Solar panels

[cgr]

Seems the Fed tax credit increased to 30%
@cgr did you write anything about the new tax credits?

No

[gmd]

Anyone familiar with Trinity Solar?

[dovy2]

If you live in Brooklyn + receive any public assistance (snap, heap etc) + are interested in going solar, PM me, I can share with you how to get over 10k off the total cost (real money, not "credits").
Please don't PM out of curiosity, only if you're serious

[Mordyk]

Anyone familiar with tesla solar? Are they cheaper than the rest? They have now a very nice product.  Looks almost like your roof.

[Ralphie]

I met with a sales rep from Trinity Solar yesterday. They're offering to lease solar panels to me for 25 years and lock in my monthly payment at $140 for the full duration of the lease which is about the same amount I pay for electricity in the winter months. During the summer months I pay about $350. It seems like a no-brainer to me. Am I missing something? Is there a downside I'm not aware of?

[HowYaDoin]

Speak to someone about financing I'm very confident your rate won't be much more and it will only be for 10 years and then free. You may be eligible for additional credits as well depending on where you live.

I personally used powerlutions 5 years ago and I couldn't be happier

[lcm]

I met with a sales rep from Trinity Solar yesterday. They're offering to lease solar panels to me for 25 years and lock in my monthly payment at $140 for the full duration of the lease which is about the same amount I pay for electricity in the winter months. During the summer months I pay about $350. It seems like a no-brainer to me. Am I missing something? Is there a downside I'm not aware of?

Do they do maintenance too? Does it include battery storage?
What if you want to stop the contract? What happens after the lease is up?

That being said, this type of offering has become very popular in South Africa.

[Ralphie]

They do maintenance too. Expensive to cancel, must pay present value of future monthly payments plus more. No purchase option at the end. What do you mean by battery storage?

[lcm]

They do maintenance too. Expensive to cancel, must pay present value of future monthly payments plus more. No purchase option at the end. What do you mean by battery storage?

That's a rough commitment for such a long time, this technology can get so cheap with more developments.
At the end they remove it, or force you to renew?

Do they offer battery storage to store surplus energy generated during the day to use at night?

[Ralphie]

At the end they remove it.

The surplus energy generated gets sent to the grid but gets credited to my "energy bank".

[avromie7]

Speak to someone about financing I'm very confident your rate won't be much more and it will only be for 10 years and then free. You may be eligible for additional credits as well depending on where you live.

I personally used powerlutions 5 years ago and I couldn't be happier

What happens if it doesn't produce as much as anticipated?

[yos9694]

I met with a sales rep from Trinity Solar yesterday. They're offering to lease solar panels to me for 25 years and lock in my monthly payment at $140 for the full duration of the lease which is about the same amount I pay for electricity in the winter months. During the summer months I pay about $350. It seems like a no-brainer to me. Am I missing something? Is there a downside I'm not aware of?

Do you expect the panels to produce as much as you use? If your electric bill will go down by $140/month then it does seem like a no brainer. If it only produces $100/mo then it's very much a brainer. It all comes down to kWh. How many kWh did you use each month last year? How many kWh will the panels produce? Does the company make any adjustments if production falls short?

If your electric company does net metering then you dont need battery storage.

[Thrifty]

What happens if it doesn't produce as much as anticipated?

Our contract states a minimum amount of electricity that the system is expected to produce per year.  If the system produces less they owe us money.

(Not that I've ever taken the time to check it out at the end of the year.)

[Ralphie]

Do you expect the panels to produce as much as you use? If your electric bill will go down by $140/month then it does seem like a no brainer. If it only produces $100/mo then it's very much a brainer. It all comes down to kWh. How many kWh did you use each month last year? How many kWh will the panels produce? Does the company make any adjustments if production falls short?

If your electric company does net metering then you dont need battery storage.

Yes, they do net metering.

We went through my electric usage history and came up with an estimate on how many panels I would need to support that. The hope is that the estimate was accurate and they won't need to add panels and cost.

[yos9694]

Yes, they do net metering.

We went through my electric usage history and came up with an estimate on how many panels I would need to support that. The hope is that the estimate was accurate and they won't need to add panels and cost.

If that's the case, and you expect your electric bill to be nearly zero, it does sound like a no brainer.

There's one catch about net metering, which is resetting your balance to zero once a year. IME they do the reset in May, right before the start of AC season, and pay out any remaining rollover (at an extremely low rate). Even if the panels produce 100% of your usage on average, because of this timing you might have some excess billing right after the reset and excess production right before the next reset. Do others have this experience too?

[avromie7]

If that's the case, and you expect your electric bill to be nearly zero, it does sound like a no brainer.

There's one catch about net metering, which is resetting your balance to zero once a year. IME they do the reset in May, right before the start of AC season, and pay out any remaining rollover (at an extremely low rate). Even if the panels produce 100% of your usage on average, because of this timing you might have some excess billing right after the reset and excess production right before the next reset. Do others have this experience too?

I don't know the rules in all locations, but IIRC in JCP&L you get 1 opportunity to change the reset date. The default is based on when your system comes online. I think March is likely the best, it's when solar production is increasing. It allows you to use up any banked energy during the winter.

[Young man]

If it’s still relevant, I am a broker for solar and I can help you out with everything you need
845-263-6594
Or avorhombee@gmail.com

[HudZ]

I'm hearing many positives about installing solar panels...

Are they 100 percent safe? Is it proven that there is no radiation involved?

[Definitions2]

I'm hearing many positives about installing solar panels...

Are they 100 percent safe? Is it proven that there is no radiation involved?

Which part of it do you think is possibly emitting any harmful radiation?

[skyguy918]

I'm hearing many positives about installing solar panels...

Are they 100 percent safe? Is it proven that there is no radiation involved?

Why wouldn't they be safe?