Learn more about solar by watch this solar 101 video!

Choosing the Right Inverter for Your Solar System!

Solar Edge is a superior product and it is the perfect choice for monitoring a PV solar system, especially if you have shading issues due to a tree that you just don't want to trim or cut down. 

With Solar Edge, If one panel is experience shading and that panel's production reduces, with Solar Edge, that one panel is the only one that is affected and not the whole system!

For this reason, I recommend Solar Edge Inverters and install them with my own customers! 

Why Go Solar!

Here is a logical question:

 

If you could start generating your own clean energy with no money out of pocket and stop renting from the utility company, paying them hundreds of dollar each and every month, would you?

 

If the answer is no, why?

 

I really never understood people's logic when it came to excuses such as, I don't have time or I have too much on my plate.  To me, those are excuses.  My answer is, so why would you want to continue being a renter and paying someone else for your energy? Honestly, it's a big waste of your money! 

 

Solar is an investment, an investment for your future that will save you thousands of dollars in the long run.  It will increase the value of your home 15-20% and people shop for homes that already have solar.

 

Calculate your bill for the next 25 years with a 3-6% increase each year.  That is how much money you are throwing down the drain.  Frankly, why be so wasteful and help the environment as well as yourself.  You have to pay to keep the lights on, so why not pay yourself? 

 

Purchase Solar Now and take a long needed trip with the 30% federal tax credit or buy down your loan if you're financing your PV solar system.

 

Solar is a NO Brainer!  All the paperwork, design, permitting are handled for you.  You could start generating your own clean energy very soon!

 

When is the best time to buy solar?  Now!  Why? Summer months have longer daylight hours which produces more energy!

 

Stop putting off going solar because you're too busy!  Let the experts handle it all for you!  Free quotes available- Just Call Now!

 

 

PG&E Net Energy Metering and Billing!

PG&E's Net Energy Metering (NEM) Program provides customers the ability to offset the cost of their electricity with energy their generating system exports to the grid. 

This video simply explains what to expect when your solar system starts producing clean energy and how you are billed.   

Choosing Another PGE Rate Plan when Considering Solar!

PICKING THE BEST RATE PLANS FROM PGE!

The rate plans from PGE are important to look at for those customers who are still considering solar and missed signing up for the E6 plan.  Notice that TOU-A peak times are 3-8pm and TOU-B peak times are 4-9pm. 

Under the TOU-B rate plan, if the sun sets at 8pm, you have lost 1 hour of production and storing credits into the PGE grid.  At least, rate plan TOU-A peak times of 3-8pm during the summer months gives you an opportunity to generate power during daylight hours which will put more credits into the grid.  Each summer month has the potential to overproduce, allowing you to build up and store energy into your account in PGE's grid so that you may use that energy during winter months when your system tends to under produce due to less daylight.

Another issue is placement of the panels on your roof.  E6 is no longer being offered which had a peak rate time of 1-7pm.  That gave you optimum production throughout the whole day and south facing panels was optimal for best energy production.

Those customers who are working with a 3-8pm peak time now have to think about panel placement.  Ask yourself where is the sun at 3pm?  West is the answer.  The perfect placement for this rate plan would be South/West to West.  South will still give your panels exposure as the sun sets and West will extract the maximum amount of power from your system from the hours between 3-8pm.

This is why I always recommend to my customers to install a solar system in the spring-summer months.  Your solar system has great exposure to the sun and your solar panels are extracting the maximum amount of power during daylight hours.

