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[keveburd]

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[bshaw]

If your primary objective is to power your home during a short term power outage, you might consider using your EV as the battery to power the fridge and other essential appliances in your home. There is a great thread on the forum that has suggestions on what equipment to get and how to safely connect your MME to the panel.

As for solar, like you already said, there are a lot of variables that determine whether it’s a financially sound investment right now. It’s a very profitable business for the solar sales/ Installers, and it’s generally in high demand, so with those conditions, and your tax situation, it’s not likely that you’ll be able to get a favorable deal from a financial standpoint. I think most people get solar because they want to reduce their personal carbon footprint or are excited about the technology.

 

[ChargedCheese]

Sounds like SunRun. They are super shady. I love that they are now calling me from India with spoofed caller IDs.

I'll post here if I find a company I trust, but at this point, they've all tried to sell me $10k worth of parts for a $30k installed price. I'm glad you figured out the craziness before you signed anything.

 

[RickMachE]

Yes, the industry does seem shady, and promises seem to be worthless. We've analyzed it more than once and never taken the plunge due to too long a payback period.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Sounds like SunRun. They are super shady. I love that they are now calling me from India with spoofed caller IDs.

I'll post here if I find a company I trust, but at this point, they've all tried to sell me $10k worth of parts for a $30k installed price. I'm glad you figured out the craziness before you signed anything.

That's not a good sign. Ford has partnered with SunRun as their installation partner for the Lightning's Charge Station Pro and emergency backup power system.

Hopefully SunRun is better than their telemarketing suggests.

 

[nrevezzo]

I did my research on solar at the end of last year and decided to go with Tesla for solar + battery. I'm currently waiting for them to "resolve supply chain issues".
I used a web site called Energy Sage(energysage.com) to educate myself and get quotes for solar installations.
One thing I learned is that this is a purchase like any other. The companies that offer 20 year leases come with high financing costs. Kind of like a 30 year house mortgage. You can finance the purchase through other means like a home equity loan which should have more favorable terms.
Find out what the per watt cost of solar is in your area and look for pricing that is close to that rate. In my area the per watt cost at the end of last year was under $3. Tesla came in at $2.01. Others were at $2.10.
Regarding a long term outage IMO you would be better served by a whole house generator than a battery.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Regarding a long term outage IMO you would be better served by a whole house generator than a battery.

Or getting a single fixed battery and an F-150 Lightning.

 

[bellyer]

I had 14 SunPower panels put on my house in Chicago by Certasun last year and they were awesome. I can't say enough good things about them. I think they may only service Illinois, Massachusetts, and part of Wisconsin. We are rebuilding our garage this year and will be putting a bunch more panels on there and will be having Certasun do the work. We did not do a home battery system because power outages in the City of Chicago are, for the most part, very short. We are looking at doing solar at our cottage in Wisconsin (outside of Certasun's service area unfortunately). There is a local company out of Green Bay that we would be working with there and they are very reputable. We would be doing a home battery there, as it is a rural wooded area where it is possible that power outages could take a while to restore.

 

[Mopey]

I have solar with battery (from a small installer) and am an enthusiastic supporter. However, it does sound like you might be better off with a whole house generator. Much cheaper if your primary concern is backup power.

 

[Motomax]

solar loans are not regulated like vehicle or home loans. They aren’t required to give you a break down.

First ALWAYS assume the loan numbers given to you include the rebate unless otherwise told. Second, know that you are paying a hefty hidden fee (points) to get that low apr, solar loans are nothing more than personal loans with the interest paid down. third, always ask to see the cash price so you can compare.

When I bought my solar panels from sunpower, the cash price was about 30% cheaper than the financing option (this is BEFORE calculating the interest payments). My Advise is never get a solar Loan and Never lease panels.

Currently home batteries are simply not worth it cost wise. You will never get your money back. If you only lose power every few years, just buy a small generator. I have a feeling most EVs in the next few years will be capable of two way power.

I would recommend Panasonic, sunpower, or REC with emphase microinverters based on my research but the most important factor is finding a good local installer. Sunpower is nice because you only deal with a single company but having a great installer to do the work and stand up for you when you have issues makes it that much easier if you have problems. The only thing I don’t like about sunpower is that they only give customers access to live total power output and not broken down by each inverter. This makes it a little harder to notice a bad inverter but it keeps them from getting constant complaints from people who don’t understand shade.

 

[timbop]

I got my panels from "Solar Energy World", but I don't know if they have a presence in your area. I also did not get a battery because we rarely ever lose power for more than a minute. However, since the micro inverters on the panels do not export power if the sine wave from the grid is not present, that means you won't get solar power during an outage either. Fortunately if you have a battery backup then the micro inverters will export the power to your house - so if I had it to do over again I probably would have gotten a battery.

Definitely shop around, definitely DO NOT do a power purchase agreement, and definitely get multiple quotes.

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

I highly recommend finding your small local solar installer. Find a business with panels on their property and asked who did their work. For me, it was my local bank, followed by my Ford Dealership. I would all but guarantee that they didn’t go with a predatory business partner.
That said, ANY business with a government incentive WILL UNDOUBTEDLY attract these scum businesses. Whether it’s solar panels, stair lifts, or motorized wheel chairs, there’s some shady asshat waiting to use your name to line their pockets with whatever the government will give them to “help” you. I look at them like lawyers… if their soliciting your business, it’s for their benefit. The good ones don’t have to try and find more work.

 

[DYohn]

I went through a local electrical contractor and not through one of the "solar" companies. I had the contractor install a 14.5Kw roof-top array, all properly permitted and interfaced with the grid, using Canada Solar panels and Enphase micro-inverters, with the capability of adding a battery once their cost comes down from the stratosphere. Total for parts, permits and installation was right around $30K in 2017. And I own the system, no shenanigans about paying reduced electric rates to lease a system that I would then have to buy or have removed in 25 years. Since I am grid-tied I pay the local utility a monthly connection fee and whatever usage that I don't generate. My monthly electricity bill averages about $35, down from the $200+ I was paying before. I'm happy.

 

[BMT1071]

I went through a local electrical contractor and not through one of the "solar" companies. I had the contractor install a 14.5Kw roof-top array, all properly permitted and interfaced with the grid, using Canada Solar panels and Enphase micro-inverters, with the capability of adding a battery once their cost comes down from the stratosphere. Total for parts, permits and installation was right around $30K in 2017. And I own the system, no shenanigans about paying reduced electric rates to lease a system that I would then have to buy or have removed in 25 years. Since I am grid-tied I pay the local utility a monthly connection fee and whatever usage that I don't generate. My monthly electricity bill averages about $35, down from the $200+ I was paying before. I'm happy.

Do you have SRP or APS?

 

[DYohn]

Do you have SRP or APS?

SRP, East Mesa area

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