Anonymous
January 26, 2024, 10:03 am
1.4k Views
5 Comments
Does anyone have experience installing or using solar with “PoweredUp Santa Barbara?”
I’m curious to know some real-life feedback on the program. There’s a webinar on February 1st and its some partnership with the City of Santa Barbara.
I understand they are touting “no upfront costs” but how true is that really and then will the city always own your solar and battery storage?
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I’d be leery letting the city own/manage solar panels on my property for 25 years. I had invited them to check my water irrigation system about a year ago, free of charge, and they instead found a code violation which was minor and didn’t relate to the scope of their water work. Code enforcement stopped by days later but never made contact with myself or the other unit on property. The problem is these panels change become outdated quickly and within 5-7 years your energy produced will decrease drastically. Additionally on the 25th year when you get to buy them for “only hundreds of dollars” your system will be outdated and then a monthly fee from powered up to manage/fix your old system.
Current technology panels do not degrade significantly over 25 years, though it’s true the technology will improve going forward. The inverters might only last 12.
My solar electric panels have been in place for 10 years. I have a history of the production of each panel for each month. Over all the decline in production has been about 31% (so about 3% a year). I am happy I made the investment and know it has been economically a good deal as well as helpful to the environment. If new panels are less vulnerable to decline that is great but I doubt that replacing my panels with newer ones would make sense from a cost point of view.
I got thiiis close to signing a contract with them, and it was only after lengthy discussions and Q&A with city staff as well as the company that I learned something pretty simple that stopped me in my tracks: If you install these panels, you will pay for all the electricity they generate whether you use it or not. So long summer days will cost you lots of $ even if you’re on vacation and your house is dark. There is no incentive to use less power
Sadly, I think the only fair way to get rooftop solar panels is to come up with the cash and buy them yourself. You get what you pay for, buyer beware!
We have had two “Solar Reps” come to our door over the last week. They say they are not selling but are arranging a solar program. They imply they are working with SCE and that we could get solar at no cost. Both were from Sunrun.com. In reality they were front men trying to get us to signup for an evaluation for a solar installation. All my questions just triggered more roundabout spiel and they had no brochures or other specific literature to leave.
There is no “Free Solar System” for you but you can get a $0 upfront installation that you will then pay to lease, buy with a load or pay in full up front. Buyer beware and do your research before signing any contract.