POV: I Installed Solar Panels on My Townhome!
I’m Sarah and I got solar panels on my townhouse!
I’m Sarah Delgado, the Operations Manager here at C3 and I recently purchased solar panels for my house! If you’re curious about the installation process, here are a few things I learned along the way.
Because we believe in reducing our carbon footprint, I had been wanting to go solar for quite a few years. Finally in that “forever” home, my partner and I looked into solar options. We already own one EV, and with plans to purchase another, thinking about driving on solar energy alone was a big motivator for us!
In this blog, I speak solely from my experience. Your solar panel journey may be completely different from mine, but I hope this blog encourages you to begin exploring your local solar installation options.
First Steps
To learn more about solar panels, I rewatched C3’s webinar about Solar Panels. Next, I reached out to three local companies that a few friends recommended. All of the companies responded quickly, asking for my address and an estimate of my power costs or my most recent power bill. Using satellite imagery, the companies can pull almost all of the information they need to see if your roof is suitable for solar. I got quotes from two of the companies after this, while the third requested a site visit first.
Once I had quotes from the companies, the information packets provided led me to some additional research.
Choosing a Solar Installer
To compare apples to apples, I started a spreadsheet and noted the similarities and differences in quotes. The first thing I looked at was the size of each system in kW to see if they were sized larger or smaller and any estimates in their quote that led the company to size it that way.
Next, I compared the panel types and the formation of the panels on the roof. Researching the panel types can be a time-sink as there is a lot of information out there about panels, reviews, and comparisons. During our site visit, I also asked the companies why the sizing was the way it was and why they chose the panels they did. I was glad that I did this additional research on REC Panels and QCells because that helped inform my decision about which company I wanted to go with in the end. Both types of panels have pros and cons for different reasons depending on which is better for your home.
Lastly and most importantly to me, I compared the cost of the systems. I took into account the federal solar tax credit that is available, and the financing options recommended by the companies. We were looking into getting a battery backup since we live in a part of town in the suburbs that gets a lot of small outages. This made our quotes a little more complicated than the standard options. One thing to consider is that multiple companies may recommend different size systems. It was helpful for me to consider the price per kW when comparing options, and it was helpful to negotiate our price.
What I found was that, for me, the lifespan of the battery didn’t justify the premium expense, especially since we would use the battery backup very rarely. We can always add a battery later too, and hopefully, the technology will get even better and more affordable in the future!
I also considered factors like my trust in a company’s expertise or longevity and stability that factored into my decision process, but people’s opinions on these sorts of concerns are different for every individual.
Site Visits
The site visits were a good chance for me to ask my questions, and for the companies to look at my roof. One even took drone measurements! They mostly went over their proposals and explained why they proposed what they did. In addition to the questions I mentioned earlier, I asked about the warranties on both the product and the installation. The product and workmanship warranties were very similar, so that made my decisions easier.
Neither of the companies that we did site visits with provided financing options, but they both made external recommendations for banks with lower-than-average rates for qualified buyers. We planned to take out a loan for a portion of the cost, so we compared interest rates for the same loan term and the rates varied. Another thing that varied was the loan-to-value ratio. One bank would lend up to 70% of the value of the solar panels, while the other went up to 100%.
Installation
Once we decided on a company, it got pretty quiet in between application and installation. The company was pulling permits and doing other things behind the scenes while I was working with my HOA. I started by putting in an architectural board request to my HOA. My HOA wasn’t sure what to do about solar panels at first, but they adopted some basic guidelines when it came to solar panels. I found out that in most cases, as long as it’s not forbidden in the original HOA documents, they can’t block you from putting up solar panels on your home in Virginia. My solar panel plan fell into the stipulations that the HOA had laid out, so my plans were approved pretty quickly, all things considered. However, I have heard that other HOAs have taken longer, so I recommend engaging with them as soon as possible if you live in an HOA community.
When the company came for installation, the crew quickly walked around the house with me and discussed their plans again. They then got started and didn’t need much from us throughout the installation. It took under three days to complete the whole project, and we were very happy with the results. The inspection went smoothly, but then we had to wait for the utility to replace my meter before we could turn the solar on, so it took a few weeks before I could turn my system on.
Additional Info: SRECs (State Solar Renewable Energy Certificates) were an option provided by some of the companies, but we did not look into this since we were trying to offset our carbon emissions, not someone else's. However, they can potentially make solar panels more affordable.
Good luck on your solar journey!