Any FR4x4 members worked with SolarCity?

[94ToyBear]

Had Solarcity come by today and talk about options.
Im leaning to the No side.
Seems as if im giving up to much with out getting back what its all worth.
Online reviews are low but can be found high depending on what site used.
Anyone have opinions on them or solar in general?

[Jim]

I have a FoCo client that went solar. I'll check if it was a solar city setup.

[Spieg]

Only know them by reputation. Seem to be a pretty large player in the solar lease market now that Tesla owns the company. Products seem to be of good quality and design but cost more than most options (probably worth it if you plan to live with the system for a long time).

I don't really like any of the lease options (much like cars and cell phones, renting is usually more expensive than buying in the long run). As you said, you give up too much of the savings for the luxury of having someone else make the initial investment.

[Jim]

A bit of info in reply:


Hi Jim,
Yes, we have Solar City. We are now in year 3 and are very happy with it. Overall, a great program! This was the affordable way / only way for us to get solar panels and it is a lease-to-own product.

They will do a free analysis of the home and give an estimate of the system size that can be installed. I think they are still planting trees for any trees that would be removed in the process.
We qualified for no money down and Solar City did all the inspections, permits, install and hook up the meter to the city electric grid. Solar City told us that the city of Fort Collins is easy to work with for the entire process, unlike some other areas so this helped the process go more quickly, but it still was a 3-month wait for the actual install. They were transparent about the whole process.

This system costs us $55/ per month for the life of the contract to Solar City (a larger system will be more $). It was guaranteed as a 7 KW system (limited by the size of our roof and number of solar panels) and we actually generate a bit more than 7 kw per year. The solar energy generated each day goes into the city grid and we get the credit for the KWs. We pay for at least ½ - ¾ of our electric bill with solar and are on wind power (through the city) for the rest. The set-up also comes with a smart meter and a program that gives you all the stats – by day, by week, by month and year so we can check it anytime and compare to last year by day/ week/ month.

Hope this info helps!

Regards,

[94ToyBear]

With numbers it dont really make sense to me or at least in our case.
Ownership options add up to us just buying the panels over a 20 year course.
59 a month locked in for the 20 year
Thats 240 months for 14,160.

To purchase Panels w/o install its around 12.5K

The way i see it, we will be buying solar panels over 20 years.

Our average electric bill is below that.......so the only benefit i see is i get to avoid is an inconsistent rate from excel......
Am i missing something?

[Patrolman]

My personal opinion is that you would do much better financially by making energy improvements rather than going solar. We converted to all LED bulbs throughout the house. Probably under $100 but saves a huge amount of electricity. We also use a gas dryer instead of an electric dryer, which is a major cost saver. The hot water heater is gas (some are electric). We use a whole-house swamp cooler all Summer rather than A/C. All of this has added up to major savings, and was probably under $1,000 total for the equipment.

[94ToyBear]

Im with you Jeff !
Right now we have an electric stove, electric dryer and a small swamp cooler that was ment for the garage only but ended up attempting to cool our house this summer.
Id like to go Gas range, gas dryer and a larger swap cooler so i dont have to run the small cooler all hours
Id like to switch to LED in most areas of the house, and use timed motion sensor switches on the lights that forget to be turned off when not in use.

Another down fall to to our house that we want to address in 2017 are our late 70's aluminum Windows.

I replaced our front door and installed new seals and that had a major effect in our living room.

Another thing i need to get done is window well covers, i simi have them in place to stop the draft coming in.

[Patrolman]

The gas stove and oven won't bring back as much savings as you might think, unless you cook/bake a TON. We kept those electric.

The LED bulbs at Costco are inexpensive. I think about 50 cents a bulb. They were cheap enough we changed them all. Rather than the motion/time switches I opted for dimmer switches. The LED uses such a small amount of power, if it is left on, it really isn't a harm. The dimmer is a nice feature.

The swamp cooler will help a lot. Running all the time, they don't use much electricity. Ours runs almost all day during the Summer. It adds just a minimal amount of usage. The AC uses considerably more. Our swamp cooler is on the side of the house at the peak of the roof. It has duct work through the attic to each bedroom. Keeps the upstairs very cool, and it flows to the main level.

Our house has newer windows. It would take FOREVER to recoup the cost of windows in heating expenses though. Windows could cost you $10k-$20k. Making sure you have sufficient insulation first would help more.

One thing that I did was put sheet styrofoam in the windows (particularly basement). Similar to putting the plastic sheeting over the windows. It pops in easily for Winter, and pops out for Summer. You can buy 4x8 sheets that are a couple inches thick at Home Depot relatively cheap. Cut them to the right size, just make sure they will be snug. They provide some "insulation" and also help to provide a seal to leaky windows.

