The 4 Reasons Why People Go Solar

Published on October 30, 2009 by Tor a.k.a. "Solar Fred".
Categories: Solar Trends.

Hello there, solar curious person. If you’ve just stumbled upon this site, I’m going to bet that there are 4 basic umbrella reasons why you’re here. But, hey, I could be way off, so I’ve written a rough draft of this post with some corrections. We love overwhelming praise feedback, so if I’m wrong about my broad stereotypes cogent insights, please tell me in the comments section below.  –Solar Fred

Reason #1: Saving Money.

Solar Money Bags (Photo:Flickr/Rojer)

It’s starting to dawn on you about how far solar prices have come down while your utility rates have gone up. You’ve diligently searched the Internet while procrastinating at work for more information on the solar incentives in your state and have discovered our state-by-state list to the right, where we dumb it down simplify it for you.

Of course, we would never imply that any of our beautiful, vivacious, sexy readers are cheap and easy not generous. Not at all. We know you’re here because you’re trying to save money, damn it highly intelligent, and you truly want to understand how much cash you’ll save solar economics and whether solar is right for you. Good for you. On the other hand….

Reason #2: Polar Bears (The Environment)

Please save our cute furry butts. (Photo:Flickr/JustbeingMyself)

You love trees and polar bears and breathing, and you’re tired of seeing the slow destruction of life as we know it effects of creating electricity and hot water through coal, gas, and other 19th century C02 emitting sources that will run out one day if we’re not dead before then.

As a tree hugging Prius driving liberal, “green” person, you probably know solar PV panels last for 25 or 30 years, and that they have a carbon footprint of just 1 to 4 years, according to U.S. Government scientists some well meaning group of environmentalists. So no matter how much solar prices are falling costs, you’re going solar anyway. Bless your fill out a form here heart.

Reason #3: Energy Independence

We, the Solar People… (Photo: U.S. National Archives)

You, sir or madam, have skipped the above reasons. You’re well off can really use that Federal 30% investment tax credit, baby, and you’re not overly concerned with polar bears except in seriously cute Coke commercials.

For you, going solar means sticking it to any country (other than ours) that produces oil energy independence!

You don’t want to depend on anything except your local utility that gives you decent solar rebates and fair net metering policies.  In fact, if more Americans would go solar, we’d never have to rely on any other country for anything except electronics, clothes, and anything else at Costco or Wal-Mart! So, slap those solar panels on and let me be able to afford air conditioning again, Solar Fred!

Reason #4: Your Kids

(Photo: Flickr/TedsBlog)

You know what? I’ve had my fun and hope you have too, but I’m not going to make fun of this reason. I’ve had so many letters and comments on this site about people going solar for their kids. Honest. If this is someone like you, then you really believe that global warming is a threat. You want to clean up the mess that you and past generations have made, and you don’t want to leave the problem in your children’s hands.

It’s people like you who are my heroes. Seriously. And I sincerely thank you for taking the time to come to this website, check out your state, to find out if solar is right for you.

Please Note: If you’re checking out your state’s solar programs, please be aware that we’re lazy/have a hedonistic lifestyle and have day jobs not up to date in every state; of course, we are occasionally sober do try to keep up. So if the info you’re reading seems like something pre-”Mission Accomplished” slightly out dated, feel free to check out this handy very useful but sometimes confusing database of solar incentives. Or, just get a free quote from one of our partner installers.

For whatever reason you’re here, thanks for spending your valuable procrastination time dropping by. We appreciate it when we’re conscious.

60% Rapid Depreciation for Solar Ends December 31st, Better Get Moving!

Published on October 27, 2009 by Dan Hahn.
Categories: Solar Trends.

Remember the economic stimulus of late 2008? A little known tidbit is it entailed a rapid depreciation bonus for solar energy installations completed by the end of 2009. That deadline is approaching pretty fast. What does that mean for you if you’re considering solar?

Well, not a whole lot of beans if you’re a homeowner. The 60% bonus depreciation schedule is only good for businesses. Now, if you run a home based business, that’s an entirely different story as you can depreciate that equipment since it feeds electricity into your office.

If you are a businessowner with some tax liability, you better get moving and install a system by the end of this year to take advantage of this huge benefit.

