Discounts offered on solar energy
With all eyes on the solar eclipse later today (figuratively, not literally, we hope), it’s a good time to think about making the most of the sun’s energy.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Solarize Virginia, a program that vets solar panel installation companies that provides discounts to homeowners. It’s offered by the Local Energy Alliance Program through June 30.
After signing up with Solarize Virginia, participants will receive a free feasibility report showing whether solar panels are right for their building. There is no obligation to go through with a purchase.
Last year, 292 Virginia residents went solar through Solarize, including 223 in Northern Virginia.
Another way to save money on solar panels is through Solar Switch Fairfax County, a group-buying program offered by Solar United Neighbors. This program helps homeowners and small businesses purchase a complete rooftop solar installation at a discounted price with optional add-ons, such as battery storage and EV chargers.
During the most recent Solar Switch program, households saved an average of $4,115 on a typical solar installation.
Homeowners can also reduce costs through the federal solar tax credit. The credit can be claimed on federal income taxes for 30 percent of the cost of a solar photovoltaic system.
For those who can’t afford solar, Dominion Energy pays for solar installation for qualifying customers. To be eligible, a customer must:
- Have previously participated in one of Dominion’s income-qualifying programs that help lower-income, elderly, and disabled individuals reduce energy waste.
- Have a household annual income that does not exceed 80 percent of the local area median income as set forth by Virginia Housing or 60 percent of the state median, whichever is greater.
- Or be at least 60 years old with a total income that does not exceed 120 percent of the Virginia median income.
Dominion advises customers who might qualify to act now, as this program ends on Dec. 31.
In other solar news, the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services launched a solar panel recycling program.
Residents can bring their solar panels to either the I-66 Transfer Station or the I-95 Landfill Complex Electronics Recycling area during regular hours.
This program is an expansion of a pilot program that started in November 2022. During the pilot, the county’s vendor, Securis, found viable outsourcing solutions for the materials involved, including glass recycling and the recovery of precious metals.
17 responses to “Discounts offered on solar energy”
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These work great until they are hit by hail. Chinese and African slaves mine the precious metals. Break-even on the quote I received was about 70 years vs. a grid sized system.
Most payback periods are 8-9 years, I’d suggest reevaluating your math unless your electric bill is $14/month.
There’s a performance warranty on most arrays for 25 years. But the product warranty is usually 8 to 10 years and the inverter usually needs replacing after 8 years. Then there’s the cost of labor. Many solar panel businesses are going out of business. It will be expensive to have a different company service your system.
Brief bit of research on the internet tells me current inverters last 10-15, and you can get warranties to 20 so but the newer ones last 25 so….
If you get quality Solar panels, they are made to withstand hail. They are stronger than shingles, and even provide shingle protection.
That being said, if the labor practices worry you, you can research the supply chain and purchase solar panels that have ethical labor laws. It’s not like the oil industry are saints, they also employ unpaid labor as well. The very clothes you wear are probably made by folks working in bad conditions as well.
If they gave you a break even on the quote for 70 years, then that’s what they gave you and if your main motivator is money, then obviously it doesn’t make sense. It just means you don’t get a lot of sun or your roof, then don’t purchase. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to solar, it makes sense for some, and for others it won’t.
Funny – Solar…the biggest scam since the windmill….and Battery environment ruining vehicles…educate your-selves folks…
What a bunch of malarky in the comments.
A bunch of malarky in the comments alright. I got the Solarize VA program last year, and the company they chose I felt was honest and upfront. There are a lot of Solar companies that try to scam you, unfortunately.
The company that installed panels for mine, installed only ones that got the most solar energy and not more than that. Now after having it for a few months, my bill last month was only $24, whereas typically this time last year it was around $130 I believe. They estimated I would save about 60% of my bill, $180 on average and I’ll be paying about $100. It will vary month to month based on leaves blocking your panels and also sunny vs cloudy days. So far I’m satisfied with my panels and the ROI was estimated to be around 7.5 years. Feels good knowing whatever electricity I use during the day is pretty much powered by the sun. Most of it is actually distributed back to the grid where I get paid in the form of SRECs whenever I generate a megawatt of power back to everyone else. There’s an app called enphase that lets you monitor however much electricity you are producing at any one time, and how much for that day. I’ve learned a lot about electricity since buying these panels, and I think it’s really cool to turn unused space on my roof into my own power plant and utilize the power of the sun. Personally, I’d rather have solar panels and generate my own power than a shiny new car.
Do you believe everything you’re told? How long will your panels last? Did you factor that into ROI?
My math was more like 40 years if you figure maintenance costs and 8-10 year replacement.
What’s the warranty on the panels?
I don’t know how old or outdated your info is, but solar panels have come a long way. My Panels are warrantied for 25 years, and they can last longer than that. It is important to choose a company that has been around for awhile, some have gone out of business for shady practices.
There are zero maintenance costs. All you have to do is wipe your panels with a soft brush or I will use a microfiber towel on a pole similar to what I use to clean my car. You do not want to spray anything on it as that can tamper with the solar material. One thing that the companies do not factor is, is the increase of your homeowners insurance to cover the solar panels. Solar panels increase the dwelling coverage price, mine was way undervalued so I had to increase that anyways. It’s not a separate line item but it just makes the price of your house more. Also, with their math, they factor in the increased cost of utilities every year. So if you believe the cost of utilities goes up, which mine has gone up, then that goes into the pricing and ROI as well. I finally got a tax return instead of owing money because you get 30% back on your solar panels from the federal tax credit on solar panel installations.
I’ll finally get paid an SREC (probably around $30) for generating a megawatt of power to the grid at the end of the month. It feels good to be generating energy for others. In the month of March, I generated 820.8 kwH, but everyone’s is different due to the way their roof is positioned and how much sun you get. It is also a complaint that EVs take dirty energy to produce too. Until we have a green infrastructure in place, it will take “dirty energy” to produce them. Eventually, hopefully, we will get to a point where we can have enough green energy generation for other green initiatives. Also, you can recycle solar panels to create other solar panels. It feels like “big gas” shills are in this small neighborhood forum to talk bad about solar, I wonder why…
We got our panels in 2022, and we’ve also been pleased. Our SERC comes to about $80. We haven’t paid more than $15 to Dominion since installation. It’s been more than two years and each panel’s performance is as good as the day it was installed. We haven’t had a single issue. Love the Enphase app. We enjoyed watching the impact of the solar eclipse on our production show up on our app histogram. 🙂
Malarkey is right, I am looking forward to the return of sensible discourse and dispensing with this “self-education.”
ADaleRez and James – – how much energy was spent mining for your solar materials? How much energy will be spent when the panels have to be recycled? And finally, where did all the toxins go from the mining of the materials and where will the toxins go when the solar panels stop working? – So my advice to you both is to educate your selves….I estimate natural gas would be about 80% less polluting overall (and 100% reliable) powering the electrical grid than solar panels…but you do your own homework….and stop believing in the energy fairy…
I hope you put the same level of thought into every purchase you make. Did you know the typical 3MW generator contains 2 tons of neodymium? Welp, better stop using natural gas. What about the iridium and cobalt in your cell phone. Back to a rotary for you! oh wait those had magnets too.
Would love to see your numbers on LNG being 100% reliable.
Nothing is perfect, everything is bad, the future of providing power to billions will require multiple solutions, solar is one of them.
Adam Gberg, well said. Do not let “perfect” get in the way of “getting better”.
You ask a lot of questions, but provide no answers other than wild claims that you “estimate”. I estimate your numbers were pulled straight from your derriere.