Saturday, September 18, 2010
Most Fervent Unsolicited Plug yet: SunWize
Today we signed a deal with SunWize to put 4338 watts of solar panels on the south-facing roof here at LOVESalem HQ. Gross cost $5.48/watt; net installed cost after Energy Trust of Oregon rebates and federal and state tax credits = $1.29/watt, The (conservative) estimate is that the system will provide for 85% of our electric power on an annual basis. I actually expect better because 2009-10 usage included use of two powered devices that we're done with.
I called a bunch of SunWize customers to check them out and every single one really raved about SunWize and the performance they've attained on their systems. Given the upcoming budget issues at both the state and federal level making continuation of these incentives more doubtful every day, this would be a good time to look into solar if you've got the right spot -- contact Matthew Henderson (503.881.7346) and he'll come out and check out your solar resource potential and system possibilities with no pressure.
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3 comments:
John, thanks for the breakdown and the caveat that subsidies might go away.
I'm likely missing something because going solar didn't seem to pencil out at our house. How much down? How long until the costs are amortized?
You'll still have 15% of your power bill payment and the payment/interest on your note (unless you pay cash).
We have spectacular south-facing roof, and we had already done a solar-thermal system for hot water and got great results, so that's why it works for us. Solar is very, very particular -- a few degrees difference can make all the difference in terms of solar gain.
We're paying all cash, so there are no financing costs; the estimated return on our investment is around 8%, with the system paid off entirely from savings on electric bills in 9 years (presuming the historical 5% per year electric price hikes -- which could be much, much greater when the carbon taxes kick in).
We put a 4.1Kw system on our greenhouse/barn with SunWize and are extremely happy. Matt was great to work with. Our last bill from Consumers Power was -$339. Yes, that's a negative number! I think it reflects 3 months of generating more than we consume.
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