Going Solar After Energy Conservation
Submitted By: Vali Frank (frank.niyogi@sbcglobal.net)

Challenge
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We moved to Lafayette last September during a heat wave, and fairly quickly were horrified both by the heat and shortly thereafter our power bill.  One month it topped out at 1800 kw per month, for a power bill that was over $600.  After living in Berkeley and Oakland for several years we were soft, we clearly had been a little too quick to turn on the a/c.  That lifesaving air conditioning that was making our dwelling bearable was also sucking power, as was the lovely blue pool.  We had been thinking about going solar for years, but our old house in Oakland was in a canyon and did not have optimal positioning for solar.  But before getting bids for solar, I was determined to see how we could get our power use down first.  I went through the house and replaced almost all the light fixtures with either compact fluorescents or Halogena Energy Savers, also compliant with the new California power
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requirements.  I initially wanted to do all compact flurescents and investigated a variety of newer bulbs that were supposed to be dimmable, but none of them seemed to dim particularly well.  Dimming light bulbs also reduces power use, and for some rooms like the kitchen the Halogenas were the better choice (they reduce energy use by 30%).  We also installed a new pool pump, thermostat, and researched our air conditioner and furnace, both of which were fairly efficient.  The house was already well-insulated with double pane windows, but we made a conscious effort to turn off all appliances and lights when we were not in the room.  Through our conservation efforts, we were able to get our power use down to 900-950 kw per month in the winter, and about 1100-1200 kw in the summer, which was a substantial improvement, but not enough to make us satisfied.   
 
Solution Details
In December 2008, I started getting bids from solar installers.  We initially got a bid from Solar City, which at the time was offering the fairly novel option of leasing a solar system with zero down.  The contract came with a 18 year commitment, however, and as I started to work out the math it became clear you would pay a significant amount more for the system compared with financing it or purchasing it outright.  This fact seemed difficult for the Solar city salesman to understand, who kept saying that I would pay zero down and less per month than we were currently paying for our power bill.  It reminded my husband and I bit too much of buying or leasing a car, when they keep asking you how much you want to pay per month instead of telling you what the total cost was. 

Next came REC Solar, SPG Solar, Sungevity, and Sun Light and Power.  They all seemed fairly knowledgeable, but I was dismayed by the initial quotes we got, which were roughly in the $8-10 range per kw, for a total cost of around $50-60,000 before rebates and tax credits.  All the press I saw about solar indicated prices were dropping, so we decided to wait until later in the year.  In the intervening period I also managed to get a couple of friends interested in going solar as well, so we were in a better negotiating position by having three systems to bid at the same time.  In the summer I got new bids from REC Solar, and Sun Light and Power, and also met with a few new companies.  The new companies included Akeena Solar, SPG Solar, and Super Solar.  I also talked to One Block Off the Grid (OBOG), which was organizing a group buy rate with Gro Solar.  We also got bids from a company that shall go unnamed, but were essentially switching over from pool installation and seemed fairly clueless about solar.   With dropping prices for panels and our group buy, both OBOG and the two finalist companies we narrowed it down to were able to offer us a rate under $6 per kw, substantially lower than the initial bids we got. 

I was very impressed with both Sun Light and Power and Super Solar's technical skills, but in the end we decided to go with Super Solar (www.supersolar.us, 510-339-1865), where the owners/installers are NABCEP certified and do all the work themselves.  The owner Szilard Szabo was the chief commercial installer for Sun Light and Power for several years before leaving to start his own company.  They were the only company that noticed that we had a flaw with our electrical panel that would have made it impossible to have one inverter to serve the system, and upgraded our panel to a new one to make the system more efficient.  Sun Light and Power is the granddaddy of the solar companies in the Bay Area and has tons of expertise, but in the end we ended up going with Super Solar, who were also extremely knowledgable and made us an offer we couldn't refuse.
 
We ended up getting a 6.4 (DC) 5.55 (AC) Kw system with a Fronius inverter and Evergreen panels.  Originally the bid included Sharp panels and an SMA (Sunny Boy inverter), but I really wanted the Evergreen panels, which have probably the "greenest" reputation in the industry and are also made in the United States.  Because they are slightly lower voltage, the Fronius inverter worked better for our size system.  The total cost of the system was around $36,000, but after state rebates and tax credits it came in slightly under $20,000.  The payoff period should be between 6 and 7 years, although it could pay off sooner if PG & E keeps raising rates.  But the payoff period varies dramatically depending on how much power you are using.  One of my friends in our group buy has a horse farm in Briones that uses deep water wells and electric appliances, and her payoff period will probably be under four years.  The inspectors signed off on the system today, and it's very exciting to watch the meter run backwards and know we are creating our own green power. 

Eventually we would also like to replace the ac and furnace, but that will probably have to wait a few years.

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Informational Links

Super Solar (510-339-1865) - located in Oakland
Sun Light & Power - located in Berkeley
One Block Off the Grid (OBOG) - organizes group purchases of solar panels to lower the cost
Solar City - large nationwide dealer that also offers solar leasing, headquarters in Foster City
groSolar - nationwide dealer that acquired Borrego
SPG Solar - headquarters in Novato
Akeena Solar - nationwide dealer with headquarters in Los Gatos
REC Solar - headquarters in San Luis Obispo
Sungevity - based in Berkeley



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