As with any big decision, my OCD side needed to sit and make a list of pros and cons.
CONS:
-Big upfront cost = more debt!! We would have to take out a $15,000 home equity loan to pay for the panels. This was definitely the biggest factor we had to consider. I hate debt! :(
-Solar panels might be considered "ugly" by some potential future buyers.
-It's hard to project solar generation (you can guesstimate approximate returns, but the weather is fickle), so it makes it a bit tricky to get exactly the right sized system. Most companies try to offset about 95% of your electricity usage, but panels do degrade slightly over time, so it isn't a perfect science.
PROS:
-Cost effective Investment: With the size of system we would need, our monthly loan payment would be the nearly the same as our current electrical bill, but it would stay the same even if power prices go up. And after the loan is paid off, we would have virtually no power bill.
-Solar is renewable = less reliance on coal and fossil fuels. While not very tangible, it is a feel-good reason because you are preserving the planet.
-Increase in home value
-No emissions! In Utah that is huge because of the terrible inversions that we get every winter.
-Self-Sufficient: With the prices on batteries coming down, within the next few years, we could buy a storage battery that would allow us to go completely off-grid during an emergency. The battery would allow us to run our house (minimally) indefinitely because the panels would recharge every day. That is a dream scenario for us!
After making this list, we decided to get some quotes and look more into it. With the current federal and state tax breaks on solar, it is remarkably feasible to do right now. If we decided to wait a few years, we would lose $8000 in tax returns. Utah's program expires this year, so by waiting even a few more months, we would lose out on $2000 from the state. These incentives put a timetable on our decision.
In total, we got 4 different bids. The cost was all over the place, ranging from $24,000-$48,000 (not including the tax breaks). Jonathon really did a lot of homework and knew about the equipment we would need, the size of system that we would want, and how the whole process worked. He was able to go through each quote and pick them apart piece by piece to see which one would get us what we wanted. He was so well-informed that I think he surprised several of the salesman and might have even stumped a few with his questions and concerns.
As part of our research, we talked to our neighbors down the street who got solar panels a few years ago. They had nothing but great things to say about the company they worked with and solar panels in general. We decided to get a quote from the same company they used. Red Stone Solar is a small, locally owned company. They use great quality products, and they can keep costs down by having limited employees and little overhead. The owner of the company, Chris, is a BYU grad. He came out personally and gave us a quote and packet explaining exactly what we could expect. We were impressed by his honesty and personal passion for green energy, and he also gave us the lowest quote!
Jonathon was excited and ready to sign the papers, but I was feeling really nervous. I hate getting into debt and wasn't sure if we wanted to commit to something so big and long-term. I drug my feet for a few days because I wasn't feeling at peace with the decision. On the day that Chris came back out to discuss more with us, he told us that the city council was voting the next day whether or not to add a new fee to all solar owners. The fee would substantially increase our bill each month and would really make solar power less appealing financially. I was glad that we hadn't signed anything yet so that we had a chance to see how the vote would end up and if we wanted to continue.
There are some valid arguments about why they should put fees on solar users, but the high dollar amount of the fee and the fact that they were imposing it on all solar panel owners without a "grandfather clause" made people angry.
Jonathon attended the city council meeting the next night and actually got up and spoke in opposition to the new fee. He gave an impassioned speech and actually received applause, even though the rules were that no one should respond to the speakers. There were tons of people in opposition to the fees, but the city council didn't take anything that was said into account and voted for the new fees. We were so disappointed in their decision. The next day, news agencies all over the valley were reporting on the decision and angry citizens were voicing their discontent. While we were reading one of the articles about it in the Salt Lake Tribune, Jonathon noticed that they had actually quoted from his speech during the meeting. Haha! We had no idea and were completely surprised to see his name in the newspaper. Here is his quote:
"Jonathan H., a biology professor who is weighing whether to put solar on his home, told the council it was neglecting key policy implications by penalizing solar customers."This year is setting up to be the hottest year on record once again. Over the summer we got a quarter-inch of rain. We got nothing. We've had algae blooms and environmental impacts. To deny that our environment is not being impacted by our existence here is foolish," said Hill. He calculated that every kilowatt-hour of coal-fired power that is displaced by solar results in a societal benefit worth 10 cents, about what Provo pays to subsidize solar by purchasing it from net-metered customers at a retail rate. "It is not that the solar owners are taking all these benefits for themselves. These benefits are shared by the community. To ask the community to help subsidize this cost is not unfair," Hill said.
