 Should I put solar (photovoltaic) arrays on my house and produce my ownelectricity? We are asked this question on a daily basis and it's one I take quite seriously. So much so that I put solar cells on my house and documented the entire experience. I found that I could appreciate the value of my home, produce enough power so as to reduce my SDG&E electric bill to zero (or close to it) and do my part in moving America away from polluting fossil fuels. And I did this even though my monthly electric bill is about $60-65 per month. So read on to learn whether solar cells are right for your home and how you can most effectively shop for this alternative source of electricity. |
Videos
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video counts for a million words. In our efforts to spare you untold words, the UCAN staff helped me create two videos that, combined, take less than 10 minutes to watch. You'll see my actual experience in interviewing contractors, choosing one and having the PV installation completed on my modest condo overlooking Mission Valley. Of course, you'll also get a healthy doses of my humor. Viewer beware.
Solar Installation Bids
After a LOT of research about San Diego solar installers, I chose to interview six local solar companies. Five of the companies submitted bids and they all agreed to allow me to share the bids with the public: Carlson-Real Goods, Stellar Solar, Borrego Solar, Home Energy Systems and CleanTech. Some of them agreed to even be in the videos!
They are all reputable and knowledgeable installers and I'd be comfortable recommending any of them. Carlson and CleanTech came up with the lowest bids and both were very qualified and competent. It was a tough call, but the best price was my final (although not only) consideration. Sure enough, Carlson-Real Goods delivered as promised. The installation was done in less than two days, their installers were extremely professional and they did a great job at a fair price. I'd encourage you to get bids from any or all of the installers --- and review the bids we've posted here so that you can see what to expect. Oh, and don't be shy about mentioning that you found their information at the UCAN web site --- they'll know that you've done your homework and will treat you as an informed and savvy customer.
photovotaics and the government
Any insights on the following questions??
1) Are either the Federal Gov or State going to increase the rebate or tax credit incentive for installing this system?
2) We were told by an installer that SDGE would continue to charge us about $15/month, even if we produced extra energy during the month. For several months, I tried to contact SDGE, but never was able to reach a person. Is it true that homeowners continue to be charged on a monthly basis, and for what is this charge?
3) What are the chances that SDGE will be required to pay for energy received from homeowners, as opposed to stealing it? Or even actually providing a credit for helping to reduce residential use (after all, they tell us every month to cut back)?
Bid question
Michael-- First of all, thank you very much for sharing your experiences and knowledge regarding your recent PV system purchase. I have one question... on the News 8 story, you mentioned your system ended up costing about $12,000, but the Carlson quote shows about $17,000. They didn't subtract the $2,000 for the Federal Tax rebate, so that would put the total at about $15,000. How did you save the other $3K? Thanks again-- I had been thinking about "going solar" for a while, but your story has given me an incentive to take action.
The rest of the savings...............
Hi Alex -
Thanks for your inquiry. My wife and I both have home offices. That allows us to take an additional tax credit (for commercial installations) and also take advantage of accelerated depreciation of the installation. It is one of the reasons that people who have home offices should look at PV installations very seriously. The economics improve dramatically for commercial customers.
Thanks!
Thanks very much for all your help, Michael.
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