There is a wide variety of solar products, installation types and purchase models on the market. We help determine your specific needs and goals and use our extensive knowledge of the industry to broker the best local installer that suits your specific needs, whether purchase, lease or pre-paid lease!
Why Solar?
Energy Prices are SOARING!
Over the past 30 years, energy rates have been consistently increasing. Local companies such as Xcel are even projecting an additional 12% increase in the coming year.
When installing solar you can begin to build equity and take control of your power demands/expenses. With no end in sight to the increasing cost of power bills we make sure to work with you to find what will be the best option for you to save money moving forward.
How do we do that? Well we can calculate how much you will spend over the next X amount of Years and compare it to the costs of the solar system and help you decide on which is cheaper.
Once solar panels are installed the energy savings provided translate into better value for your home. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that every dollar saved on energy through solar increases home value by $20.00.
Some of the numbers
Not only are there many benefits to solar including environmental reasons, increasing the value of your home, or saving you money each month… Colorado also uses Net Metering. This is a program that allows customers to “bank” unused solar generation on the grid until a time when your homes energy usage is greater than your solar production. Allowing you to use net daytime generation at night, and net summer excess to be used during the winter months.
Purchase
When purchasing a solar system, the homeowner gets a federal tax credit of 26% of the cost of the system. This tax credit is applied on your federal income tax. If you cannot take advantage of the full amount in the first year, it rolls over to the next year. When selling the home, the solar system is wrapped into the home cost and the new homeowner will not have to make any payments on the system.
VS.
Lease
A leased system (or power purchase agreement) typically does not favor the homeowner as the leasing company gets to keep the tax credits and over the course of the 20 or 25 years lease you end up paying more than the system costs. When selling the home, the new homeowner will have to take over the lease payments for the remainder of the lease period.
Warranties
Panels:
These are almost always guaranteed for 25 years, Although they do degrade overtime and lose a small amount of production each year (0.6%)
Inverters:
Because this is the most expensive part of the system, it is important to look carefully at the warranty on the inverter. Power optimized inverters come with a 10 year warranty with the option to purchase an extended 20 year warranty. On the other hand microinverters come with a 25 year warranty but have a higher failure rate.
Workmanship:
Solar installs come with a 25 year warranty covering workmanship and leaks.
