May was Reconciliation Month!
Wow! It’s pretty cool to get a check from a utility You’ve been paying for years, month by month.
Let’s see, I’ve been paying at least one utility bill since 1974, when I rented an apartment in New Cumberland! That’s approximately 443 monthly payments!
I owe it to a smart investment in Solar PV (Photovoltaic) panels and our nearly-alive Solar Tracker. Oh yes, the naysayers call solar a ridiculous investment! Thanks to higher efficiency and more affordable solar technologies, our PA Sunshine Program Rebate, and the 30% Federal Tax Credit for Solar, our installed solar system has a financial payback of 4 years.
You don’t need the 30% Federal Tax Credit? We hear that often from retirees and now have a program that will deduct the full value of the 30% Federal Tax Credit right off the top!
Emotionally, I think our system has already paid us back! It’s a great feeling to be an energy producer and SELL something to a utility that’s you’ve only ever been a user of and a BUYER of electricity.
We don’t recommend buying a home solar system to become an electricity generator, generating excess electricity to sell back to the utility, and get a check. On a year-over-year basis, we recommend building a system that is affordable and more appropriate for your electricity consumption.
Since May is PPL’s annual reconciliation month, during their accounting periods, you may have produced excess electricity. Of course, come April of 2013, we’ll have to report that “darned” income to the state, so those naysayers get their slice of it by way of the ridiculous investors paying taxes!
PV sales have slowed down in Pennsylvania, but haven’t stopped. Many of our first-round Customers have since purchased additional systems – as many as two more systems! While the PA Sunshine Program is NOT as financially friendly as the early days, it’s still active and going. There’s money left in the program, although we recently were informed that distribution of the funds may be delayed until later this Summer.
What’s the future of solar?
We’re continuing to train and keep up with the latest technologies. Sunpower continues to be our lead brand & while the panels aren’t USA made, Sunpower is a US Corporation, paying US taxes and employing a large team of US citizens – and – the panels are made in LEED accredited facilities! We’re also reviewing several new products, including a solar tracker system made in the USA.
We also offer a solar maintenance program, since the operation of the system is nearly invisible. Of course, you can monitor your system on line and generate alarms when the system is not working, but the minimal dirt build-up on the panels is sometimes overlooked. Dirt can easily cause a 10% degradation in electricity production.
