My friend just got a quote from SolarCity SolarZero - $150 per month and all of your electricity is paid for. Too good to be true?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › My friend just got a quote from SolarCity SolarZero - $150 per month and all of your electricity is paid for. Too good to be true?

turtleattacks

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#272711 10-Jul-2020 17:14

Hi guys,

My mate has signed up to SolarCity that is costing them $150 per month but apparently all of the power is paid for.

They said that their power bill is always above $150 monthly anyway so it's a no brainer.

Is this too good to be true?

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gregmcc

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#2520873 10-Jul-2020 17:18

There has to be some catch in the fine print. It the deal was so good everyone would be doing it and the power companies would go broke.

turtleattacks

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#2520876 10-Jul-2020 17:19

That's what I thought too. If this was the case, I would be powering up my Crypto Mining ring. :)

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lNomNoml

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#2520877 10-Jul-2020 17:26

gregmcc:

There has to be some catch in the fine print. It the deal was so good everyone would be doing it and the power companies would go broke.

Might be locked into a long term contract and high cancellation fee ect

CYaBro

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#2520885 10-Jul-2020 17:53

Isn’t that one if those 20 year deals?
If they decide to sell their house they could be up for a big bill, if the new owner doesn’t want to take over the contract.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

empacher48

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#2520898 10-Jul-2020 18:35

I’m with solarcity and nope, costs us $120 a month for panels and battery.

We spend about $60 a month in summer in electricity for a family of 5 with aircon running 24/7. Then spend about triple that in winter when there is less sun.

They do cap the grid buy rate at 8c Kw/h (not including transmission charges) and whatever you sell is sold at market rates.

All in all we are saving about $1,000 a year in total power costs.

You would save more if you bought it outright, but the joys of leasing them is that whenever anything goes wrong it’s fixed for free. We’ve had 2 panels fail and had them replaced, also we get a battery replacement 10 years in with what will be a better version. All that is done as part of the lease costs.

quickymart

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#2520905 10-Jul-2020 18:48

Friend of mine has lots of solar panels on his roof, he said some months his power bill is $35 total.

New World

Shop on-line at New World now for your groceries (affiliate link).

tdgeek

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#2520906 10-Jul-2020 18:51

turtleattacks:

Hi guys,

My mate has signed up to SolarCity that is costing them $150 per month but apparently all of the power is paid for.

They said that their power bill is always above $150 monthly anyway so it's a no brainer.

Is this too good to be true?

I LOVE solar, but I can't get it, but I do know that for most its marginal at best. If its worth to for them (they make a margin) you are not getting a great result, because your result is minus their profit.

tdgeek

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#2520909 10-Jul-2020 18:53

turtleattacks:

That's what I thought too. If this was the case, I would be powering up my Crypto Mining ring. :)

If it was that great, you would pay the $ outright, and get the benefit, plus their margin

tdgeek

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#2520911 10-Jul-2020 18:59

quickymart:

Friend of mine has lots of solar panels on his roof, he said some months his power bill is $35 total.

My mate is in credit. because he generates a lot and doesn't use it. In Winter he generates not a lot and gets it from the grid. You can and will save a high percentage in Summer, but its a high percentage of not much $

It can work, IF you can move usage. My mates setup owes him close to 50k. Lets say the opportunity cost is 5% thats $2500. My large house, 2 heat pumps, solar HW, doesnt use $2500k of electricity in a year.

gzt

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#2520946 10-Jul-2020 20:53

turtleattacks: Is this too good to be true?

Does Solar City operate in some regions only or national?

jimiham

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#2520982 11-Jul-2020 07:05

My partner used to work at solarcity.

Its Legit. You have to meet a very stringent criteria to qualify and every household pays a different amount per month depending on their electricity use.

Its a 20 year contract, so If you qualify it is a no brainer.