We followed the story carefully for a few days, and were relieved when our awesome mayor vetoed the council's decision. That didn't mean that there would never be a fee added, but it meant that they were going to take more time to examine all the pros and cons before making a decision. In the meantime, this whole process taught us that we really were passionate about becoming more energy efficient. We want to do our part to improve the environment and to become more self-sufficient. We hate the terrible inversions that Utah suffers through each winter and want to do our part to make them better. We hate our country's reliance on coal, oil and oil-producing countries (Sarah with her geography and history background can tell you about many of the problems oil has caused around the world). And we absolutely love the idea of someday getting a battery that can allow us to go off-grid during an emergency. In short, a fire was lit under us! So, although nothing was officially solved regarding the future prices of solar power, we realized that it was still worth it to us to move forward. That was exactly what I needed to help me be at peace with the decision.
After the veto, we immediately called up Chris and signed all the paperwork to get started. We went with SolarWorld panels (Submodule Plus SW 290 Black) that have a 25 year warranty, and a SolarEdge inverter (SE-7600A-US) that comes with a 12 year warranty and lifetime monitoring included. These are not the cheapest or most expensive ones on the market, but they are highly rated, are made by well-respected companies, and have great warranties. We felt good about the proposal that Christ prepared and went with his suggestions. It took about two weeks to get all of the proper permits and net-metering agreement through the city. After that, it took about a week for Red Stone Solar to install all of the panels and get our system up and running. When we finally flipped the switch of our system, Jonathon said it felt like magic. We watched as the meter started moving, powered by nothing but the sun. It was surreal!
 |
| The view of our solar panels from the back |
The project was completed in mid November. I was shocked at how good it looked. From the road, they are almost completely unnoticeable. They are in a single array and are dark like our roof. It really was the perfect scenario. We have had fun using the online app to see exactly how much power our solar panels are producing. On bright, sunny days, we watch in amazement as we are able to offset all of our energy usage. Even on rainy overcast days, we are much more mindful of doing all we can to use less power. Being so vigilant about our energy usage has given us a new perspective and helped us be more conscious of everything we are doing... even if it is just remembering to turn off all the lights when we leave the house. Jonathon likes to compare it to gardening. Just like you are much more appreciative of food you grow, you are much more grateful for electricity when you are making it on your roof. Since it is winter, we won't see the full benefits of solar for a while. Due to many overcast winter days, we are not yet producing enough to fully offset our power bill, but come summer, we will be creating a surplus that we can roll into next winter.
Lastly, just some numbers to help understand why we decided to go forward with Solar Energy. Our 6.9 kWh system (24 panels) was designed to offset at least 95% of our total energy usage. The total cost of the system was $23,142 - $8,343 in tax rebates = $14,799 in Home Equity loans. Last year we spent an average of approximately $122/month on power. This year with our solar panels, we are expecting to pay about $109/month on the home equity loan+ a potential $13 in remaining power bill for a total of $122. That means that if we stick with our average power usage from last year, we will break even in our average utility payments. If we can decrease our average power usage, we could even be paying less per month with our solar panels. When the loan amount gets paid off in the next 10-15 years, we will then pay almost nothing for power. Solar panels are expected to work at 85% efficiency even after 30 years, so it is a huge financial win in the long run! And as Jonathon kept pointing out when trying to convince me, we would always have to pay for power monthly, but now our loan payment each month will remain the same, even if the cost of power goes up (which is pretty much a certainty... some predict power rates could even rise significantly in the near future!) Even though I fought it at first, solar panels made a lot of financial and environmental sense, and we are thrilled we had the opportunity to go green!
No comments:
Post a Comment