April 09 SF Bay Area Solar Group

If you’ve already signed up to be a part of the SF Bay Area campaign, 1BOG will get in touch with you soon. If you haven’t signed up yet, sign up now and we’ll get in touch with you soon about our next campaign. If you’re rearin’ to go, you can speed up the process by getting in touch with us directly by emailing brads@1bog.org or calling 415-992-5595.

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Solar Installer Selection Decision

1BOG partnered with Real Goods in our first pilot campaign in San Francisco, and we are thrilled to partner with them again. Real Goods sold the first solar panel in the US in 1978, and has since acquired Marin Solar, Carlson Solar, Regrid Power and Independent Energy Systems. Their 30 year solar legacy has outlived all panel warranties. They have installed over 4000 residential systems, and 1BOG participants had a great experience working with them in the first campaign. With over 20 salespeople, Real Goods will be able to handle the magnitude of our community program. 1BOG is happy to partner with Real Goods, and can’t wait to get started with our third Bay Area campaign.

Solar Campaign Timelines

  • April 1 – RFP process – 1BOG kicks off the vendor selection process and chooses a solar installer for the group.
  • April 29th – Campaign begins – 1BOG will communicate with you and after that, pass your information along to Real Goods who will evaluate the homes of participants. We continue to grow the group during this period with the help of its members and volunteers.
  • June 15th – Sign up close date - 1BOG closes doors to sign ups and Real Goods continues to evaluate homes and give proposals to participants under the 1BOG negotiated pricing. Those who miss the sign up close date will have to wait until the next 1BOG campaign.
  • July 31st – Campaign ends – You will need to have been in touch with 1BOG and received a solar evaluation from Real Goods Solar by this date. If you get an evaluation close to the end of the program, you will still have time to decide to install.
  • August 1st – NEW CAMPAIGN OFFICIALLY BEGINS! If you sign up now, you can get a solar evaluation before August 1st under the negotiated pricing of the new campaign.

Solar Webinar Info Sessions

We recorded it and posted it for your viewing pleasure below. Is it boring? Yes. Is it informative? Yes.

Solar Energy Basics Webinar from 1BOG and Real Goods Solar from David Llorens on Vimeo.

  • Basics of solar
  • Determining a system size
  • Understanding your utility bills
  • Current rebates and incentives
  • 1BOG background and benefits
  • 1BOG SF Bay area process
  • How to buy your solar system
  2. valid email required
 

1BOG Solar Financing with SunRun

Click here for details about 1BOG financing powered by SunRun

Yet another attractive perk of our partnership with Real Goods Solar is their seamless integration with 1BOG Finance powered by SunRun, the nation’s first provider of residential Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). By partnering with SunRun, 1BOG is able to offer solar installations for as little as $1,000 down payment to our members. SunRun offers full, no-cost maintenance for as long as you’re a customer, and by taking advantage of their low monthly payments, you can begin saving on your energy costs right out of the gate. The 1BOG pricing discount, combined with 1BOG Finance and all of the available federal, state, and local rebates, makes this a great opportunity to make the move to solar. For more information check out our home solar financing page.


The Solar Products Offered by Real Goods in the Campaign

Solar Panels – 1BOG program participants will have access to all of Real Goods’ options for custom quotes, but the panels that fall into our pricing structure we negotiated will be the Kyocera 205W, all black panel. This is their best-valued panel, with standard tolerances, ideal dimension, and a sleek, aesthetic look.

Inverters – The inverters used are SMA inverters, the most popular units in the marketplace, with the strongest reputation for reliability as well as the highest number of installed units in the field. As with the panels, Real Goods will also be offering their other products if you are interested.

The Cost of Going Solar on your Home with 1BOG

We structured it so that there is an extra discount if we can get solar on about 100 homes (400 kW of installed solar) in the San Francisco Bay Area. However, to make sure that we don’t create a Catch-22, where everyone is waiting around to see if we hit our target and thus nobody goes solar, we made sure that anyone who contracts to go solar within two weeks of getting a proposal automatically gets the lower pricing. Our goal of 100 homes is entirely attainable, but we will need your help.

So… brass tacks: the price for a 1BOG participant is $6.50/DC Watt.

Each home is different and there are some possible adjustments based on the home itself. These are set in stone for everyone, no hidden fees, and you can always contact brads@1bog.org or call him at 415-992-5595 to make sure your Real Goods quote lines up with our program.

Here is a full list of adders, and some of the more common ones include:

Small Systems 3-4kW $0.17
Small Systems 2-3kW $0.35
Multiple Roof Surfaces $0.20
Ground Mount $0.75
Concrete Tile $0.31
Flat Roof tilt system $0.41

What system size you need will depend on how much electricity you use, what your available roof space is, and what your personal motivations are. A Real Goods representative will work with you to design the best system for your needs. They will perform a site evaluation and provide you with a proposal under the 1BOG pricing terms, and show you exactly what your electricity savings will be, as well as return on investment.

The Coverage Area of the 1BOG SF Bay Area Group Purchase Program

Bottom line is that it’s everything. Real Goods’ coverage radius is huge. The discounts that they are able to pass on to the members come from focusing on localities during installation as well as removing marketing costs for them (since our group typically grows itself) and those discounts are passed onto the members. If we can get to 400 installed kW (we should be able to do this if we try), then everyone gets an additional 25 cents per watt off of the already compelling discount. Below is the map of the coverage area, if you are in it, you are included in the program. If you are outside, that should not stop you from signing up. If we get enough sign ups in a particular area we could renegotiate inclusion or run a separate group purchase.
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Tell your friends about 1BOG!