I’m partnering with SolarCity on this post and I’m geeking out about them. Have you heard of SolarCity? The company is based here in California and it’s a super high tech, really modern solar energy company. In fact, Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX is their chairman. They’ve essentially disrupted the century-old energy industry by providing less-expensive, renewable electricity directly to homeowners. Their goal is to make solar energy easy by taking care of everything from design and permitting, to monitoring and maintenance.
There’s no upfront cost, you only need a good roof, because solar panel installation is included at no additional cost! Not kidding. You have a consultation and sign up, they install in a day, and the cost of the panels is worked into your monthly bill. Best part? Even with the cost of the panels worked in, your bill is still less than you’re paying right now.
So far, SolarCity serves 16 states and it’s growing fast — it signs up a new customer every minute of the work day. And hey, if you’re a California resident, they have a really good promotion going on: the first 10,000 new customers in California who sign up for SolarCity will receive a Nest Learning Thermostat for free!
So why am I thinking about solar panels? You may have noticed, we took a break on major home renovations while I focused on my book. But now that it’s printed and sitting on my coffee table, we’ve started talking house projects again. In fact, I have a drywall team coming to make a bid this afternoon, and we’re getting measured for new patio doors as well. But the thing we’ve been talking about the most lately is converting our house to solar energy. Solar panels seem like such a natural fit in sunny California, and we have 2 different neighbors that have started using solar panels in the last year, both with really positive results. So it’s on our mind.
Of course, I like the idea of reducing or eliminating one of our bills, but I also love that it feels like a truly eco-conscious step. Some of the earth-friendly actions I take feel sort-of vague, but this feels much more real. Does that make sense? I think I’m a little solar obsessed. My daughter told me she learned that there’s a particular spot in the Sahara desert, and if it was covered in solar panels, it could provide solar energy for the whole world. I LOVE that kind of thing.
The thing that’s stopped us from going forward with solar panels is that I thought the whole process was really complicated. I didn’t know where to start. I suppose that’s another reason I’m so jazzed about SolarCity. I read their how-it-works info, and could feel my mind calm. There are steps! The steps are doable! I don’t have to figure this out myself! I’m really looking forward to our consultation — though I’m nervous that our roof will be too shady with all these trees. Hah!
Now I’m curious. Have you ever considered using solar energy? Are there solar services available where you live? Do any of your friends and neighbors use solar? Have you read much about it? Oh man. I find it so appealing. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Lee
April 14, 2015 at 6:20 pmI definitely have especially since I grew up with solar hot water. Our roof is shaded though so it is not an option for us. Does the treehouse roof get enough sun?
Design Mom
April 14, 2015 at 6:50 pmI’m not sure, but I’m crossing my fingers. I’ll find out during the consultation.
Allyson
April 14, 2015 at 6:30 pmWe bought an energy efficient townhouse a year ago that came with solar panels and they’re the greatest thing ever. Obviously the cost was factored into the selling price of the house, but it’s so nice having a $9 power bill each month. The nice thing too is that the power company here in Utah will rollover our unused solar power to the next month, so whatever we don’t use gets banked for the next month. It’s really nice during the summer time when all we really pay for are the fees to check the meter. And the real positive is that it’s helping us do our small part to be more energy efficient.
Design Mom
April 14, 2015 at 6:50 pm$9 power bill? Oh man. We have GOT to go solar.
Amy D
April 14, 2015 at 6:51 pmWe use solar panels through Vivint. Best thing ever! They installed for free. They cover $1 million damage contract. They do not need to go inside to use attic to install panels. They have new technology to set up panels. Electric bills went from average $200-500 down to $8.00. That’s it. It’s amazing! I love the people from Vivint. Very friendly and awesome!
Design Mom
April 14, 2015 at 6:53 pmGood to know, Amy. I didn’t even know Vivint did solar panels. They’ve been a sponsor at Alt Summit, but their focus was on security systems at that time.
Amy D
April 14, 2015 at 7:01 pmThey have expanded. And many people I know so far loved Vivint. They are a company based out of Utah (I think…I could be wrong) that offers solar panels (free!) with cool contract, security system, and internet services. The prices? It’s awesome! Check it out.
Sarah
April 14, 2015 at 8:04 pmPlanet Money JUST did a show about solar last Friday. They feature Solar City in the program.
Design Mom
April 15, 2015 at 10:41 amThank you so much for the link, Sarah! I am going to listen to it today.
lusekelo
April 14, 2015 at 8:46 pmI think it is a good project and it will encorage most people to go solar,this is because there is no cost on their side.
Katie
April 14, 2015 at 9:08 pmWe just installed solar at the end of last year. It’s great! We bought the panels outright instead of leasing because we wanted the long-term financial savings and leasing didn’t have the upside for us that we were looking for. I’d just compare the details carefully, especially locking into a long-term lease if you don’t plan on owning the property long term? We bought enough panels so we could power my husband’s electric car and use as much energy as we need without having a bill at all. In fact, we anticipate a check from the power company this year for the energy they will buy from us. I love knowing our energy use is so clean and cheap!
