been more helpful is seeing all the bids next to each company's name. No link required, really.

If anyone has recommendations for other suppliers in San Diego, I would like to hear about them.

I think that there is a distinction between a known regular touting a particular supplier and including a link and new member, who might actually be the supplier, putting in a rave review with a link to the supplier's website.
Just having the embedded link here will raise the supplier website's search engine rating.

[inetdog]

I see. Well, I guess I came late after the link was removed.

Yep. You can usually identify edits made by Moderators from the fine print at the bottom. In this case:

"Last edited by russ; 09-24-2012 at 08:45 AM. Reason: removed ad"

When you edit your own posts, you should have the option of adding an explanation like that or not. (see below in this post.)

[sduser]

I understood when the links were removed. I didn't realize how much of an advertisement it looked like when I wrote and I expect there are rules on the website against posting links that I should have known about. Sorry about that.

My main argument was about the lease which was a very good deal. The particular supplier I used gave me the lowest quote and did good work, but there were other companies that gave me quotes for the same lease.

I posted the results of my project here because I appreciated the helpful advice I got here while going through the decision process. Given the quick return on investment, I am surprised that more people aren't doing it, but I imagine incentives and paybacks vary greatly based on where you live.

[inetdog]

I understood when the links were removed. I didn't realize how much of an advertisement it looked like when I wrote and I expect there are rules on the website against posting links that I should have known about. Sorry about that.

No apology necessary. (But reading the rules and guidelines is always a good idea.)

If something like that link is done with good intentions the Mods will just fix it. On the other hand if it is part of a pattern of deliberate advertising or spamming it will get that user banned.

[bstr]

My main argument was about the lease which was a very good deal. The particular supplier I used gave me the lowest quote and did good work, but there were other companies that gave me quotes for the same lease.

I posted the results of my project here because I appreciated the helpful advice I got here while going through the decision process. Given the quick return on investment, I am surprised that more people aren't doing it, but I imagine incentives and paybacks vary greatly based on where you live.

Thanks again. This helps with my research. I have a couple questions that may be off topic, but may help others in San Diego that end up here.

I'm curious about SDGE and how they handle excess production that is pushed back to the grid. I read somewhere that as a solar customer, SDGE sends one bill ANNUALLY. Does this mean that usage and excess production pushed to the grid are compared annually and they send a bill or check for the difference? I also read that SDGE buys excess at 4 cents per kwh. Trying to figure out which it is.

I can't send personal messages yet, but if you could contact me offline (removed address), I may have a few more questions about the vendor.

[sduser]

Thanks again. This helps with my research. I have a couple questions that may be off topic, but may help others in San Diego that end up here.

I'm curious about SDGE and how they handle excess production that is pushed back to the grid. I read somewhere that as a solar customer, SDGE sends one bill ANNUALLY. Does this mean that usage and excess production pushed to the grid are compared annually and they send a bill or check for the difference? I also read that SDGE buys excess at 4 cents per kwh. Trying to figure out which it is.

Once you get solar, SDGE sends two bills monthly, one for electricity and one for gas. Before, I got a single bill with both electricity and gas. The monthly bill is for the net of consumption minus production for that month. I haven't had a net production month yet, but I did have a month with an overall credit due to "reduce your use day" credits.

If you have excess production over the year, SDGE will give you a check or credit at the end of the year, but it is a pittance. I think that your 4 cent per kwh is about right. In contrast, the lowest tier for electricity you use is 15 cents and the highest is 29 cents, but that can vary by season. My goal was to generate enough electricity that I don't get above the lowest tier. So far, so good.

The thing that I'm more interested in than a rebate from SDGE is the production guarantee from Sunpoewr. If my panels don't produce the amount guaranteed to me each year, Sunpower has to send me a check for the difference. They only pay 7 cent per kwh but it's a good incentive to them to makes sure my panels are working. I can see how much they generate day by day, hour by hour, and so can they.

[TeCKis300]

I'm intrigued with this thread as I'm a San Diegan looking to purchase a ~6 kw array. Firstly, I've thought that to minimize ROI, that I absolutely wanted to purchase a system outright. I have been avoiding getting a Sunpower quote specifically for this reason and it seems that I may have been wrong in this thought.

I'll give this a shot and see where I land. Thank you for the firsthand info!

[TeCKis300]

Seems like I can't PM without having a minimum of 10 posts...

sduser, would you mind sending me some contact info if you recommend the person you worked with? Thanks.

-Paul

[infoseeker]

Looks like SunPower made changes to their prepaid Lease plan, got 2 quotes and both quotes for prepaid vs purchase were not much difference, maybe 2k difference. So, looks like for Sunpower Panels, Purchase is the better deal. Anyone out there with a difference experience. I'm in So Cal.

[LukeD]

Sunpower Lease

Hi,

I had a 21 panel system installed in November. I was just turned on in March. My average bill prior to solar was around $300 the lease payment is $161.

SDGE only sends 1 electric bill annually but sends me an update on the balance monthly. Currently it's $-24. I estimate the panels will cover a little more than 100% of our annual use so we have some room to grow into it.

I had a friend who purchased the system instead of leasing it. He said I was crazy not to get the 30+% tax rebate.

I explained to him that it's not a "rebate", it's a "credit". Boy was he surprised when he did his taxes this year. He was expecting over $15,000 back from his solar alone not including his mortgage interest deduction, property taxes and other itemized deductions. His total tax refund $7,000. You will never get back more than your withholding. Yes you can carry forward that deduction into the future until it is extinguished but that can take several years.

Buyer beware when you purchase your system. I'm not saying that leasing is better than buying, that is a very individualized decision, but I think that the folks out pitching the products are not aware of the tax consequences and lead consumers to believe they will get a big rebate back on their next tax filing.

Hope this is helpful...

[bcroe]

Tax Credit

it's not a "rebate", it's a "credit". Boy was he surprised when he did his taxes this year. He was expecting over $15,000 back from his solar alone not including his mortgage interest deduction, property taxes and other itemized deductions. His total tax refund $7,000. You will never get back more than your withholding. Yes you can carry forward that deduction into the future until it is extinguished but that can take several years.

I am thinking the portion of credit taken in a tax year is limited to the TAX LIABILITY, but NOT to WITHHOLDING.
Otherwise withholding could just be adjusted up, getting a gigantic refund later.

Tax years to get back a state tax credit might exceed a lifetime. Bruce Roe