Here’s how it works: Solar energy is on a 5 year rapid depreciation schedule. This means you, the owner of the business, can write off the entire cost of the system as a loss on your taxes over these five years.

If that wasn’t awesome enough, bonus stimulus government cheese depreciation for first year is 60%. So, your business is forecasting some 2009 tax liability and you go solar, you will potentially be able to eliminate 60% of the system cost from your taxable basis (then 10% per year over the next 4 years).

This could potentially save you from paying multiple thousands of dollars in taxes. We are no tax advisors at SPR, but it is imperative you get on the horn with your local tax professional to figure your potential savings. Hop to and get solar quotes for your business here.

Solar Trick or Treat? The Scary Thing About NY Solar Rebates

Published on October 24, 2009 by Tor a.k.a. "Solar Fred".
Categories: Solar Trends.

photo: Flickr/spaceamoeba

Trick or Treat, New Yorkers.  Although it’s close to Halloween, we don’t intend to scare anyone into getting solar in New York. That’s not our style, and you guys don’t scare too easily anyway.

Nevertheless, we always try to keep readers informed about solar rebate realities, and here’s the latest:

The New York rebate for solar and other renewable energies was just cut by a chunk. If you didn’t go solar by 10/13/09, you’ve just lost a couple of thousand dollars in NY solar rebate money. The full explanation is on our updated New York solar page, but the bottom line is that Solar just got a little more expensive.  Want to hear another scary solar reality for New York? No? Tough. You can handle it.

As of this writing  in late October, the ENTIRE New York solar rebate is ending on 12/31/09. That’s just the way the law is written right now. Of course, the NY solar rebate could be re-funded, but there are a lot of projects asking to be refunded right now in New York.

So, I’m just saying, if you’re thinking about going solar in New York and you want to get the most generous rebate possible, now might be the time to get a free quote from one of our partner installers in your area.  We’ve got solar relationships with installers in the following bright and shiny New York counties:

• Albany
• Buffalo
• Cortland
• Full State
• Madison
• Nassau
• Oneirla
• Onondaga
• Putnam
• Rochester
• Rockland
• Suffolk
• Syracuse
• Westchester

Since quotes are totally free/gratis/bupkis, you’ve really got nothing to lose to see if your home is right for solar.  If not, no worries. At least, now you know.  On the other hand, if you wait, you could lose a big chunk of rebate money.  To be honest, I have a feeling the State will find the money somewhere, but it’s going to be even less after 12/31/09.  Now, you don’t have to get it installed by then to get the rebate, but you do have to have to have a signed contract with an installer.  Also, if they run out before 12-31-09, all bets are off.  Again, we’re not intentionally trying to frighten you, but to genuinely keep you informed about NY solar rebates.  You want to be frightened, try living in Newark.

Solar, Marshmallows, and Success

Published on October 19, 2009 by Tor a.k.a. "Solar Fred".
Categories: Solar Trends.

photo: Flickr/OakleyOriginals

This is not a post about Marshmallows, but as you’ll see from this very interesting and kid cute video below, successful people know how to make a good investment—even when they’re 4 or 5 year old.

The same could be true if you’re buying solar in Los Angeles, Boulder, Colorado, Philadelphia, and Phoenix, Arizona. The local solar rebates and incentives in these and other cities are a  great investment, yet a lot of people are still unsure whether it’s worth getting a free quote, fearing the upfront costs (even though they’re very low right now if you have some home equity.)

To help dampen those fears, I hope you’ll learn from the Marshmallow experiment described below. (Forgive me if you’re on a low carb diet or don’t like to watch little kids struggle with not eating a Marshmallow. So cute. But I digress.)

In this Marshmallow experiment, little kids are given a single marshmallow and told that they can eat the marshmallow right away, OR,  if they wait for 15 minutes, they’ll get 2 marshmallows. So, patience will double their marshmallow investment.

As you’ll see, 2/3 of these kids couldn’t wait, but 1/3 did wait, receiving 2 delicious marshmallows instead of one.  Here’s the really interesting part that matches making a solar investment: Years later when the kids are adults, the experimenters check on them. And what did they find?