Design Mom
April 15, 2015 at 10:41 amSo great! I love that you’ll be getting a check back.
Annie
April 14, 2015 at 10:25 pmOoh! Keep us updated! We’re tearing down our crumbly old house next month and starting to build brand new this summer and have talked for years about doing solar when we build so we’ve been looking into it more seriously the last few weeks. I’d love to hear how it all shakes out for you, especially with all the trees.
Design Mom
April 15, 2015 at 10:41 amWill do!
jody marie
April 15, 2015 at 7:53 amI think solar can be soooo great! Any big investment should come with a lot of research though–there is this really great free solar buying guide from LSU that would be a good idea to look at for anyone considering solar. Hope this helps!
Design Mom
April 15, 2015 at 10:42 amAgreed! We’ve been reading everything we can.
Amy
April 15, 2015 at 8:53 amWe got solar a few months ago! So excited to see the tiny electric bills. We ended up going with a lease at SunPower over one with SolarCity. We negotiated the lease rates and feel it was the best solution for our family. Good luck with all your research.
Design Mom
April 15, 2015 at 10:43 amThanks for the input, Amy! I love hearing from families that have moved to solar with success.
Sheila
April 15, 2015 at 10:45 amWe have had solar for many years and love it! I would encourage you to go for it. If a program like this existed back then, it would have been a godsend, because it was pretty pricey, but now that it’s been 20+ years, we’ve more than got our investment. Our bills run around $25 which just about blows my mind! And by the way, our house is too shady for solar, but our garage isn’t so keep that option open. Good luck and thanks for such a great post! :)
Cecilia
April 15, 2015 at 11:39 amWoot! Writing about this on your blog is going to help the planet!
I think people want to reduce their bills and help heal the planet but just don’t know how to start. I know I’ve felt overwhelmed in the past but hearing about this is great! We will need a new roof in the next few years and I would love to put panels on the south-facing side. Maybe SolarCity will be in Maine by then? Here’s hoping!
Design Mom
April 15, 2015 at 6:41 pmI agree. It’s hard to know where to start. I LOVE that it’s becoming easier and easier to do these days.
Amy3
April 15, 2015 at 11:48 amI would love to do this – and have a friend in Florida who did and is very happy with the results – but I live in a coop in NYC and so it’s definitely not up to me. I should bring it up at our next annual meeting. I wonder if they’d consider it?
Good luck!
Jillbert
April 15, 2015 at 12:29 pmWe had solar installed 2 years ago — our electrical company was offering a generous rebate. We live in a HOA so we had to get approval which was not a problem. We do need to have some tree trimming this year as one spot doesn’t get much sun in the summer do to foliage. It will involve removing a branch that hangs over our house. Our county has strict codes regarding solar panels on the roof which limited the number we could have — they require a 3ft non-panel area on all sides of the roof. We have a fairly small house with 3 separate roof area so we could not install enough to be fully solar reliant . Still, our electrical bill has gone down dramatically. We expect the panels to pay for themselves over 5 years and we are now two years in. I think companies that can make this affordable are great! Our installation required a significant outlay of cash up front — then we had to wait for a rebate and we also got some tax benefits the following year when we filed.
Crystal
April 15, 2015 at 1:01 pmMy husband and I have been discussing Solar City for months, this post finally made me act! I followed the link and requested a consultation. Thanks!
Design Mom
April 15, 2015 at 6:39 pmWoo hoo!
Nora
April 15, 2015 at 1:19 pmhabe you looked into grey water systems? It’s starting to be legal in places with water shortages. Saving shower water to flush the toilet brings down the water bill.
Design Mom
April 15, 2015 at 6:39 pmI haven’t looked into them, but I need to. I shake my head in wonder and exasperation everytime I remember that we flush out toilets with drinking water. Nuts!
Kathryne
April 15, 2015 at 1:20 pmWe are in Las Vegas, Nevada. My parents have had them for about 10 years and my neighbors about 5 years. They have enjoyed the results overall. They bought them outright and my parents are almost paid in full with the savings on electricity costs. They work great … 2 caveats : here in Las Vegas, they just added a monthly surcharge to their bill (I think $25.00?) to cover the electric companys infrastructure costs, so their $9.00 bills will go up. Second, here in Nevada there is always a big discussion of buying the cheaper solar panels made in China, or buying the USA made solar panels?????
JoanieO
April 15, 2015 at 6:19 pmWe live in Australia where it’s a no brainer to get solar (even down the bottom where we are). The government had a big scheme a while back to get people on board, and most of the energy companies pay rebates so that the excess power your panels generate goes back into the grid and MAKES you money. There are at least four of our neighbours that have panels too, it’s become pretty commonplace. I’m not sure but I think new houses here must install Solar Panels or Rainwater tanks to get building approval.
