Has anybody used "Advanced Solar" to install residential solar panels? (Austin: house, calculation) - Texas (TX) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

adclon · 09-26-2016, 08:39 AM

You might wonder why there are no negative reviews for Advanced Solar! It cannot be a "perfect" company! I had a solar panel system installed in my home earlier this year (4/2016) by this company. Yes, Adam told me about their 5-year warranty on removing and reinstalling the panels for $500, meaning that if for any reason you had to replace your roof within five years of the initial installation, they would do the removing and reinstalling of the panels for just $500.00!!! Well, this is not the case. Soon after they installed the system on my roof, we had a hailstorm here in San Antonio and a lot of roofs were damaged, mine included. When I called Advanced Solar to come to remove the panels for the replacement of my roof, they wanted to charge me $2,300 to do the job. When I told the lady that I had both a verbal and a written warranty on their promise to do it for $500, she said that promise was not really a written contract and that it did not apply to an "act of God" event. I sent a message to Adam to inquire about it, but he didn't respond. I had to call him! He told me the warranty only applied if my roof got too old within five years of the original installation, which did not make any sense to me at all. First of all, the company would not install such an expensive system on an old roof. As a matter of fact, one of the first questions they ask you when they come to your house for the initial evaluation, is how old your roof is. No one in their right mind would install a solar panel system on a 20 year old roof! Mine was only seven years old. So they are not being honest! I also sent a message to the big guy in the company (forgot his name!), but never got an answer back. So this tells you something about such "a good company" everybody is talking about! If after searching for a solar panel company you decide to go with Advanced Solar, my suggestion is to get a very specific written statement from them regarding their five year removing and reinstalling warranty. That is, if they still have it!!!

adclon · 09-26-2016, 08:41 AM

Do your homework and ask very specific questions. Don't let Adam's friendly smile fool you!

Aquitaine · 09-26-2016, 02:46 PM

Mueller has something ridiculous like more solar panels per capita than any neighborhood in the US.

Every few years they restart the 'Megawatt Mueller' project (which long ago passed a megawatt) and solicit group bids for whomever wants in. The regular players are Longhorn, Revolve, and Lighthouse. There are one or two others that I don't recall. Advanced Solar is not one of them.

We liked Longhorn quite a lot and went with them.

petro · 09-26-2016, 07:03 PM

I know this thread is a bit old, but does anyone have any recent experience installing solar? I'm building a house and have a perfect south-facing roof for it. I'm not interested in leasing or financing offers—I'd want to pay cash upfront. What kind of cost would I be looking at for a 2,500 SqFt house? I know I'll need to contact some solar companies to get more accurate quotes, but right now I'm trying to just gauge whether it is feasible or not.

Trainwreck20 · 09-26-2016, 09:16 PM

I had a co-worker put in panels about a year ago for 2800 sf house (give or take). I believe it was in the 8-9 thousand range, but I can't recall exactly. I do recall it was an estimated 6-7 year payback.

Aquitaine · 09-27-2016, 07:13 AM

Quote:

What kind of cost would I be looking at for a 2,500 SqFt house?

Depends on how big a system you want and what your energy usage is.

You'll get an immediate rebate (or rather, your installer will) from Austin Energy if they're your supplier. Then you'll get the 33% tax credit when you file next year's taxes.

You are probably looking at 6-10k out of pocket depending on the size of the install. 6-7 years sounds about right.

Trainwreck20 · 09-27-2016, 07:24 AM

Also, I believe some of the installers are offering very good financing if you want it (basically free financing?).

The panels cannot be included in your property value for tax purposes, but they definitely add value if you sell your house. It is pretty much a no-lose proposition if you have the money.

As an aside, if you are looking at market comps when selling your house (or protesting taxes), look to see if any of the actual sales price comps have panels.

petro · 09-27-2016, 09:54 AM

Thanks, Trainwreck and Aquitaine—very helpful information!

Austin97 · 09-27-2016, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I had a co-worker put in panels about a year ago for 2800 sf house (give or take). I believe it was in the 8-9 thousand range, but I can't recall exactly. I do recall it was an estimated 6-7 year payback.

Im skeptical unless he did it himself.

My 6kw system cost 30K before rebates. It was down to about 18K after rebates and tax deductions (I think). The return was around 12 years.

Aquitaine · 09-27-2016, 01:31 PM

Quote:

My 6kw system cost 30K before rebates. It was down to about 18K after rebates and tax deductions (I think). The return was around 12 years.

Yikes!

Our 7.875 kWh system came out to $22,542, -$7,043 from Austin Energy (this was in September '15; their rebates are probably less now) and -$4,650 from the 30% tax credit (not 33%, my bad). Net cost to us was $10,849, or $1.38 per DC Watt.

7.875 is also on the large side, but I work from home so we use it.