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Solar Roof, photo by Marlith
Why don’t more people “go solar?”
The number one reason is the relatively high up-front cost of buying a solar rooftop system.
Solar installation companies have devised several types of programs to take some of “the bite” out of the initial expense. There’s leasing, under which the homeowner pays only a small amount (or nothing at all) out-of-pocket, and the panels belong to the installation company.
Then there’s 1BOG’s business model (which we’ve written about before) under which a critical mass of homeowners in a city sign up, and 1BOG makes a deal with a single local installer that results in a lower cost due to volume.
A few cities have gotten into the act by treating solar power just like any other type of utility. For homeowners who want to participate, panels are installed and hooked up to the grid, at no up-front cost. The purchase price is paid back over several years through a small increase in the homeowner’s property tax.
