A $48,000 Mistake in Going Solar

By Judi Curry

What I am about ready to write about is only my experience with trying to help the environment.  Others may not have had the same experience and I want to say, again, that this is only my opinion and experience.

In August of 2018, I decided that I wanted to put solar on my roof. I thought it would help the environment; it would lessen my enormous electric bills; and with the offers of “no pay” it was too good to turn down.

I checked with my accountant, and she told me that I would be able to take a write-off on my taxes every year.  So, I had it installed. (I asked about having the battery function put on also, but the installer told me it was manufactured by TESLA and over $10,000 more than the $30,000 I was paying for the solar. I elected not to have it put on.)

As I began getting my monthly electric bill, I was surprised to find that with the 24 panels I had installed there was not much of a change in my monthly bill, although it was slightly less than it was before the solar installation.  I couldn’t help but remember people telling me that I live at the beach and there are many cloudy days and I would not get the same benefits as people living inland  with their solar installation. I should also say that even though I was getting a monthly electric bill, I was not to pay it; that would come in August of 2019, after I had had the solar for a full year.  And lucky me – I would get to pay the whole year at one time!

Then I received my tax bill for 2019!  I was floored to find out that there was an additional charge of $2800 for the solar.  When I used the PACE program to purchase the solar, I was told it would be handled through my taxes, but being blond, I did not realize that it would appear on my tax bill every year.  Then I figured out that if the solar cost me $30,000 and I was paying yearly, it would end up costing me much more than the $30,000 I paid initially because of interest. I decided to refinance the house and pay off the solar expense.  Which I did.

Now let’s move on to March of 2019.  I have an old house. It was built in 1950.  The original heating unit was an oil burner, which is still in the “basement” of the house.  But before we purchased the house the previous owners had replaced it with a floor furnace, and for years it heated most of the house without any problem.

Until March of 2019. I noticed as I walked past the furnace, I was smelling gas.  I was afraid that it might cause a fire, and it was time to put in something different. I talked to several of my friends that had “splits” – air conditioning and heating, and they all said they were very happy with it.

Forced air. All photos by Judi Curry or her friends.

I knew I didn’t need air conditioning – after all, I live at the beach – but there were a few hot days that it would have been nice – so I decided to put in the splits in my office, my bedroom, and the living room.  The company that I purchased it from assured me that the three places I had selected would either heat or cool the house sufficiently and I didn’t need more than the 3 units.  The cost of the units were $18,000 and the installation was completed by June of 2019.

We did not have a real hot summer and I only used the air conditioning unit twice all summer.  But come the autumn and winter, I found that I was using the heat – the electric heat – more often.  And then I received my first electric bill – $410 – the highest electric bill I had ever received while living in this house.  Of course the times I was using the heat was the 4:00- 9:00pm times – when electricity is the most expensive.

I was more careful the next month, but the bill was still over $300. So I called the company to come out and check to make sure it was functioning correctly.  According to them it was, and they suggested that my solar was malfunctioning.  So I called the solar company. They came out, did a few adjustments and assured me that it was because I was now using electric heat, that I was using all of the build up that I was generating from the solar and unless I used less heat my bills would not show any substantial lessening than before I put in the solar.

I did what I should have done in the first place – received an estimate on forced air heating.  I had several estimates and decided that the best thing I could do was use the air conditioning in the summer when – if – I needed it and put in the forced air heating. (The reason I didn’t do that in the first place was because I didn’t want my walls broken into for the vents.  I didn’t realize that in order to put in the splits that would happen anyway.)

And let me throw out one other thing – the first time I used the air in my office it seems that they had connected the “out-take” wrong and the water, instead of being diverted outside, came into the room.  I didn’t realize it until I walked into my office barefooted and found myself walking on water!  My carpet and hardwood floors needed to be replaced! Of course they paid for that!

Split

I decided on a company that came highly recommended for the forced air,  and they began the installation of the new heating unit.  If any of you followed a previous post that I wrote, you know that I caught COVID from someone in the crew – and even today, 2 ½ months later, am still suffering from some of the COVID symptoms.  But, I now have received my first electric bill since I had the new heating unit put in and I am happy to say it was substantially lower than any other bill I have received since this whole fiasco began.  Of course my gas bill is higher – but still not as high as the electric bills have been.

So what is the purpose of writing this?

Just to warn those of you that are thinking of getting solar in the beach area to think very carefully about why you are getting it.  Keep in mind the number of cloudy days vs the number of sunny days; keep in mind that just because you have installed solar that your electric bills may not change a whole lot. If you are going to change your heating units, check out all of the options that you have before you make the final decision. Don’t do what I did – and rely on good friends for their advice.

In the long run I hope that this will  even itself out.  The interest on my mortgage payment has been reduced significantly and I am paying only a few dollars more than before I refinanced; I can turn my heater on from 4-7:00pm and not worry about choosing my medicine over my electric bill.

But what I did was very costly – and very, very blond. If I had to do it again I would not put in solar; and I would definitely not put in the split unit.  Maybe I have learned for my next big purchase – my leaking roof!