Design Mom
April 15, 2015 at 6:41 pmSo cool! I can totally imaging California adopting similar guidelines. I would be glad if they did!
Jessica @ Little Nesting Doll
April 15, 2015 at 8:40 pmMan, I am OBSESSED with the idea of going solar. This option isn’t available where we live though, but I had no idea there were companies that would do this–taking away the up front cost makes the whole thing seem more doable! I’m researching now to see what’s in our neck of the woods…
Amanda
April 15, 2015 at 9:35 pmLots of people in our Portland neighborhood have used SolarCity to great results, but our roof didn’t qualify, and buying our own panels is cost prohibitive for us at the moment. Someday! For what it is worth (and in case they are reading this!) we were bummed with how SolarCity treated us. Long waits for response to any of our questions and generally crummy customer service. I hope it was because they were swamped–I so value renewal energy, and it put a damper on things for us.
Rebecca
April 15, 2015 at 10:05 pmSuch funny timing! Literally the night before this post was published I had just, at long last, requested a consultation from Sungevity. They called me in the morning (before I went on your site and saw this post) and said that our roof doesn’t work for them because it’s not big enough to fit 8 panels (their minimum). Now I just requested a consultation from Sunpower, the company where my sister-in-law works, to find out their options. We are in Berkeley, and since we redid our crumbling roof two years ago, I’ve been wanting to seriously look into solar, but our electric bill was already very low. Now we have a hot tub though, and that does use more energy. So I’m excited to see if there’s a good solar option for us that we can afford.
Rebecca
April 15, 2015 at 10:29 pmWe installed panels on our house in Fremont a couple of years ago (through Sungevity). The best part? We just bought a Nissan Leaf, and when we plug it in on sunny days we can charge it for free :)
Design Mom
April 16, 2015 at 7:02 amSo cool!
Meredith
April 17, 2015 at 2:26 amBe incredibly careful with your deals. My sister and my dad were both told by their sakes guy “sure, if you move we can take down your system no problem”. Which was a LIE. Additionally, be very cautious about the size of the system you install. My dad and his wife had a system out in their 3000sq ft home that was larger than needed. But their checks and balances didn’t catch it. BAD advice. Their guy should have said “huh this is two people in a home. It doesn’t have to be this large”. But he got a system that was half again as large as my sister had installed for the same size house but family of 6. Shortly after, My dad happened to find his mountain Dream home 3 months after installing a solar city system. They listed their house for sale and had FIVE sales fall through because of the too large system. It shows as a liability in debt to income ratio because payments are a lease, not an electric bill. In the end my dad had to pay solar city $21,000 to buy down the lease so he could sell his house.
I’m so furious about how this whole thing went down I won’t touch them with a ten foot pole. So unethical. They took advantage of my dad and did nothing to make it right. After 6 months of double payments not selling his house, he finally conceded to the $21,000 buy down. Lousy.
Lindsay
April 17, 2015 at 8:12 amThanks for geeking out! I read this and clicked over to read all about this cool company bc we are about to move to an area that doesn’t have access to gas, so our electric bill will likely be quite expensive. I will definitely be looking into solar power. Good for our planet and our wallets.
Kate the Great
April 17, 2015 at 10:52 pmWe heard about SolarCity. We love the idea of solar panels and of renewable energy. We did a consultation and we got a copy of the contract.
Because my dad’s job involves writing and making a dealing contracts, he’s taught me to read all contracts. And I do– all online “just click this box and go on” stuff, all doctor’s contracts before appointments (even with my little kids in the lobby), everything. And in this case, I was SO glad I did.
The contract for SolarCity is really long and really detailed. And it states a few things that I was uncomfortable with– stuff like, “We have the right to cut down any trees on your property so our solar panels will work right, now and in the future.” And “if your solar panel doesn’t produce this much electricity, you have to pay us.” Even when I live in Oregon.
If it were just those two things, I might be able to live with that. But on my first read through, I had four notebook pages of questions. Granted, I was scribbling, and my notebook wasn’t a school-sized notebook… So I brought the four pages to Just’In and asked him to ask the consultant about them. And while I waited, I read the contract again. And I came up with more questions and more, “Is this REALLY what it says?” questions.
That contract, man… It made both of us feel uncomfortable. So much that we didn’t get solar panels. Yes, I love the IDEA of solar panels. But until I can find a better company with a better contract…
Metedith
April 21, 2015 at 9:38 amYup. My dad got screwed by the fine print. $21,000 screwed when he sold his house. He had 5 sales fall thru because of a poorly designed system. He had to pay $21,000 to buy down the lease for future home owner.
Tim
December 3, 2015 at 2:05 amGreat article! Im into renewable energy and have decked out my roof with panels but not from Solar City. I heard great things about them, and their credibility is up there especially with Mr. Musk as chairman. I moved out Florida recently to Cali and wish the state of Florida gov was more focus on bringing solar panels easier to the public considering the year round sun. But looks like the laws are changing there for the better.