The San Francisco Bay Area – January 2009 Campaign
This page is the scoop on the past Bay Area Solar campaign. Please sign up to participate in our next Bay Area solar group purchase in April. The sign up for the campaign below ended on January 31st, 2009.
Through the January campaign, 90 1BOG members installed solar for a total installation of over 280 kW. That’s more than 1.2 million miles driven in a car!
We selected SolarCity as the installer for the January campagin outlined below.
Signup Close Date: We will be closing the door to sign ups on January 31st, and those who miss it will have to wait until the next 1BOG program. Please tell your friends or post a message to your neighborhood email list-serve. The more people we get on board, the more we save.
Webinars: We have scheduled two informative, intereactive webinars, on January 14th and January 17th. Click here for more info.
SolarCity offered:
- Free demand-side and production-side energy monitoring
- A free home energy audit
- An excellent pricing discount
- A leasing option that allows you to go solar without spending a dollar up front
- The option to use new thin-film products
Free Energy Monitoring ($3795 value):
SolarCity made a generous offer to include their SolarGuard monitoring service for free. It monitors and optimizes your system performance, telling you how much energy your system is producing at all times. In the unlikely event that your system underperforms, SolarCity will alert you and help you remedy the situation.
In addition, they added a brand new component, and on compatible electric services, it monitors how much energy your HOME USES, allowing for two things:
A. You will learn through real-time monitoring of your usage how to save money on your utility bill by understanding and modifying your usage patterns.
B. If your usage patterns change over time, and it’s more economical to switch your PG&E rate structure, SolarGuard will let you know when it’s time to call up PG&E and what to change it to! This is hot new technology.
Free Home Energy Audit ($600 Value)
It’s not always just about solar panels. Sometimes there are quick and easy things you can do to show savings, like changing your lights to more efficient CFLs, or upgrading insulation in key areas. If you get a solar system with SolarCity, they will send over a certified expert from Building Solutions to evaluate where your home is losing the most energy. Using tools like infra-red monitors and duct-monitoring equipment, they can pinpoint with incredible detail where your home leaks energy, and where the best modifications to your home can be made. Here is an example energy audit.
Pricing Discount:
This pricing shows a San Francisco solar energy incentive that is not available in the rest of the bay. To see the pricing for solar without the SF solar incentive included, please look at this table.
The pricing is $7.25 per DC watt if you decide to go solar within two weeks of receiving a proposal, or if we reach our goal of 75 homes. Otherwise it is $7.75, so please tell your friends. Details:
Note: in addition to the following pricing for purchasing a system out right, there is a SolarLease as well (outlined below), that requires no up-front expense. With SolarLease, it is 3 months free if we hit 75 homes or you make your decision within two weeks from proposal, and one month free otherwise.
- $7.25 per DC watt
- $1000 additional charge for systems between 3kW and 4kW
- $1500 additional charge for systems between 1.6kW and 3kW.
Note: this table is to describe the optimally sized system to provide the quickest payback period for the bill sizes below (PG&E electricity is tiered, meaning that the more use, the more it costs… so getting rid of only the “expensive” power shows the fastest payback). If your goal is to entirely eliminate your power bill, you willl need a larger system.
| System Size (in kilowatts) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Typical Monthly Electric Bill | $60 | $120 | $200 | $250 |
| Typical Gross Cost | $18,000 | $25,800 | $33,200 | $40,500 |
| 1BOG Gross Cost | $16,000 | $22,750 | $29,000 | $36,250 |
| SF ONLY Solar Incentive ($4000)* | ($4,000) | ($4,000) | ($4,000) | ($4,000) |
| State Rebate ($1.55/watt)** | ($2,635) | ($3,953) | ($5,270) | ($6,588) |
| Federal Tax Credit (30% Out of Pocket) | ($2,540) | ($4,439) | ($5,919) | ($7,699) |
| 1BOG Free Monitoring/Energy Audit | ($4,390) | ($4,390) | ($4,390) | ($4,390) |
| Total Value | $22,390 | $30,190 | $37,590 | $44,890 |
| Your Net Cost | $6,556 | $10,358 | $13,811 | $17,964 |
| 1BOG Savings | $6,390 | $7,440 | $8,590 | $8,640 |
*SolarCity receives the highest San Francisco city rebate by working with SF’s workforce development program. The public utilities commission changed this maximum rebate in January to $4000. Note, there are considerable additional incentives in addition to the $4000 for non-profits and low-income families.
**The state rebate can vary based on shading, orientation and a few other variables. The dollar amounts above estimates 85% of the maximum rebate, which is close to average rebate amount.
Also note: all roofs are not created equal, and there can be some additions in price for specific items related to individual installations, but the important thing is that these costs are locked down, up front, and are industry standard pricing. The pricing above assumes a typically sloped composite shingle roof, with normal conduit runs and a compatable electrical service.
SolarCity’s SolarLease
SolarCity’s innovative SolarLease allows you to get a solar system on your home without a penny up-front. This can be a boon in these tough economic times. Use the Calculator on the left to estimate what the lease would cost.
Similar to the pricing above, if we reach our goal of 75 homes, all participants receive THREE free months of the lease. You can also get three free months by making a decision within two weeks of getting a proposal from SolarCity. If not, you receive one free month.
The way this works is that SolarCity installs the system on your roof, and then you pay as you go, instead of all at once. You pay a low monthly lease payment that, combined with your new lower utility bill, is usually less than what you are currently paying the utility company. So you can save money from the very first month!
First Solar Thin-Film Panels
First Solar has the first residential thin-film panels available and put into use by SolarCity. They take more space to produce the same power as conventional photovoltaics, but they have two upsides.
First, they’re very pretty. No grid whatsoever, they look like glass skylights.
Secondly, the are not hindered by hot weather like conventional panels, allowing them to mount much closer to the roof, giving them a more aesthetically pleasing lower profile.
Other Notes:
Confused if you’re in the current program? Check out the map… anything in the blue area is in the program.
Questions? Contact brads@1bog.org
