Our family had been interested in solar for some time, and in 2021 we ramped up our research to better understand the costs and benefits. What we discovered is that although the costs were fairly high, they could be partly offset by a number of local and federal incentives and rebates. On the benefit side, this is really all about how much sun exposure your roof receives based on the size of the roof available for solar, orientation and surrounding trees. The solar provider estimated if we were a good candidate based on google maps. Our provider deemed we were an ‘ok’ candidate as we live in a fairly wooded areas and our available roof is east and west facing.
In addition to the solar panels, we were also interested in batteries for energy storage. This was for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we didn’t have a generator so if the power went out, which it does in our part of Sherman from time to time, we would not be able to run the necessary appliances such as the fridge freezer. Secondly, we wanted to fully utilize all the energy we were generating through the day at night. This is one of the reasons behind our decision to move forward with Tesla as our provider, as they have arguably the most advanced and proven battery technology. Other reasons included the positive feedback online from Tesla customers, the look of the solar panels on the roof which are somewhat sleek as there’s no gridlines, is low profile and covered edges. We also drive a Tesla car so it was nice to have the cars and energy in the same ecosystem, so to speak.
The process was fairly straightforward, although there was an initial delay as we decided to opt for sending excessive energy back to the grid, which meant we had to update the transformer which took some time for Eversource to do with an additional expense of approximately $500. Speaking of costs, as mentioned, the upfront costs were quite high, totaling approximately $37,500. This was largely due the cost of the batteries of $23,000 (total). We decided on having 3 batteries, which was more than we needed. The rationale being that it would be easier and less expensive to install the batteries at the outset rather than adding at a later date (there was a discount by adding more upfront). Same applies with the solar panels (20 in total). We opted for a larger system as we wanted to cover as much of our energy costs as possible.
As mentioned, the costs were offset by local and Federal rebates. Connecticut provided a rebate, called the Green Bank solar rebate, of $2,500, which is applied automatically by Tesla to the cost. The big saving however was the Federal tax credit of approximately $10,000. At the time of installation, this was applied at 26% for the total applicable cost. This has subsequently been increased to 30% via the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The other big saving of approximately $10,000 was from Connected Solutions as we decided to send energy back to the grid.
What this means is that the net cost was around $15,000. However, it’s important to understand how the Federal tax credit works and Connected Solutions. The tax credit is applied via your federal tax return (check with your accountant for suitability based on your tax position) at your next filing and Connected Solutions is an estimate at the time of your installation. We receive a check twice per year, in winter and summer, for the reserve energy drawn from our Powerwalls (batteries). We funded our solar and batteries through a company called Sunlight Financial, who are/were Telsa’s financing partner. No payment was required upfront, so 100% of the costs have been financed over a 20 year loan period. The monthly loan amount is $179, which will stay at this amount providing we apply our federal tax return to the loan balance. If not, it jumps up by about $40 per month.
As for the installation itself, this was super simple. A small team arrived and it only took them a few hours in total to install the solar panels and batteries, so we were able to use the energy of the sun to power our house and cars that same day. We now track our energy usage by the app on our phones. If a storm is coming, the system automatically knows to send more energy to the batteries just in case there’s a power outage.
We’ve now had the system, solar and batteries, for around 14 months (April 2022) and are happy with our decision. In the summer months the house and cars are close to being fully powered by solar on sunny days, and mostly if partly cloudy. In winter, due to much less sunshine hours, the energy generated we’ve found to be around 50% less or so. Given the financial incentives and structure of the loan, the energy cost savings per month on average is able to fund the loan amount of $179. It’s nice to know that we are reducing our reliance on the energy grid, have back up energy in the event of storms, and saving some money.
Thanks,
Simon
