Purchasing solar panels

What to expect…..

Because the process of installation can take so long you probably want to limit the amount of time you spend figuring out what you need and where to put it. Most solar companies are going to ask a lot of questions about your habits, the sun vs. shade on your property, and the main question will be your prior years usage. You’ll want to have your information before they show up to help streamline the process.

I am a paperwork packrat. After an IRS audit I learned to keep every possible bit of paperwork for at least 7 years, and keep it organized so I keep every single electric bill. This was super valuable during the solar process we were able to show very clear patterns of usage. If you haven’t done this get on the phone and order your past year or two years of bills.

If you have time start making lifestyle changes and watch your bills closely to recognize patterns of usage and see if adjustments are making any difference. The first thing you can do is replace every single bulb in your home with energy saving bulbs. Beware they are very different from your regular 75w super bright lights. It may take some getting used to. You may want to try a couple different types and see which are the best for your needs.

If you have a year or so before you are ready, start tracking where the sun and shade hit your property. We did this for two weeks in the summer only and found out that our house cast a shadow much longer than we would have ever anticipated in the winter. Winter is the season we needed the most sun and the fewest shadows. Make a map so you can show them specifically where the shadows are in each season.

They are most likely going to want you purchase enough equipment to never have a bill but like I’ve said previously you don’t want to purchase super expensive equipment to sell energy back to the electric company for a fraction of the cost you pay them for it. You need to dig deep and decide what the best senerio would be for you. Also anticipate any future additions and energy efficient appliance purchases. We installed a new on demand water heater and that has cut out us turning the water heater on for days on end. Water heaters are one of the top three energy consumers in your house.

If you are installing the panels yourself you need to be aware that the slope of the panel will greatly effect the efficiency of the panel. That is, you often see solar panels resting at an angle so that it can maximize the amount of sun rays that hit it. If it was completely vertical it would cast shadows on itself and if it was horizontal it would only really get maximum sun once a day at noon in summer. Basically the sun changes its position in the sky based on the season so its not in the same spot at noon in June as noon in December.

The link below tells a very accurate description of the above reasoning:

https://www.spaceacademy.net.au/spacelab/notes/solpanel.htm

Our panels are angled more in favor of winter to maximize the the sun rays when there are the fewest. You will really want to research this subject to make the best decision for your setup. Make some coffee because it can be dry subject matter to read about. You will have to have this answer for the installation crew if you are choosing to have it done for you.

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.

guide-to-federal-tax-credit-for-residential-solar-pv Download

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

Tag: Purchasing solar panels

All About Solar- Part 3

All About Solar – Part 2