• The kids that ate the single marshmallow had a lot of problems in their adult life and were not very successful.
• The kids that did wait and got 2 marshmallows? They turned out to be successful adults. Somehow, delayed gratification carried into their adult behavior. See for yourself in this 6 minute video:

If you think about it, Solar is the double marshmallow.

A good salesman will show you graphs about your payback period and Return on  Investment (ROI), which differ for every home based on:

• Initial installed cost
• Size of the system.
• Utility rates.
• State and/or utility rebates
• Federal and State tax incentives
• Loan rates

In general, Solar friendly states like California, New Jersey, Massachusetts and others mentioned above can see a payback within 7 to 12 years, depending on the above factors. After that, you get to eat both marshmallows (Cash!). Because not only has your system paid for itself, but it’s saving you money that you would be paying to your coal fired (think liver flavored marshmallow) utility without solar.

You can use that sweet solar marshmallow money for, say a vacation or a shopping spree. And remember that solar panels are usually guaranteed to produce clean energy for 25 years, but usually go even longer, so those savings really add up.

The point is that if you’re on the fence about going solar because of the investment, remember this Marshmallow experiment. Delicious solar marshmallows come to those who wait.

Solar Power in Phoenix, AZ – Dry Heat? No, it's a Hot Heat!

Published on October 18, 2009 by Dave Llorens.
Categories: Solar Trends.

Phoenix, AZ is one of the US’s hottest solar markets right now. Maybe the hottest.  (FYI, Solar Fred recently updated the Arizona page if you’re looking for solar power rebates, incentives, and tax credits in Phoenix, AZ).

I recently got back from Phoenix where my coworker, Brad, and I were meeting with local solar installers to pick a winner for 1BOG’s Phoenix solar group purchase program.  I’ve had the luxury of traveling around and looking at different cities for 1BOG and it’s interesting to see the differences between them. Solar markets are so nuanced geographically.

Why is Phoenix’s solar market so hot?

• GPEC – GPEC‘s chairman is also the president of the AZ Cardinals, and they have worked heavily to get the solar industry to come to Phoenix, and they’ve succeeded. They’ve worked on legislation to make AZ attractive to big solar business.
• Lots of Sun – As simple as it may sound, the residents of Phoenix know they get a lot of sun.  There’s a heat tolerance of solar panels that makes crystalline silicon solar products perform poorer in the heat, but that effect is outweighed by the massive year-round sun.  Technology aside, the year-round sun makes its citizens more receptive to listen to the idea (something we have to fight in SF, or Seattle, for example).
• Large rebates – Both utilities that service the region, SRP and APS have handsome rebates.  SRP does $2.70 per DC watt (although the cap at a 5kW system is a real hindrance in a place with huge bills due to year round AC), and SRP does a whopping $3.00/DC watt.  Pile on a $1000 AZ state solar tax credit with the 30% federal tax credit and you’ve got a solid financial proposition for most everyone in Phoenix.

What’s interesting there?

• The way they quote the Federal tax credit:  Here’s one super interesting thing.  I’ve now seen SF, LA, San Diego, Denver, Sonoma County, New Orleans.. and this is the first market where many solar installers are quoting the Federal tax credit differently.  Typically, it’s 30% of your out-of-pocket expense (the correct way, although hey, legal small print: we are not tax professionals and please consult yada yada….).  But many installers are quoting the tax credit as 30% of gross price, making it look much more attractive. I think one lawsuit (poor tax advice makes you liable to the tune of 3X your damage I believe) will settle this dispute once and for all.
• Two separate meters!  Most places that allow net metering will come and swap out your meter with a net meter when you get solar.  In Phoenix, they come and put in a second meter which is your “production” meter, and then they come every month and compare the two.  Not a biggie,  but just another piece of evidence that shows we need some national standards if you want big companies to be able to scale quickly.
• Spanish tile – Er… there’s a ton of Spanish tile and most companies don’t seem to charge adders for it because it’s so common in Phoenix. But typically tile roofs are more expensive install.  You have to be delicate with it and replace the tiles you break.

What does Phoenix’s solar market still need?