[94ToyBear]

Replaced 15 bulbs today, have about 15 to go.
Ill have to check the costco brand this weekend to finish the rest, better then what i got today.

Ive considered using some foam installation in the basement, at least temporary till i can reseal them.

As far as Windows go i can do the labor side of things, still will be expensive, but at least my furnace and Bone wont over work them selfs.
I only Have 5 Windows to replace. I think 4 of them are 46x60

[Brad]

I have been on the energy saving plan as well. Trying to seal up a poorly built duplex sucks. We are planning to move soon and eventually buying land and building a steel building with a container home. Looking to make it as off the grid as possible if not completely.

[Spieg]

Not solar related but while we're discussing alternative energy saving solutions... Best cooling device I've found is an attic fan (sometimes called a whole house fan). Inexpensive, easy to install, and no increased risk of mold like I had with a swamp cooler. I only run the A/C about 2-3 days a year now.

[Jim]

Best cooling device I've found is an attic fan (sometimes called a whole house fan)

YEP!

Had one as a kid in Illinois. Brother has one here in H`Ranch. Wife opens windows in the evening and lets it run all evening. In the AM it gets shut off and windows get shut - sun facing curtains might be kept closed too - to keep the cool in the house.

[Patrolman]

I was afraid of having moisture/mold issues with the swamp cooler. Friends who used them on the roof often had leaks which was bad news. Mine is a "side draft" so it fits on the side of the house and ducts into the attic. Any leak would just leak onto the ground. There is no way it can leak "into" the house or attic.

[94ToyBear]

Iv considered a attic fan, but want to get Radon system first.
If wondered what a basment fead with a swamp cooler and an attic fan can do together.
I really have no experience with attic fans other then diagnosing why a water heater pilot light wont stay on.
I was pretty impressed of how much draw the attic can can pull!
On the other had, White noise can ruin a good day for me. Lol

[husky390]

I had Vent Masters install a Quiet Cool whole house fan in the house we bought this summer. They also installed a bigger attic fan and additional vents as the house was built with insufficient attic ventilation. The Quiet Cool fan is much quieter than your typical whole house fan but doesn't move quite as much air. I didn't mind the white noise of the noisier fans but I prefer my Quiet Cool fan. A whole house fan will not help you if your attic has insufficient ventilation.

http://www.ventmasters.com/

I also have Sunrun solar panels installed that came with the house. We had to assume the lease, which I was not thrilled about and is something you'll definitely want to consider if you plan to sell your home. Think: downturn in the housing market and picky buyers who don't want to deal with the lease. Since the market was hot, we wanted the house and were tired of getting our teeth kicked in, we put in an offer. If the market was slow, I would have passed.

Assuming the lease was easy, but the jury is still out on whether having solar is worth it. If I'm still here when the lease is up, it'll be tempting to call them up and tell em to get their crap off my roof. I guess it will depend on what energy costs are by then. You will also have additional conduit and electrical panels running outside of your house and the inverter which requires an internet connection installed inside of the house. On sunny days, the inverter is noisy. You will also have roof penetrations from the system so you'll want to find out what their policies are regarding roof replacements from a hail storm and you'll also want to ensure your roof is strong enough to support the system.

Also, you'll want to find out if the house is going to get power off of the system only during the day or day and night. If it's only going to power your house during the day and you're never home during the day and you don't have A/C, ask yourself, what's the point.

My lease is fixed at $66/month, all rebates and extra power generated are sold to Xcell and are kept by Sunrun. There have been months, including winter months, where I've had to pay XCELL for additional electricity. I've also seen some contracts floating around on the internet by SolarCity where the monthly payment goes up every year. I wouldn't want anything to do with a contract like that.

On a side note, it amuses me to listen to greenies preach about how great solar is but then admit to not owning/leasing a system.

[dieseldoc]

Check this out....
Linky thingy

http://http://m.magnifierengine.net/text/?load=true&render=index&suid=8raQOPAGfo,VIppJA7RMt8DtRGf

[Chris]

Bad link - extra http:// maybe?

[dieseldoc]

Ok just A minute....

http://m.magnifierengine.net/text/?load=true&render=index&suid=8raQOPAGfo,VIppJA7RMt8DtRGf


Fixed linky thingy

Ground electricity. Found this thing on Infowars.

[dieseldoc]

Anyone looking to get Windows and do the work on There own let me know.
My buddy works for champion here in town.

[94ToyBear]

That would be me.....might look in to it after taxes come i,

[dieseldoc]

Cool man. Hope things are going well for you and the family.