Some other near-term to-dos:

• We need to activate G-Suite emails for our domain
• We need to start building an email database of users (first call and get consent).
• We need to activate a Vertical Response or MailChimp account for the emailings
• Start the profile page construct for companies
• Create multiple SolarAcademy twitter accounts and follow various types of solar companies. Intake all daily news and categorize them. Formulate the intake and dissemination process to various types of profiles of professionals.

As we build SolarAcademy, in the near-term, I believe we will need the following:

• Account Manager(s) who sell and deliver our Marketing Services
• Content Editor(s) who curate daily content for the community
• A part-time CTO who will take our current wordpress-powered platform and turn it into a more flexible and powerful content / community platform that supports:
  • In the near-term:
    • User sign up / login
    • Preference based mailings
    • Geo-targeted content serving
    • Intagration with Vertical Response or MailChimp or similar
    • Real-time zoom-like video conferencing feature connecting solar buyers with solar profesionals, and, solar pros with solar pros.
  • In the medium-term:
    • Profile pages for all companies and users (a-la-Linkedin)
    • Jobs listing section
    • Community Manager(s) who oversee the user generated content

If you are a homeowner and are considering solar, how you move forward really depends on who you are.

Imagine this: You are your partner just bought a new bookshelf from Etsy. It is being handmade and shipped to your doorstep in a couple weeks. The shelves need to be installed on the wall of your living room. The bookshelf consists of seven shelves and 14 brackets that need to be installed on the wall at the right distance from each other, and perfectly level. Each shelf also came with LED lights that have to be attached to the underside of the shelves in a way that the wiring and the fixture are discrete and out of sight.

What do you?

• You know you are handy and enjoy DIY’ing, so you set aside a day from your weekend and just do it yourself
• You are not that handy, but prefer to teach yourself and save the money. You might even call a few local handymen, who come by to give you an estimate and discuss how they would do it. You listen to each one and do it yourself anyway
• Call a few local handymen for estimates and just pick one that seems most reasonable and reliable

Going solar is not dissimilar, although it is a lot more complex as a process, with many components and processes. Some homeowners are skilled and inclined enough to take care of the entire process themselves, handling each of the financial, technical and local policy compliance, and even installing the system by themselves. While others could not be bothered with anything other than the savings and just need a reliable solar installer to manage the project on a turnkey basis. Many others fall somewhere in between: they get involved in the process, talk to installers, solar equipment sellers, other homeowners, local building officials, to learn as much as they can about the various components and processes.

Here at SolarAcademy, you will find the tools and resources no matter who you are. Being clear about who you are from the get-go will help you navigate this process more effectively.

In our next article, we will break down the different processes and components of solar buying to help you understand your gaps in knowledge, and point to resources that will fill those gaps.

For home solar, ownership is usually better, but it depends.

For a typical single-family home (2 bed / 2 baths), installing solar PV can be a sizeable investment to pay for upfront or take a loan out for. A solar lease or power purchase agreement (PPA), or what are commonly referred to as ‘Third-party owned’ (TPO) options can be beneficial in some instances. As is the case with any high-value home upgrade, understanding your own situation is a good place to start. Here are some things to consider:

1. Financial

Liquidity is key
If you have the money lying around to invest in solar, or if you are able to access a reasonably-priced loan and the effective ‘cost’ of your money is lower than what solar can offer, then you should consider paying for solar outright or taking out a loan.

Let’s unpack this … If you’re working with a seasoned installer, you should receive a 25-year ‘Cash Flow Table‘ which takes into account your upfront payment or loan numbers (as the case may be), dollar savings on your energy bill, tax benefits, and any other incentives that might accrue to you. The simplest way to understand these cash flow tables is to look at your net cash flow at the end of 25 years. Note that this final number will vary based on whether it is a full-cash payment or a loan. With a loan, down-payment amount, interest rates and loan tenures will affect the final figure. In any case, this final figure is what you will use as a point for comparison.

Now, solar is considered a low-risk investment. Rarely do solar PV systems break down or need service. So, the appropriate metric to compare the net 25-year figure is against another low-risk investment. Say a term deposit or bond instrument. If you were to invest in a bond, the same amount that you would pay to own solar, what is the value of the investment after 25 years? This is not hard to calculate. The difference in the net value of your bond and the net value of solar PV will help you decide if solar is worth owning.

In the case of a lease or a PPA, the financial costs and benefits of ownership are to the account of the third party offering you the lease or PPA. Moreover, some deals require an annual escalation in the price paid the solar provider. And if you study the 25-year cash flow table for a lease or a PPA, you will see, given the liquidity, it is not the financially prudent approach to going solar.

