Anybody done residential solar leasing?

[sciphi]

Any experiences positive or negative with residential solar leasing? My house has broad expanses of south-facing roof that get full sun most daylight hours for most of the year. On sunny days in the winter, it's not uncommon to see the south side of the roof with significantly less snow than the north side. During the summer, it's in full sun until a few hours before sunset. We don't have any large trees shading the roof, either. In theory it seems like we'd be all right candidates for a residential solar installation. I'm more worried about reliability of the company supplying/servicing the system than the physical stuff, since the systems and installation seem to be pretty straightforward.

Cutting the monthly power bill in the summer would be nice, as we use a decent bit of electricity dehumidifying the basement and cooling the place at 17-18 cents per kwh.

 

[Donald]

There are companies that will install the panels, they guarantee a certain savings on electric bill which I think covers the lease.

The current products have a working life of about 20-25 years I believe.

The amount a power company pays you for electricity is basically the cost to generate power, not the distribution cost. That may vary state to state.

I am in upstate NY and do see large arrays of solar panels being installed.

Have you had an energy audit to make sure that is the most cost effective thing to do?

Look up NYSERDA and get an audit done. (NY residents). Usually free.

 

[sciphi]

Thanks for reminding me about the audit, I'll get that done.