Does anyone use Solar Panels/ Energy Cost Reduction Program?

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

My energy Company (LIPA) is now being run by New Jersey Utility Company (PSEG.) They are proposing that I use solar panels for a 45% decrease in electric bill. RGS Energy is the dealer of the panels.

The proposal claims.....

* No cost to switch

*Up to 45% cost reduction in monthly electric bill

* Lower rates locked in for the next 20 years

Any thoughts?

TIA!

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

if you go to the out skirts of Austria and Germany thqt is all you see. It is a great way to save just very costly to put up

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

To heat water or to provide electricity?

We have a solar system on our boat dock, so it is totally off the grid.

The bugaboo for whole-house is storage (batteries).

[1950bing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1950bing]

how about tax breaks ?

[grest Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grest]

We had solar panels in our house in Maine, but that was a long time ago. Even then, though, it was pretty efficient.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

The only thing that doesn't fit is the 'no cost' part. We installed a 5mw system in 2010. The estimated savings was 50 percent and we have exceeded that. Our yearly electric cost has dropped from 2200/yr to around 700/yr. We are on the grid, no batteries. When we generate more than we use, the utility buys the excess. We always generate more than we use during the peak usage times and then we use more during off-peak than we generate. They count the two time periods separately so we get a small check every year for the extra peak time power that we gave to them and we pay every month for the off peak usage. The total cost for our system was over $27k. With federal, state and utility subsidies our out of pocket was around 8k. The state subsidy was 1k. The federal was 30% and it may still be that. Our utility drastically cut their subsidies the year after we bought so the same system today would 18k+.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

The 20 yr rate lock makes me think this is a lease program. We knew people that leased the panels they had on their roof and the lease cost plus the reduced utility cost was still supposed to be less than before the panels went up. They had a 15 year lease.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Got a link to the type of system you have?

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

Got a link to the type of system you have?

In my case, it wasn't like buying a new Central A/c or refrigerator where you can look up the model number. There are 2 parts to what you buy. First, a solar panel array, which are photovoltaic and are bolted to the roof. In my case, there are 30 of them. The installer has a panel vendor that they prefer in most cases. If you don't like their vendor, you might have to find a different installer. I don't have the name of the panel vendor close by but I will look it up if you want it. The other piece is the invertor which converts the DC to AC. I have a Sunny Boy invertor made by SMA Solar Technology. It looks like this except mine doesn't have that fancy red cover. It is bolted to the wall in the garage and wired to the meter on the outside wall of the garage. In addition to that, you need a bi-directional meter that can keep track of whether you are generating more than you are using or vice versa. I was not charged for the meter. It was installed as part of the contract I signed with the utility. As part of that contract, they get the carbon credits for my solar installation. I wouldn't know what to do with a carbon credit if it fell on me so that was no big deal for me.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

So, you have enough panels to generate enough current to actually operate your household electricity, as opposed to panels that charge a battery array that uses an inverter to convert to AC. In the latter, it takes a HUGE battery bank to be able to run a house without discharging. There are system that can do it, though.

That is the type I have on the boat dock, and the more batteries we have, the longer our electricity will last.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Angela, I live in NJ and we also have PSEG. I think it is a supported lease system. About eight or ten years ago, they had a reduced-cost purchase system, with a lot of tax breaks, and then more recently they've offered this type of leased system. We looked into it both times, and unfortunately the answer both times was that our roof is too steeply pitched and doesn't have enough "unbroken" surface to make installing a system worthwhile.

But it's easy to inquire about it. All you have to do is send your address and they look at your roof on Google Earth. We looked ours up first and Google Earth was identifying one of our neighbors as our house; we told the PSEG people that we were the brown roof, not the green one, and they took it from there.

We would have been happy to have a solar system, but unfortunately we couldn't do it. Hope it works out for you!

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Yes, it is a 20 yr lease.......They install for free, and then you purchase the energy the panels produce at a set price. That price is guaranteed for 20 yrs. If you where to produce more than you use, you would get a check for the difference. In my case, they think my electric bill would be cut in half, after all was said and done.

We're still looking into it.....The down side is that you're locked in for 20 yrs. Even if you sell your home, the panels must stay, and the new buyer must continue your contract. Also, they do not do maintenance, or upgrades for free.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

BTW, there is another company (Trinity Solar) on Long Island offering a "No Out Of Pocket Expense" lease for 10 years. I'm also going to look into what they're offering.

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

The leasers that I knew were given the option to pay off the lease up front. They paid about 5K for the 15 yr lease. If they sell, the new owners would have to honor the lease OR the leasing company would remove the panels and install them on their new home as long as it was within a reasonable distance from the original house. Since they paid the lease up front, In the case where they might move too far away, there is nothing for the new owner to do except continue to have lower electric bills with no lease payments.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

So, to clarify, are there no batteries involved?

Do you have electricity from it only when it is generating enough, then use grid other times?