Solar is taking a lot of heat lately. (See what I did there?) I mean the bad kind of heat, where, it seems, the uneducated have very passionate opinions on the subject. I don’t claim to have vast knowledge about climate science, the environment, or how the materials and minerals in solar panels affect either. But I do have a ridiculous beard and it is grey, mostly, and that is supposed to mean I’m wise. I also have roughly twenty years of anecdotal evidence that says solar is a wise investment.
I don’t consider the environment in this decision. With respect to those who do, there are environmental impact arguments about solar that are both positive and negative. The positive leans on free energy, no smokestack pollution, and carbon footprints. The negative talks about sourcing the materials, disposal, and landfills. For me, the tie breaker is math.
Right now, (unless you already have solar) you are paying a power company for electricity. They charge you based on your usage every month. They charge you a specific rate per kilowatt. This rate goes up, year after year, as the price of everything increases. That rate, multiplied by how many kilowatts of electricity you use in 30 days, is your monthly bill. This will fluctuate from month to month and increase every year. These are the first two mathematical problems that Solar solves.
A properly sized solar electric system will produce the exact same amount of electricity that you use. There will be some fluctuation daily, monthly, and yearly, but ultimately it will eliminate your usage charge with your power company. So, the first problem is solved because you are no longer being charged a rate per kilowatt. You are paying a flat fee every month, your payment to the finance company that financed your solar loan, which will not fluctuate with usage. That payment will remain the same for the term of your loan. The second problem, rate increases, are problems for regular power company customers. The power companies will continue to raise their rates, but again, your payment stays the same no matter how much the price of everything else goes up.
A third mathematical problem is the “neverendingness” of power bills. You will never pay off your power company, but you will pay off your solar bill. When you do, your power usage expense will drop to true zero. The savings will be there, but no more bill.
A mathematical choice you will have to make for yourself is the term of your loan. You can pick how long you take to pay your loan back. A long term typically means lower payments and vice versa. We like to match up our customer’s payments with what they are spending on their electric bill every month, as close as possible, so they can go solar without affecting the family budget at all. Many times, we can get the payment even lower than what they are paying for electricity, so the savings start immediately.
So, how do you take advantage of the financial boon that is solar? It starts with an energy evaluation, preferably from us, so we can make sure that solar electric will work for you, and that your home is ready. If you do not have enough unshaded south, east, or west facing roof to put panels on, solar electric may not work for your property. If you have a sunny back yard, where a ground rack can be placed, that can be a solution. The next step is to be sure your home is ready. It is more economical to conserve energy than it is to produce it. Let me repeat, in case some of that got caught in my glorious beard, your energy saving dollar goes a lot farther applied to insulation, upgraded high-efficiency HVAC, and the latest water heating technologies than it does on panels that produce electricity.
Be careful, many solar sales organizations will fail to mention this to you. They will walk right past your ancient AC unit, your leaky attic, and that rickety water heater and gleefully quote you way more Solar Electric than you need. More panels equals more money equals a high commission for the sales representative. We want to sell you solar, never doubt that, but we want you to be happier with your properly explained and sold solar electric system than our sales representative is with their commission.
That means if your property isn’t right for solar, we’ll tell you. It means that if you have other problems that need to be addressed before you look at Solar Electric, we’ll explain those to you. In the short term it means we might not get that big solar electric sale, but in the long term it means we will have done our very best for you and, hopefully, that translates into great reviews, tons of referrals, and repeat business.
We don’t charge for energy evaluations, you really should call, remember I have a magnificent beard and it’s grey, you know, like Gandalf’s, you should listen to wise people.