• Inspector training - It’s a relatively new market.  It’s like Denver two years ago, and so a few installers noted that there is significant expense dealing with new inspectors, who in this country, are allowed to interpret electrical code.  Because they have not seen a lot of solar, they’re likely to hold up installs, sometimes unnecessarily.
• Standards in permitting and coding:  Line side taps are not yet legal in a lot of places in Arizona, but those make solar easier (some people have to change their electrical service to get solar, which is very expensive.  A line side tap is a cheap, and excellent, alternative to that solution).  Some neighborhoods disallowed a roof mount system called tile trac (which is a great system) for whatever reason.  Things like this make it difficult for install crews to do scalable business all over the city.

When it’s all said and done, however, Phoenix is still the land of the sun and solar. Get a free quote and find out if you can take full advantage of this abundant natural resource.

Psst! Hot tip: Free Solar Conference October 28th in California

Published on October 15, 2009 by Tor a.k.a. "Solar Fred".
Categories: Solar Trends.

Photo by Sea_Turtle on Flickr

Psst! Hey, you, solar curious person! Come closer. Closer. That’s it.

Got a hot tip for you if you’re going to be around Anaheim, California (Disney Land!) on Wednesday October 28^th.  Here it is:

Solar Power International, the largest solar power show in the world for solar pros is opening the doors to John and Jane Q. Public for one night only. You heard me. One night! There will be free, gratis, n/c info about solar technology and financing from friendly solar people. There’s even going to be a seminar talking about how to get into the solar biz. Click this if you don’t believe me.

What’d I tell you? Nice, huh. Now, say, you don’t live in California or going to Disney Land at the end of October. Bummer. We wish you were here. Still, I have another suggestion that’s almost as good, sort of.

While nothing beats Solar + Disneyland, I know, take a bit of time to join VoteSolar.org and sign up for their convenient action alerts in your area. Then, when some legislators are on the fence about voting for laws to encourage solar, Vote Solar will send you an action alert email. Click on that link, add a few of your own choice words, and Shazam! All of your legislators know you’re watching how they vote for…or against solar.

Hope to see you in Anaheim at Solar Power International 2009. If not, don’t forget about Vote Solar.

Thanks.

New California Solar Incentives – Hello, Net Metering and Feed-In Cash

Published on by Tor a.k.a. "Solar Fred".
Categories: california.

Photo by Ehpien on Flickr

There’s a new reason to be proud (and financially pleased) to be a solar owner in California today. The Governator, aka Governor Schwarzenegger, said he’d be back to sign some solar bills after some political wrangling, and he did.  One bill is for residents and the other bill is a feed-in-tariff for larger commercial installations. Both mean more incentives ($$) for going solar.  Allow me to explain.

The First, AB 920, will amend the net metering law for most utilities in California, but not the city owned ones, like my very own LADWP. Bummer. But there’s hope they may copy this law. We’ll see. Meanwhile…

For solar powered Californians in San Francisco, San Diego, and my neighbors in Santa Monica and lovely Torrance, AB 920 changes the net metering law in significant ways that will encourage you to conserve power by paying you extra moula for the electricity you save. Why would you save? Because you get paid if you do.

Here’s how it works:

• With the old net metering law, if your solar panels produced more electricity than you actually used, your bill went to zero, but you got paid nothing for any extra power. The utilities just sold your extra power to your non-solar neighbors and didn’t even say thanks for the free power. How rude.
• With the new net metering law, Utilities must now PAY you cash money at the end of the year if your panels produce extra solar power. How much will they pay you per kWh?
• That’s still to be decided by the California Public Utility’s commission, but it should be significant.
• NOTE: To get your California solar rebate (separate from net metering), the maximum rebate money you can get is based on a solar system that meets your energy usage for last 12 months. Thus, purposely over sizing your system to produce more power and take advantage of this program doesn’t make financial sense. They’re probably not going to pay you THAT much extra per/kWh. The rebate law is written this way to encourage you to conserve energy from your current usage.
• Previously, owners with excess solar energy just decided to turn up the air conditioning and leave on the lights, rather than let the utility use their extra power for free. This new law fixes that mind-set. So, now, the more energy you save from your current usage, the more they’ll pay you for this new net metering program.
• The law goes into effect January 1, 2011, to allow the California Public Utility Commission to work out the details ($).
• So get rid of that old fridge and turn off the lights, damn it.

The second law, SB 32, is a Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) for commercial systems only.

