5 Reasons to Get a Solar Installer Quote Once a Year

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Published on March 24, 2010 by Tor a.k.a. "Solar Fred".
Categories: Buying Solar, Solar Pricing, solar incentives.

Solarqut5 300x225 5 Reasons to Get a Solar Installer Quote Once a Year

Note to Self… Find a Solar Installer….

If you’re visiting at Solar Power Rocks, you’re probably here because you’re curious about getting solar installed for your home or business.

And yet, we know that a lot of people who visit our site meander away without ever checking to get a free solar quote, even though it’s, you know…free. Well, here are 5 pretty damn good reasons why you should get a solar quote once a year, starting with, you know, now:

1) Solar panels are getting commoditized.

Like oil and orange juice, solar panels are now becoming a commodity. Due to an oversupply in the world, solar panel prices have come down 40% to 60% in the last year alone. We’re talking a price drop in parts, not labor, but that parts discount might have made solar finally within your reach. But you won’t know that unless you get a quote.

2) Solar rebates and solar incentives change every year, sometimes several times a year.

States, utilities, and cities can all offer rebates and tax incentives. Sometimes these rebates run quickly out of funding. Other times, they’re brand new rebates that nobody had last year. Also, there are states like California where rebates are reduced incrementally as more people go solar. How these incentives affect your solar budget cannot be predicted without getting an individual quote for your home’s energy needs.

3) Energy prices and utility rates are rising.

As sure as death, taxes, and sunrises, electric rates are going to go up. You will never see them go down. Never. With solar, however, once you buy the system through a home equity loan or PACE program, that’s it. That monthly payment is locked in. So every time electric rates go up, no worries. In fact, that’s money in your pocket that you can invest or use to buy something else, like beer, or a Mini Cooper. Please drink and drive responsibly….separately, I mean.

4) Net metering laws change. So do solar policies.

If you don’t know what net metering is, well, fine. Learn about it here. I’ll wait….Now that we’re on the same page, just know that this law is not set in stone. For example, California almost lost its net metering a few months back, and that would have made solar a lot more expensive and killed a growing green industry. A solar installer giving you a quote could warn you about net metering changes, or new financing programs like PACE. But you don’t know unless you ask.

5) It’s good to benchmark your solar costs once a year.

As we’ve seen, solar panel prices have dropped, rebates rise and fall, and energy prices will rise every year. Therefore, if you know what solar cost you last year, you’ll be able to show yourself and your family that the price has really come down, and now’s the time to go solar. Finally. Or not.

But either way, by getting a quote once a year, you can have the solar facts, and not just guess.

Read the 2 brilliant comments below or add yours!

JTS Identicon Icon JTS
Comment on March 25th, 2010.

Your comment about electric prices is generally true. Not necessarily so when it comes to Texas where the prices are set in a competitive market vs. regulators. They rise and fall generally based on the price of natural gas. Given the fact that natural gas prices have fallen in the past couple of years, electric prices in the Texas competitive market have also dropped (not risen) as well.

I realize you are writing in generally across for what is happening in the U.S. and the important point you were trying to make about checking out the cost of solar. I agree.

Just making the point that in a competitive market like Texas, your comment on prices isn’t necessarily so.

Comment on March 25th, 2010.

JTS, thanks for the heads up. As you noted, I was speaking generally. However, I would expect that my view holds true for the majority of states. Texas is very much the exception.

Thanks for commenting!

Pingback on March 25th, 2010.

[...] solar power for years, and have a quote hanging around from 2007, get another one. Better yet, get a solar quote every year, says my solar-powered friend, Tor [...]

Comment on April 5th, 2010.

Here in Utah the major electrical utility company has asked for several rate increases over the past few years and many of the requests have been approved. This has been somewhat of a shock (but not unexpected), because for the past twenty years or so our electrical prices have remained relatively flat.

Also, after comparing prices from our suppliers from last year to this year, I’ve realized panel prices have dropped near the 60% mark. It is only a matter of time before grid parity can be achieved.

Sheryl Identicon Icon Sheryl
Comment on June 11th, 2010.

There is a lot of discussion going on about Solar power, but where can the financial support be found for the businesses that can and are ready to put action to all this planning?

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