Category Archives: energy savings

May not get solar credit if earnings too low

Posted on May 2, 2016 | Leave a comment

One of the big selling points for installing a solar energy system in your house is the 30 percent federal tax credit that comes with it.

But be careful: If you don’t make enough money to pay federal taxes, the solar credit will not apply.

Will solar add value to your home? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com , the forerunners in green property appraisals in So Cal. for your value questions.

That’s exactly what happened to a retired couple living on Social Security and a modest pension in the Anaheim area who got a rude awakening after spending about $30,000 to have a solar system installed in their home.

“So the total 30 percent (for the solar tax credit) was something like $9,000 and they ended up with nothing because they didn’t owe anything (to the Internal Revenue Service),” said Roger Gresham, president of American Business Services, who prepared the couple’s taxes.

“I hear too many of these commercials talking about this 30 percent tax credit and a lot of people think when they hear that, that it’s going to generate a nice refund and it — in a lot of cases — doesn’t,” Gresham said.

And there is a large number of Americans who don’t pay any federal taxes. According to a report by the Tax Policy Center, 45.3 percent of tax filers do not have any 2015 federal individual income tax liability.

“That’s definitely a problem if you’re retired or a low-income person,” said Ryan Willemsen, founder and chief executive of Solar to the People, a San Diego startup that offers price quotes. “It’s a huge issue and it’s causing a lot of confusion.”

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only.

6 Solar Energy Myths

Posted on March 28, 2016 | Leave a comment

1. There’s Not Enough Sunshine In My Area for Solar

America is bathed in sunlight. Solar works, even in the Pacific Northwest or the Northeast where cloudy days are more frequent — you’ll just need a bigger system. Photoelectric systems produce optimally in spring, summer and early fall. Bear in mind, you don’t need a crystal-clear, blue sky to generate electricity. Even on cloudy days, solar electric systems easily generate 10 to 20 percent of their full capacity.

2. The Cost of Solar Is Too High

The costs associated with home solar electric systems have plummeted in recent years, mostly because of industry streamlining. In fact, solar has never been cheaper.

Moreover, solar electricity’s lifetime cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) is significantly cheaper than other North American utility options, in part because of the federal Investment Tax Credit extension, which is now good until 2022. (See http://goo.gl/F3iPHt for more on tax credit extensions.)

In the Midwest, electricity from a solar electric system currently costs around 6 to 7 cents per kWh with the 30 percent credit, based on installation costs. In sunnier regions, such as the West and Southwest, the cost of electricity from a solar electric system is even lower. For comparison, large, investor-owned utilities typically charge 10 to 17 cents per kWh, sometimes more.

Even without the federal tax credits, solar electricity is still less expensive or on par with energy costs from

major utilities. And, unlike conventional power, the cost of electricity from a solar system won’t steadily increase. Consequently, solar electric systems hedge against inflation and spikes in energy prices, frequently providing a return on investment in the range of 3 to 5 percent.

The challenge with solar is that prepaying your electric bill requires a huge chunk of change. Because you have to pay for 30 to 50 years of electricity upfront, solar often appears outrageously expensive, at first glance.

Fortunately, in many areas, installers will lease you a system. And they’ll install a system on your home free of charge. You’ll simply pay them for the electricity the system generates for a set period, usually about 15 to 18 years. In this case, customers’ electricity bills are often cheaper than what they would have paid to utility providers throughout the life of the lease.

When the lease is up, the solar system will be yours, and all of your electricity will be free from that point on. You could easily benefit from another 15 to 20 years of free electricity, although you might need to install a new inverter.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Solar Energy is Poised for an unforgettable year

Posted on March 14, 2016 | Leave a comment

solar la

New Statistics just released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration suggest that in the coming year, the booming solar sector will add more new electricity-generating capacity than any other — including natural gas and wind.

As part as the typical loan process, lenders randomly assign an appraiser to determine the appraised value of a home. However, solar/energy efficient homes are not a typical home – it is a high performance building with unique features. Fannie Mae,
Freddie Mac and FHA guidelines require appraisers to be competent in the property type they are appraising.

If you do not clearly identify the property as a special property type requiring a competent appraiser trained in solar powered, energy-efficient,
high performance homes, a typical appraiser will be assigned, these features may not be taken into account, which will put your appraisal at risk of not being competently appraised.

Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com; they are Appraisal Institute, Certified Green Appraisers and BPI Certified Building Analysts.

EIA reports that planned installations for 2016 include 9.5 gigawatts of utility-scale solar — followed by 8 gigawatts (or 8 billion watts) of natural gas and 6.8 gigawatts of wind. This suggests solar could truly blow out the competition, because the EIA numbers are only for large or utility-scale solar arrays or farms and do not include fast-growing rooftop solar, which will also surely add several additional gigawatts of capacity in 2016.

In other words, U.S. solar seems poised for not just a record year but perhaps a blowout year. Last year, in contrast, solar set a new record with 7.3 gigawatts of total new photovoltaic capacity across residential, commercial, and utility scale installations.