• With this puppy, if you own a big warehouse with lots of roof space, you are allowed to put up more solar panels than your building uses.
• The utility will then pay the building’s owner for the extra energy at a rate that’s higher than regular electric rate.
• So, if the utility commission sets it at say 30 cents a kWh, and the regular rate is 15 cents/kWh, you’ve just made 15 cents per kWh profit for your extra solar. That may not sound like a lot until you consider how many solar panels can be crammed on top of Costco, or a high school, or Fat Sam’s Tuba Warehouse. If you produce a 1000 extra kWh a day, that’s $150 a day for letting the sun shine.
• The rate is to still to be set, so we’ll see how much this really adds up to.
• The other thing the FiT will do is jump start commercial solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) companies in California to offer their no money down programs to businesses. PPAs pay for the solar panels, and you just pay them for their discounted electric rate. Or, they could pay you for renting your roof space.
• PPA agreements are super-duper variable, so any business entertaining getting into one of these contracts should consult an experienced solar shark. –I mean, attorney. Slip of the tongue.

So that’s the news California solar people. Enjoy these extra savings and incentives while they last, for all good things must come to an end…. Before they do, get a free quote from one of our network of installers. Couldn’t hurt, ‘cause “free” is very cheap these days.

3 reasons why the Sun blows my mind

Published on October 12, 2009 by Sam Harriman.
Categories: Environment, Solar basics.

Image by NASA

I love the sun. Any bask in it is a revitalizing pause. Even when it’s cold outside, that radiating warmth from way out in space makes me feel pretty lucky. Here are 3 reasons why I think the sun is so amazing:

#1: There’s enough energy delivered here from the sun in 1 hour to power 120 trillion light bulbs for 24 hours!

That’s like giving every single person on the planet (that’s 7 billion people) a light bulb which will shine bright for their entire lifetime. Every hour, each square meter of the upper atmosphere receives 1.367kWh of solar Energy. Since a 60 watt bulb consumes 60 watt x hours in one hour, or 60 Wh x 24 hr/day = 1440 Wh per day and there are 120 trillion square meters in our atmosphere, that’s like dropping 120 TRILLION 60 watt light bulbs and still having enough electricity in one hour of sunlight for ALL of those light bulbs to shine for 24 hours!

#2: The sun is a giant nuclear explosion!

Located a mere 93 million miles away from our planet’s surface, the Sun is a thermonuclear fusion reaction. A good thing, since nuclear fusion involves temperatures in excess of 5700 ^oC, (and as high as 14 million ^oC in the case of earth’s sun). This reaction requires massive amounts of pure hydrogen gas which is found exclusively in outer space.

#3: The sun continuously pelts the earth with 35,000 times the amount of energy required by all of us who now use electricity on the planet!

That is a MASSIVE amount of electricity. That purple square above is the land area required in the United States covered in concentrating solar technology to power our entire country. Curious? Just see how far using $68B to develop solar thermal plants would go to securing our energy independence.

The #1 reason we must do better:

Out of all that energy from the sun, we only use less than .1% of it for electricity. More than any other source, we depend on electricity generated from the combustion of fossil fuels to power heat engines, which in turn rotate electrical turbines. Fossil fuels are matter which once lived on the earth’s surface, absorbed the sun’s radiant energy, died, decomposed, and became integrated into the planet’s metamorphic geology. When fossil fuels are dug up and combusted in the atmosphere, fossilized solar heat energy is released and can be harnessed to do work.

However, this turns out to be a very inefficient use of energy.  The second law of thermodynamics dictates any energy conversion involves an efficiency loss, and heat engines are one of the least efficient ways to convert energy. (Further inefficiencies result from the extraction of fossil fuels and the transport and transmission of that energy to all of us.)

In addition to being inefficient, combusting fossil fuels for energy is also impractical. Fossil fuels are the product of millions of years of undisturbed geologic action. Burning them releases carbon into the atmosphere at a rate which disrupts ecological processes.

Luckily, we’ve come up with more direct and efficient means of soaking up solar energy. Huge mirrors concentrate the sun’s rays on a thermal storage agent like water, which in turn generates steam to power turbines. Photovoltaic cells convert photons of sunlight directly into voltage and generate electrical direct current. Radiant solar energy effects movement of atmospheric fluids like air and water. And kinetic energy of moving air or water can then be harnessed to rotate an electrical turbine. Brilliant!