So, third-party-owned (TPO) solar is a better option when there is a lack of liquidity and the savings being offered by the TPO company are significant in the longer term.

2. Maintenance

Solar PV systems are comprised of three main components:

• Solar panels: The panel captures the sun’s rays and converts photons to electrons
• Inverter(s): This converts the panels’ DC output to grid-compliant AC power
• Racking: The structure that is used to attach the solar panels to a roof

Every panel, inverter and racking company is different, and their products may vary in quality and performance but suffice it to say that reputed solar manufacturers build their components for extreme conditions (PV panels, in particular) and durability.

Besides the components, a critical aspect of the solar PV system is the quality and durability of the installation itself.

If you own the system, and all well-informed about how to buy solar components and services, there is a better chance of controlling not only the brand and quality of the components used, and also the quality of installation done.

There are two main areas of concern with respect to solar PV maintenance.

1. Structural: This has to do with how the racking system has been attached to the roof.
   Typically, the main cause for concern for any homeowner is “What if my roof leaks?” When going solar with a lease or a PPA, the liability of any potential roof leak can be passed on to the TPO-provider. However, this problem can be mitigated by working with a seasoned solar PV installer. One that has roofing professionals with strong credentials, liability insurance, and a long-standing reputation in the community.
2. Electrical: These might be breakdowns in the panel, the inverter or the wiring
   On the electric side, most PV systems come with diagnostics that let you know when a string or a specific solar panel within an array is not functioning at its potential. Also, most panels and inverters have long-term warranties. Doing your homework, and making sure that the installer is procuring high-quality components will go a long way in ensuring that future maintenance problems are minimized.

While TPO providers may be held ultimately liable for maintenance, it is important to weigh this against the financial opportunity cost of not owning solar (see above). Further, the local installer may offer long-term service coverage in case of structural and electrical issues.

3. Selling your home with solar: Owned vs. TPO

Transferring ownership of a home which has a significant asset (solar PV system) owned by another party is going to be more work and paperwork than if you simply owned the system and sold the home on an as-is basis. Also, it is important to read the fine print. Some TPO solar providers write the contract in a way that places a lien on your home at the time of sale. This is them protecting their investment, but if it is not understood upfront, it can be a cause for heartburn later.

If the solar PV system is owned by the homeowner and was procured using a loan, then the simplest path would be to roll the price of solar into the price of the home and pay off the solar loan when the seller receives the money from the sale. This situation is a win-win for everyone because the seller is likely to get a better price for the home because of solar (see research) and the new homeowner will pay for solar as part of the home loan, at the same (lower) interest rate.

So, in summary, if a homeowner is considering going solar, owning the system is the preferable way forward if one has the liquidity, the ability to dig a little deeper into the components and install process, and is looking to get a better value from solar when the home is sold. Conversely, TPO solar is better for the homeowner with limited liquidity or access to credit, lack of bandwidth for the solar process, and not much concern about resale of the home.

In a following next article, we will cover the considerations of ownership vs TPO for commercial and industrial applications.

P.A.C.E. (Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing is an innovative way of financing renewable energy upgrades and renewable energy installations on residential, commercial, and industrial buildings.

The key unique benefit of PACE financing is the way the loans are structured. Backed by city governments, municipalities and traditional financiers, PACE loans enable building owners to use the equity in their buildings to get loans to upgrade their buildings.

These investments decrease the operating costs of the buildings while also decreasing the carbon footprint. The loans are attached to the building instead of the owners. The loan payments are attached to the tax asessments and tax payments.

You can find general information on PACE financing here on this Wikipedia page.

Furthermore, on this page, you can find additional information on the state of PACE Programs near you.

Operations and Maintenace services are key for most solar systems. Traditionally the utility scale solar segment had established O&M companies servicing these large scale solar systems.

O&M has not been a mature service in the residential and commercial segments of the solar industry. Generally O&M has been offered by the local solar installers as a secondary offering. And in many cases, O&M has not really been offered as a product or service by these installers but instead were included in the original installation service under the 5 or 10 year installer’s warranty.

With the market reaching a higher levels of maturity, new O&M companies are being formed all around the nation. This article by SolarPro Magazine highlights one such company: Amicus O&M Cooperative

Energy Toolbase is an industry leading software platform for analyzing and proposing the economics of solar PV and energy storage projects.

Here is a demo of their platform:

And here is a more recent demo of their solar + storage functionality: