When we moved into our new house, we knew that we wanted to make some improvements to increase the value of the home. Well, we never considered adding solar panels but now that I have, we are really hoping that they will be a huge value add to our resale value!
We got our panels through Jon at Vision Solar (let us know if you are in the area and we will get you his info). It is a great set up as it is a zero down financing plan and we own and not lease them. 55% of the total cost is a tax credit (30% federal and 25% state) so we have 2 loans – one for the tax credit and a second one for the balance. They set our payment at the average of our current electric bills, which for us is $145 a month. We will pay that for seven years (except you know I love paying off loans early!) At the end of that period, we will own the panels and no longer have an electric bill. Hopefully, we will actually get a check from the electric company!
We have seen solar panels go up in our neighborhood for the past six months and estimate that about ten percent of the houses have them so far. We really feel like this is the way of the future and that they will be not only a bonus but a must have going forward.
Do you have solar panels? Have any questions about them? I’d love to chat!
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Hello, I’m Morgan, half of the creative force behind CharlestonCrafted.com! With a passion for DIY that dates back to 2012, I’ve transformed three homes and now I’m dedicated to helping others craft their dream spaces. Let’s turn your house into a home together!
Jessica
Thursday 7th of December 2017
Hi Morgan and Sean! Just saw your FB post about energy efficiency from doors and it reminded me you have solar panels just like we do. (So I searched for the older post!) Since the house we bought this September already had 20 solar panels we didn’t get to select a certain kind like you did, but what I wanted to know was do you have a battery? We are planning to get one so we get a check from the electric company because right now our bills are pretty low from the panels but we are only getting daylight hour energy capture. Any knowledge you’d like to share? I’d love to hear it!
Morgan
Friday 8th of December 2017
Hi Jessica! We do not have a battery. We were told that batteries are currently so $$$ that it doesn't make a lot of sense to get one. Hopefully Tesla is improving that technology so that they are affordable soon! Our monthly "electric" bill is $11 which is all hook up fees. We just got our first payout check from the power company for the year which was really around 9 months of use for us. It's a little bummer since they charge about 12 cents per unit and pay out 3 cents per unit for overage, so there is very little incentive to over-produce for us. As more people go to solar, I fear that they will charge more fees and decrease the payout even more. A battery would be a good way to save and use that extra power instead of getting a few pennies. If this was our forever home, I would 100% invest in a battery - but maybe wait a year or two because like I said our solar guy said he thought they'd go down in cost a ton really soon. Hope that helps and yay solar!!!