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The only reason you go solar is because of the Fed and state tax rebate and SRECs if your state has a good solar reward system for your energy generation.
Great, glad to hear! I'm curious about who has done this and has had it work out for them. I'm less interested in those who have never done this or those who have and did not have it work out for them, because I aim to see if it makes sense to follow in the cases where it did work out such as for Paoluccm or MTAtech rather than following in the cases where it did not.
I can understand not wanting solar if you don’t like how it looks on your house, or if your electric bill is not that big anyway, but if the math makes sense then why not? Especially if your current bill is large, the math would be even more in Solar’s favor.
Anyone have experience with the Tesla Powerwall with solar? Seems like it would eliminate any need for a generator for power outages.
I spent a year researching different companies and finally settled on Trinity Solar. I obtained about five different quotes over the past 12 months and spent months on different forums and solar product websites. I am leasing 40 - 250w panels making up a 10KW system.
Contract was signed back in early January, buildings department permit filed, architect is doing the drawings and will submit them.
Zero out of pocket. All I need to do is pay Trinity my lease cost every month, which is about $40 below my electric bill. They cover the install, monitoring and maintenance. I have a zero escalator clause in my contract, unlike some other PPAs that go up 2.9% per year.
I have a fixed lease for the next 20 years, so I will pay the same price for power 5 year, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years from now.
I expect the panels to be installed sometime in late April, early May, just in time to start harvesting.
NYSERDA recently received a $1B infusion and many of these credits will run out in 2015-2016 so if you're thinking about it, now is the time to seriously start your research.
Trinity has installers in Bellmore, LI and I'm in Farmingdale, I wanted to deal with a company that has a local presence. They have a small sales office on Vets Highway in Bohemia.
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System makeup:
40 - 250 watt Trina panels
Three PV Powered inverters (3 separate strings to reduce shading effects).
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Feel free to post any questions about solar, I've learned enough to be able to assist others in their research.
If you're interested in getting a quote, drop me a PM and I'll refer you to my salesperson. He is also local, lives in Hicksville and works all of LI.
@RashidWilliams , I had a meeting from a sales from Solar. I was looking at online reviews of their company it seems ok but not excellent (e.g. : https://www.solarreviews.com/install...solar-reviews/ ). Particularly there are some stories about roof leaks that are not dealt with promptly. I'm super worry about roof leaks. Wonder how did you find their after sales service - had you had any problem at all after installation?
Last edited by byroncheung; 02-11-2020 at 09:15 AM..
We're buying a 11.544kW system w/ Trinity. Our yearly bill is $2700. (which will only rise)
The cost is: $45760
less PSEG rebate of $1140
less NY state rebate $5000 (apparently only NY has this extra $5K!)
less 30% fed tax credit $13728
total out of pocket is $25892.
25 yr warranty on panels and inverters.
Homeowners goes up $50/yr
There is a 15 year exemption on assessment for solar on property tax assessment in NY.
We pulled the trigger on this after looking into the Town of Huntingtons program, which IS indeed not transparent. They bid to a solar company and they call the shots, pushing leasing.
We also looked into Solar City but they were pushing leases. Read the lease and the bottom line was that although my monthly payment would be a bit lower, the total cost over the term of the lease would be that I spent $55000. I prefer owning to leasing, especially if the funds are available.
Solar leasing is not a sham. Our friends just signed up with Vivint, no money down solar. It's what works for them.
I used Sunation and am very happy. my system is 14.5 KWh and my electric bill is zero net annually. (The summer makes a surplus that is used in the short days of the winter.
Essentially, the savings on electricity pays for the loan that Sunation arranged with a credit union. After the loan is repaid, it's all savings.
I used Long Island Power Solutions. We paid cash for an 8,600kwh system that was installed last October and haven't had a power bill since (other than the minimum grid connection fee). I've overproduced every month and currently have a 2.6 megawatt credit. After the tax credits, the total install cost was $9,700. It'd be a slightly higher now since the tax credits are slowly being phased out.
If anyone is interested you can PM me. I get a little referral bonus and you get a small discount as well.
I used Long Island Power Solutions. We paid cash for an 8,600kwh system that was installed last October and haven't had a power bill since (other than the minimum grid connection fee). I've overproduced every month and currently have a 2.6 megawatt credit. After the tax credits, the total install cost was $9,700. It'd be a slightly higher now since the tax credits are slowly being phased out.
If anyone is interested you can PM me. I get a little referral bonus and you get a small discount as well.
I defended solar on 100 threads here and was blasted over and over, NEVER on the math, only on "scams" (wrong, that's for leasing), "they look ugly" (I don't think so, to me they look like money in pocket), "they don't work as promised" (if they work for 12 yrs I'm happy, they are rated for 25). From day 1 I paid about $80/mo less than before, including the financing which has 8 more years or so. It's pure profit. Pre solar mo bill = $300mo After solar mo bill = $220. After 12 yrs total (unless I pay it off sooner), bill goes to $15-$50/mo ad infinitum (obviously depending on PSEG shenanigans re access rates and of course, the weather). Because math.
And I used the same company as Feb. Best contractor experience I've every experienced around here and that's saying a lot because it's the ONLY decent contractor experience I've had in 20 years! lol
I used Long Island Power Solutions. We paid cash for an 8,600kwh system that was installed last October and haven't had a power bill since (other than the minimum grid connection fee). I've overproduced every month and currently have a 2.6 megawatt credit. After the tax credits, the total install cost was $9,700. It'd be a slightly higher now since the tax credits are slowly being phased out.
If anyone is interested you can PM me. I get a little referral bonus and you get a small discount as well.
They're Canadian Solar. I don't have the paperwork in front of me, but I believe they're guaranteed to produce 80% of their rated output for 20 years (maybe 25?).
My coworker went through the same company, although he had Samsung panels. It depends on the shape of your roof and what size panels are needed.
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