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Brave new green world
May. 7th, 2013 04:34 pmAs of some time today, the newly-installed photovoltaic panels on our roof have been turned on, and the electric meter is actually running backwards (I checked a few minutes ago).
The traditional stumbling block to home solar panels has been up-front costs. In recent years, a number of companies have started leasing rather than selling solar panels: they pay the up-front costs, take care of the maintenance, claim the tax breaks (as owner), and take a monthly lease payment in exchange. We're working with one such company, Sungevity, which offers a wide range of financial options: if you've got the cash, you can pre-pay 20 years' worth of lease payments (but they're still responsible for maintenance), or you can pre-pay nothing at all and do it all monthly, or you can pre-pay various amounts in between. The more you pay up front, the less you pay in total.
ETA: If anybody reading this is interested in going with Sungevity, contact me so we can count it as a "referral", and you and I both get a couple hundred bucks bonus.
The traditional stumbling block to home solar panels has been up-front costs. In recent years, a number of companies have started leasing rather than selling solar panels: they pay the up-front costs, take care of the maintenance, claim the tax breaks (as owner), and take a monthly lease payment in exchange. We're working with one such company, Sungevity, which offers a wide range of financial options: if you've got the cash, you can pre-pay 20 years' worth of lease payments (but they're still responsible for maintenance), or you can pre-pay nothing at all and do it all monthly, or you can pre-pay various amounts in between. The more you pay up front, the less you pay in total.
ETA: If anybody reading this is interested in going with Sungevity, contact me so we can count it as a "referral", and you and I both get a couple hundred bucks bonus.