Time-of-Use Rate Plan 3-8 p.m. (ETOU-A) 

This rate plan is best if you don't use much energy and can be flexible about when you use it. If you can reduce your usage from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and keep your total monthly usage low, this rate plan may be best for you.
What you should know about this plan

• Prices are highest during peak periods, which are all non-holiday weekdays from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.*
• Prices could be up to 25% lower during off-peak periods, which include all other hours.
• Recommended for lower use customers who can be flexible with their energy use and shift some energy use away from peak hours to lower-priced times of day.
• This rate includes a baseline credit which provides residential customers with an incentive to conserve energy by keeping their usage low. Customers will receive a credit per kWh for all usage up to the amount of their baseline allowance for the billing period. Determine Your Baseline Allowance »

The charts below show how the rate works for the Time-of-Use Rate Plan 3-8 p.m. (ETOU-A):

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: Pricing is approximate and varies by season. View Current Pricing »
*On January 1, 2020, the peak period hours on the Time-of-Use 3-8 p.m. (E-TOU-A) rate plan will shift one hour later in the day, to a 4-9 p.m. peak period.

Time-of-Use Rate Plan 4-9 p.m. (ETOU-B) 

This rate plan is best if you tend to use a high amount of energy, but can be flexible about when you use it. If you can reduce your usage from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and have a high total monthly usage, this rate plan may be best for you.
What you should know about this plan

• Prices are highest during peak periods, which are all non-holiday weekdays from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Prices could be about 10 to 30% lower during off-peak periods (depending on the season), which include all other hours.
• Recommended for customers who use more energy but can be flexible and shift some energy use away from peak hours to lower-priced times of day.

The charts below show how the rate works for the Time-of-Use Rate Plan 4-9 p.m. (ETOU-B):

 

PLEASE NOTE: Pricing is approximate and varies by season.

Info courtesy of PGE: http://www.pge.com/en/myhome/saveenergymoney/plans/tou/index.page#toub

 

What Rate Plan to Choose if You Missed the Dealine and You Want Solar This Year!

Did you miss the boat and forget to change your rate plan to E6?

 

If you are planning to install PV solar this year but forgot all about changing your rate plan to E6 for solar, be sure to read all about PG&E's rate plans changes at:

 

From PGE - Rate Changes: 2015-2019 that will affect all homeowners!

Go to: http://www.pge.com/en/myhome/saveenergymoney/plans/rateupdates/about/grc.page

 

For PG&E general rate plan information: http://www.pge.com/en/myhome/saveenergymoney/plans/index.page?

 

According to my professional source at Energy Saving Pros, ETOU-A would be the best plan choice for solar customers if ESP is creating a solar system that will cover 70% of your pge bill with South or West facing panels.

Rate plan E1 would be your next best choice for a PV solar system that covers less than 70% of your PGE bill with East facing panels.

Energy Saving Pros could always add panels later if you decide to start off with a smaller PV solar system.  I recommend you install enough panels to cover your high tiers for the best return on investment, that would be a 70% solar system or higher.  Energy Saving Pros would plan for the future and offer you an inverter with enough power to handle any future add-ons.

 

I hope this helps you navigate through PGE's sea of confusion when it comes to rate plans and which one is best for you!

 

 

 

 

PGE E6 is Closing May 30th! 2016!

Time-of-Use Plan (E6) 

The current residential Time-of-Use rate (E6) is closing to new customers not enrolled by May 30, 2016. All customers enrolled in the E6 rate plan as of May 30, 2016 will be able to remain on the rate through 2022.*

 Save by shifting daily usage to low demand times.

 

With Time-of-Use (E6), you still need to conserve energy throughout the month to avoid and react to higher priced tiers, but the price you pay also varies throughout the time of day and season. Because this is a multiple-tiered TOU rate, it is also likely to be best if your total electricity use during the month is low. This works great if you can use air conditioning and major appliances in the morning or late evening (after 7 p.m.) from May through October.

Rates are lowest in the morning, late evening and weekends from May through October, and at all times outside 5-8 p.m. on weekdays from November through April. The graphic below shows Time-of-Use pricing for a customer who stays in the lower priced tier over one year. See the next section to understand Time-of-Use and Tiers.
The E6 rate plan is likely to be the best option if your total electricity use during the month is low. This rate is not likely to be the best option for you if you have a high total monthly usage that goes into the higher priced tiers.