Solar panels, wind farms, and the like are a great solutions for the long term. If you’re wondering how you can avoid the hassle and destruction of old skül energy extraction, you’ve come to the right place. Ask your local installer how you can start harvesting energy directly from our sun.

Massachusetts Solar Power Rebates and Incentives – Updated!

Published on October 11, 2009 by Tor a.k.a. "Solar Fred".
Categories: Massachusetts.

Photo of the Massachusetts state legislature dome by David Paul Ohmer

In American History, Massachusetts has led the way in many notable trends:  Raucous tea parties, using “wicked” as a positive adjective, universal health care, and now solar energy. Yes indeed, we’ve just updated our Massachusetts solar page with much, if not all of what you need to know about going solar in Mass.

Despite the misconception that it’s too cold for solar or there’s not enough sun, the fact is Massachusetts hosts abundant solar energy potential and cold weather actually makes solar panels more efficient. As a result, the state legislature has backed that sun potential with generous solar rebates and incentives.

How much does that solar rebate luv add up for you to go solar?  Hard to say without dropping by and going over your energy usage, home value, and income level.  That’s why you need to get at least one or two free quotes from one of our partner installers. But before you do that, here’s the bottom line estimated cost for median income folk in near Boston who want to go solar.

This estimate does not include extra add-on’s for your home.

• Pre-Rebate cost: $35,000 (Don’t Panic!)
• State Rebate: Subtract $17,500.
• Mass State tax credit: Subtract $1,000
• 30% Federal tax credit: Subtract $5250
• Estimated Net Cost: $11,250

(Worst case: estimated Net Cost for a person with above “median income” living in an above “median home value:” $20,000 net cost after all incentives.)

Also, you should know:

• Payback period: Will vary depending qualifying rebates and how much rates rise. Worst case, about 14 years, but a few years sooner for moderate income/home people and if electric rates go up faster.
• Your new electric bill: Average $4 bucks month before any utility fees/taxes.
• Nasty CO2 Emissions Saving the planet: 9618lbs/year, or like not driving 11,500 miles a year or planting 18 square feet of trees. Thank you in advance for that.
• Also, remember: If your main solar equipment is manufactured in Mass, you get a little bonus of .15/watt. For a 5kW system, subtract another $750.

So check out the full Mass page with a lot more info. Or cut through all that and just click below to get a free custom quote from one or two of our solar people on the ground there. Then you can talk Red Sox, Vineyards named after Martha Somebody, and your particular solar needs. Either way, thanks for reading this and considering getting solar. Also a big thanks to Mass legislators for making it pretty easy for you guys. Massachusetts people, you Rock!

Washington State Solar Incentives—Updated!

Published on October 9, 2009 by Sam Harriman.
Categories: washington.

Contrary to what many people think, Washington state is not a perennial rainscape. In fact, More than half of the state is arid sagebrush steppe land, and even the emerald city of Seattle enjoys almost 70% as many sun-hours as L.A. annually. Summer days throughout the evergreen state are commonly clear, and last longer than anywhere else in the lower 48. Washington voters support sustainable energy policy, and legislation is a testament to that fact.

We’ve updated the Washington State Solar Incentives page today, check it out! For teasers though, look at the negative cost of a 5kW system:

Sample 5kW home solar electricity system cost — Seattle

1. Cost before incentives: $35,000 (5,000Watts*$7/W)
2. 30% Federal Tax Credit: Subtract $10,500
3. Estimated annual production ±5,500kWh*: subtract between $825 and $2,970
4. Avoided Energy Costs: subtract about $440 (cost of electricity increases 5.5%/yr)
5. Years to payback: as fast as 7 years!

Estimated Net Cost: between $21,088 and $23,233

Estimated Net Cost in 2020:¡-$12,437!**

*in most of Washington, a 5kW pv system will produce much more than 5,500kWh of electricity a year. Ask your local installer for more details.

**that’s right. A negative cost. That is the same thing as a payment. In this scenario, the system has paid you to the tune of $12,437.00!!! A 35% ROI! We kid you not. Ask your local installer for a payback estimate!