So, we just installed solar panels on our house and I have some info to share. We purchased it ourselves and did not go through a co-op.
TL;DR:
- When you are talking to the different sales people (and do talk to several of them) the company mostly likely does 1 of 4 things and subcontracts the rest. Choose based on what you are most concerned about.
- They make the panels or equipment
- They do the installation
- They manage the financing
- They provide or manage the electricity
- The loan is different than other loans you are familiar with. As of 2022, there is a 26% government rebate (hopefully it will be extended), that the loans incorporate. The loan is recalculated after 18 months, because they expect that you pay the entire rebate into the loan when you get it, if not, then you monthly amount will go up for the remainder of the loan term (20 years). If you frequently owe federal taxes, you need to take that into consideration, as part of the rebate would reduce the amount you owe, but then if you don't pay that full rebate into the loan, the monthly payments will go up.
- The amount of wall real estate around the electric meter is significant. Be sure to take that into consideration. (See photos at the bottom)
- Given our real estate AND the base flood elevation, it was really tricky on how to arrange the 3 additional panels around the meter.
- Of the many reasons to get solar, if you are trying to account for power outages, you will be paying the most. If you can deal with a tiny (hopefully) number of days without power even when the sun is out, or can solve that in another way, you can pay a lot less.
- We opted for a portable duel fuel gas generator. It is manual, and will power the fridge and maybe a few outlets with the propane tanks that we normally keep on hand for the grill.
- In short, if there is a power outage and full sun, we are getting limited power from a small generator, not the panels.
- Unless you buy a battery, your solar panels will be tied to the grid. If the grid loses power, so do you. Batteries are really pricey ($13K) at the moment. As far as I know, there is no way around this, as the excess energy needs a place to go.
- Once the panels are installed, expect several delays before you get fully operational.
- First, Centerpoint needs to grant Permission to Operate (PTO), which is when you can actually literally flip the switch to enable the panels. This takes a few weeks to a month.
- Then after that, Centerpoint needs to acknowledge that you are producing excess energy. We are still in this phase. I've heard it takes about 2 months. But so far my utility bill only reflects what I'm consuming (at night), not what I've produced, so my utility bill for the first 2-3 months will not be zero (even though I should be overproducing).
- I don't know yet if when Centerpoint does acknowledge the credits, if it is retroactive or starts at zero. In other words, since we turned on the system in March, I don't know if in May (hopefully) when this happens, if we get credit for all of the sunny non-AC days of March and April, or if May is day 0.
- Pay close attention to how your utility company handles net metering. You will likely need to switch to a new company. Green Mountain, for example, which I'd been with forever and thought would be really good, only will buy from you what you buy from them per month. This means that you can't build up credits in the spring for the summer. I'm now with Rhythm.
- I would recommend Rising Sun Solar (recently renamed to Astrawatt) or Sunpro.
- According to HCAD, the panels raise the price of the house, but DO NOT raise your taxes.