 

E6 Rate Closure  

Recently, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved new rate structures with the goal to more closely align electricity prices with the true cost of providing service. As a part of these changes, the residential E6 rate plan is closing to new customers. Customers who would like to enroll in the E6 rate plan must do so by May 30, 2016. All customers enrolled in the E6 rate plan as of May 30, 2016 will be able to remain on the rate through 2022.*

*In addition to closing the E6 rate plan to new customers who are not enrolled by May 30, 2016, the CPUC ordered that E6 eventually be phased out. Customers may remain on E6 only through 2022. Through 2020, the terms of E6 will remain the same, with a two-year transition to a 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. peak period by 2022. Please note, if you move your service, you will not be eligible to remain on the E6 Rate Plan.

 

Placer County Wants You To Go Solar!

 

MPOWER 100% Financing for Residential Solar and Energy Upgrades!

Placer county wants its homeowners to go solar now!  They have created MPOWER to give the homeowner incentive to purchase solar through this program with NO Money Down!

Don’t wait! Apply now!
Add $1,500 in water efficiency measures when you apply between May 1 and October 31, 2016 and mPOWER will waive the application fee!

It’s a good time to look at MPOWER financing if you’ve been putting off needed upgrades for your home such as a new furnace and air conditioner, energy efficient windows, or even a solar photovoltaic system due to the high up-front costs.

MPOWER offers financing for up to 100% of your project costs with a fixed-interest rate and terms up to 20 years for many improvements.

Start saving money now and protect against utility price increases while increasing the value of your property and improving the comfort of your home.

I love this county program!  You can put solar on your roof with NO MONEY DOWN and start saving money day one.  In addition, you will receive a 30% federal tax credit to which you can either pay down the principal or put it towards your monthly payments and enjoy free energy for a few years.  Simply, the tax credit pays for your monthly payment from MPOWER, so there is no reason not to do this program!

If you are thinking about moving, think about how you can enjoy producing your own free energy while increasing the value of your home.  Having PV Solar on your roof will increase your property value up to 20%.  Real Estate buyers look for homes with PV solar first!  They love the fact that they will be paying less of a monthly payment to MPOWER than a higher bill to PGE.

MPOWER serves Placer County, though there are other programs in neighboring counties that I can discuss with you.  Send me a message and I will be more than happy to help you!

Ending up in PGE's SUE Tier will cost you big money!

Last year Cecil the Lion was hunted and killed!

At the same time, the CPUC announced a 5 year plan to not only show utility rate increases, but to also show a restructuring of utility rate tiers and how it will affect the homeowner.  The media coined this action as the "Greediest Grab Ever".

PGE Rate Structures

Beginning in 2016, PG&E will be reducing the number of tiers in the standard rate plan from 4 to 2 (reducing to three tiers in 2016 and to two tiers with a Super User Electric charge in 2017) as part of Residential Rate Reform efforts.
The two-tier rate structure remains in effect for gas usage.

Electric

Please notice that in 2016 tiers 2 and 3 are combined, which results in 3 tiers, instead of 4.  In 2017, PGE introduces a SUE tier (Super User Electric) and combines tiers 2, 3 and 4. Notice the SUE tier is the highest rate.

Now look at one of Energy Saving Pros customer's PGE bill for the last year...

Depending on the month, this customer uses between 1149 and 2276 kWh per month. 

According to a PGE customer service rep, she tells me that they calculate your kWh according to your region and season.  What this means is that if you live in a hotter area, you will be allotted a different amount of kWh usage than someone who lives out of your region.  The same goes for a region that is cooler.

Using the example above and taking into consideration how much energy he uses, his rate plan, the season, the time in which he uses his energy, the day of week, his region or city where he resides, he could be spending the bulk of his time in the SUE tier, being charged the highest rate.
 
This is a smart reason why you should consider solar now!