Financing New Solar Install…. Any advice?

[sdduuuude]

One tricky thing about Solar is optimizing the size of the install.

Because of the way electricity pricing is tiered, you don’t want to buy enough panels to eliminate your bill. You want to buy enough panels to eliminate only the electricity that costs more than your average cost of providing it using solar. Spread the up-front cost of the panels and other necessary equipment out over several years, then divide by the number of kwH you can produce with those in that time.

It is complicated by the fact that throughout the year, you have a different number of Sunny days per month, different electricity demands, and different pricing patterns.

Go over your bills for the last few years, if you have them, and whip out a spreadsheet to optimize the purchase size. THe key is figuring out how much electricity each panel can produce each month, thus arriving at a cost per kwH, then comparing that cost to the cost tiers for that month.

I have a good friend who did this very well as part of new construction. I guess the “new construction” rebates are better than add-on construction.

Good luck.

[sdduuuude]

Also, your solar “cost per kwH” goes down as you purchase more panels because you need some conditioning equipment (inverters, rectifiers, etc.) that convert the DC power from the panels to AC that can be put back on the grid. That stuff is fairly pricey, and you need one for every X panels.

Also, notice the “tiered” cost this creates. i.e. if you buy X+1 panels, your cost per kwh goes up.

[sdduuuude]

Also, your solar “cost per kwH” goes down as you purchase more panels because you need some conditioning equipment (inverters, rectifiers, etc.) that convert the DC power from the panels to AC that can be put back on the grid. That stuff is fairly pricey, and you need one for every X panels.

Also, notice the “tiered” cost this creates. i.e. if you buy X+1 panels, your cost per kwh goes up.

[sdduuuude]

Also, your solar “cost per kwH” goes down as you purchase more panels because you need some conditioning equipment (inverters, rectifiers, etc.) that convert the DC power from the panels to AC that can be put back on the grid. That stuff is fairly pricey, and you need one for every X panels.

Also, notice the “tiered” cost this creates. i.e. if you buy X+1 panels, your cost per kwh goes up.

[sdduuuude]

Also, your solar “cost per kwH” goes down as you purchase more panels because you need some conditioning equipment (inverters, rectifiers, etc.) that convert the DC power from the panels to AC that can be put back on the grid. That stuff is fairly pricey, and you need one for every X panels.

Also, notice the “tiered” cost this creates. i.e. if you buy X+1 panels, your cost per kwh goes up.

[sdduuuude]

Also, your solar “cost per kwH” goes down as you purchase more panels because you need some conditioning equipment (inverters, rectifiers, etc.) that convert the DC power from the panels to AC that can be put back on the grid. That stuff is fairly pricey, and you need one for every X panels.

Also, notice the “tiered” cost this creates. i.e. if you buy X+1 panels, your cost per kwh goes up.

[sd_matt]

There’s a new idea every day it seems. Surely one of these will pan out without govt help. I say hang tight.

[sd_matt]

There’s a new idea every day it seems. Surely one of these will pan out without govt help. I say hang tight.

[sd_matt]

There’s a new idea every day it seems. Surely one of these will pan out without govt help. I say hang tight.

[sd_matt]

There’s a new idea every day it seems. Surely one of these will pan out without govt help. I say hang tight.

[sd_matt]

There’s a new idea every day it seems. Surely one of these will pan out without govt help. I say hang tight.

[Cube]

“Virtual” Mello-Roos Districts for financing solar:

I don’t think I’ve seen this mentioned yet on this thread. From what I understand, AB 1709 allows for the creation of virtual Mello-Roos districts for financing solar. The idea is to use the preferred financing rates that cities and counties can command (perhaps used to command?) to finance solar installations on participating homes and then have a 20 year assessment against that home until paid in full. In theory, this provides lower rates and also automatically transfers the financing of the solar to a future owner should the current owner sell before the installation is paid off.

http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_1701-1750/ab_1709_cfa_20080619_142720_sen_comm.html

I’m very interested in solar on my house some day, and I do find this idea interesting.

Here’s a North County Times article on the subject from last January. Not sure if anything has come of this in San Diego or not…

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_0a38ee02-8cf6-55d5-aeaa-9202d4469c3d.html

[Cube]

“Virtual” Mello-Roos Districts for financing solar:

I don’t think I’ve seen this mentioned yet on this thread. From what I understand, AB 1709 allows for the creation of virtual Mello-Roos districts for financing solar. The idea is to use the preferred financing rates that cities and counties can command (perhaps used to command?) to finance solar installations on participating homes and then have a 20 year assessment against that home until paid in full. In theory, this provides lower rates and also automatically transfers the financing of the solar to a future owner should the current owner sell before the installation is paid off.

http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_1701-1750/ab_1709_cfa_20080619_142720_sen_comm.html

I’m very interested in solar on my house some day, and I do find this idea interesting.

Here’s a North County Times article on the subject from last January. Not sure if anything has come of this in San Diego or not…

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_0a38ee02-8cf6-55d5-aeaa-9202d4469c3d.html

[Cube]

“Virtual” Mello-Roos Districts for financing solar:

I don’t think I’ve seen this mentioned yet on this thread. From what I understand, AB 1709 allows for the creation of virtual Mello-Roos districts for financing solar. The idea is to use the preferred financing rates that cities and counties can command (perhaps used to command?) to finance solar installations on participating homes and then have a 20 year assessment against that home until paid in full. In theory, this provides lower rates and also automatically transfers the financing of the solar to a future owner should the current owner sell before the installation is paid off.

http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_1701-1750/ab_1709_cfa_20080619_142720_sen_comm.html

I’m very interested in solar on my house some day, and I do find this idea interesting.

Here’s a North County Times article on the subject from last January. Not sure if anything has come of this in San Diego or not…

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_0a38ee02-8cf6-55d5-aeaa-9202d4469c3d.html

[Cube]

“Virtual” Mello-Roos Districts for financing solar:

I don’t think I’ve seen this mentioned yet on this thread. From what I understand, AB 1709 allows for the creation of virtual Mello-Roos districts for financing solar. The idea is to use the preferred financing rates that cities and counties can command (perhaps used to command?) to finance solar installations on participating homes and then have a 20 year assessment against that home until paid in full. In theory, this provides lower rates and also automatically transfers the financing of the solar to a future owner should the current owner sell before the installation is paid off.

http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_1701-1750/ab_1709_cfa_20080619_142720_sen_comm.html

I’m very interested in solar on my house some day, and I do find this idea interesting.

Here’s a North County Times article on the subject from last January. Not sure if anything has come of this in San Diego or not…

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_0a38ee02-8cf6-55d5-aeaa-9202d4469c3d.html

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