All About Solar – Part 2

When to purchase your solar panel system:

We started the process of purchasing our solar panels around May and they were not actually installed until the end of August. We missed the whole sunny season!!! We had no idea how long the process would take. If we had to do it all over again we would have held off for a while.

Several factors go into perfect timing. We live in an extremely cold climate so we wouldn’t have been able to have the panels installed in the winter due to the serious ground frost here. Even if they were going on our roof the snow and ice can be a problem. I imagine that would go in reverse for warmer climates. The 110f – 120f summer in Arizona would not be the best time to have workmen install anything outdoors because of their health and welfare.

Finances are a big factor for timing as well. The salesmen we used was a bit of a fast talker, he was nice enough but offered information about tax credits that we found out later didn’t apply to us so we were making financial decisions based on getting a 30% tax rebate. It turns out that the rebate is not in fact a rebate but is a tax deduction.

Here’s the break down:

We paid $43,000 for our system so we would be eligible for a 30% tax deduction equaling $12,900 the year we had it installed (It is lower now). But for us to actually be able to take that deduction we would have to be paying at least $12,900 in taxes that year. Because we are low income and have several small children we don’t pay that much in taxes and therefore couldn’t take the tax deduction that year.

The salesmen had mentioned that maybe we could take the deduction the next year and we should ask our accountant. The answer is no. *Eye roll* He was a fast talker like I said.

In hind sight we should have held off and purchased it after we sold the real estate we had for sale that had a capital gains tax that could have been offset by the solar panel deduction. If only I knew then what I know now…..

One of the reasons it took so long was that we needed a permit even though we live in the county and don’t have any convents the local government had to “Ok” it and tell us exactly how they wanted it done. Our county is very slow and they couldn’t agree on how deep the ground frame poles should go into the ground. They finally decided on 5 ft. Think about that. Huge heavy poles holding up a couple solar panels had to be sunk 5ft!!!! I believe the poles for a whole house foundation are down 3 to 4 ft.

It just so happened that the company we used was running a special deal the month we purchased the panels. I don’t know why that month was so special but it is worth asking if they have any upcoming deals. Our deal was a free nest thermostat and they would replace all of our light bulbs with really fancy low energy usage light bulbs. This is where the salesmen’s fast talking got him into a bit of trouble. He said he would replace “All” the light bulbs including all of them in our home, the little cottage also on the property and the barn. The count came to around 350 bulbs. If you purchased these types of bulbs at your local hardware store you would expect to pay around $10 a bulb. He offered to give us $3500 worth of light bulbs and a $250 thermostat. We held him to his word, much to the chagrin of the company owner .

The link below is the thermostat. We love it, it’s well worth the cost but luckily we didn’t have to pay for it!:

https://www.nest-thermostat.com/

The electric company will have to come stand by when the system is either plugged in or unplugged. They will need to put a special meter in and make sure you don’t damage anything. You will have to work on their time schedule which can dramatically slow things down. We choose the exact time they were completely overhauling all the meters in the area which meant the wait was outrageous!!!

The takeaway here is make sure you are ready to work on this for several months and get with your accountant to understand the tax implications for your situation before you speak to Capt. Slick Talker from the solar company.

Below is the latest .gov info about the tax credits. It has a great Q & A section that covers a lot of common concerns.

Stay tuned for the next part in this series: All About Solar – Part 3 -What to Expect.