I heard that some solar companies can install solar panels for free, not sure how they recoup the cost, possibly from a share of the energy produced?
If it’s truly free solar panel, is it a good idea to let them install solar panels for rental properties? You’ll save money if landlord pays utilities. You’ll save money for tenants otherwise and maybe able to increase rent due to low utility bills.
Is it a good idea?
You will cause a lien on your property for 20 years…You get no benefit…your tenants will get the benefit…And if you pay the utilities, they will abuse it…plus you will make a future buyer hesitate on purchasing the contract you will have with the solar company
Probably would be too much hassle in rent control jurisdictions (getting approval to swap utility for higher rent). I myself would do the solar for my own personal home once they perfect the storage cell part of it so that I can be off the grid as much as possible and live off the energy for home and potentially cars.
Will the solar lien cause trouble for refinance and purchase mortgage? That’s really important.
For buyer’s hesitance, I think it will get better when solar is in most rooftops. Only real negative is what happens if you want to add another story or tear down and rebuild, will the solar contract make it harder?
What about when the roof leaks…Who pays to remove and replace the solar when the leak occurs under it…Too much risk and only the tenant benefits. .Loans are a big issue and buyers 20 years from now may shun houses with BS out of date solar leases…
100000000000000000000000000000000% correct !
SolarCity would pay in such a case, if it does indeed leak due to the solar installation.
That’s what they told me-- my roofs were less than 1 year old. I’m not sure what they would offer if the solar was installed on a 15 year old roof.
Leaks will occur…Doesn’t matter the source…
Answer? You are doomed! LOL
If you are going to sell or buy a property with solar panels, simply pay for it, or run away. Simple math.
PGE rips everyone off…In Tahoe we pay Liberty Energy 14 cents per kwh…Half of tier 2 PGE rates…In Indiana they pay 6 cents…
Should I get a Tesla Solar Subscription for one of my property. (Essentially you rent the the equipment from Tesla and pay them a monthly fee.) Currently the tenants split the PG&E bill by number of adults in their unit. I don’t pay. Right now, there are 7 adults and one child at the property.
Obviously there is no incentive for me to do anything but if getting the Solar Subscription can save them some money, I don’t see any real harm.
I’m already planning to get a new roof this summer anyways.
Does anyone have any experience?
I met with a SunRun rep recently about possibly installing solar panels on a rental. They too have a PPA (power purchase) program that is similar to a lease program with a buyout option after 5 years. Basically they guarantee power production and it’s a flat 17c/kWh on the power produced. They will maintain the system and make sure it runs as expected. The only issue I see is when replacing roof I need to out about $1k to remove the panels and put them back on later.
The 12-month electricity usage of this rental is about 15,000 kWh which is a lot. My tenants pay the bill so I am just helping them out. I am yet to run the numbers myself but I was told we typically save 25%-35% after PG&E switches everyone to peak/off-peak pricing in a few months.
If it saves $20 a month is it worth the hassle? It’s $240/yr or $2400 over 10 years. If you for some reason need to incur the $1k charge to move the panels then it becomes $1400 over 10 years.
Not worth the hassle
How about savings of $50 a month and knowing you have to redo roof anyways?
$50 savings a month seems good. Are you really going to get this much savings?
One issue with rentals is you don’t know whether the next group of tenants will be as “power efficient/inefficient” as the current one. If you size your panels based on current consumption level but if it drops later on, you are stuck with an oversized power generator that you have to pay for regardless of consumption level. So I asked the SunRun rep to size it at 70% of current level. I think I might get maybe $30 of savings a month. Just a pure guess at the moment.
The $50 is just hypothetical. I have no idea.
I also plan to add a unit later to take advantage of the new law so I only expect usage to go up higher over time.