In the past few years, utilities across the country — from Indiana to Massachusetts to Arizona — proposed mandatory or voluntary demand charges for residential customers. With the right resources and knowledge, it is definitely possible to reduce your monthly bill on a demand charge rate. But in many situations, including often for people with solar on their roof, demand charges can lead to more expensive bills overall.
If you own a home, you’ve probably experienced the shock of opening your monthly electricity bill in the mail and seeing a dollar total that is higher than you expect. It’s a common part of home ownership, and one that you can hear homeowners lamenting as electricity rates increase – “Why is my electric bill so high? Why does it keep going up?”.
If you’re considering whether going solar is a worthwhile financial move for your home, there are essentially two factors that you should look at: 1) the costs associated with solar power, and 2) the rates you pay for electricity from your utility. Going solar makes economic sense when solar electricity costs less than grid electricity.
Massachusetts is considered a leading solar state. Find out why solar is so popular
Despite the state’s reputation for its cold, snowy winters, going solar is in fact a great way for Massachusetts residents to save money on their power bills. In this article we take a look at why solar panels are such a great investment for your home or business in Massachusetts.
2015 was a big year for residential solar power for the USA. Massachusetts is going to be one of the states that leads the way as more and more Massachusetts homeowners and businesses discover the benefits of rooftop solar panels in MA. Once a state filled with underserved renewable demand, Massachusetts is starting to heat up as a leading solar state, according to various data reports. Continue reading
As a result of solar PV cost declines, rising utility rates, and supportive public policies and incentives, residential rooftop solar PV has become an affordable option for millions of customers, especially in America’s 50 largest cities. This is especially true if customers have the ability to access low-cost financing options like longer-term loans, leases, and third-party power purchase agreements (PPAs) that eliminate the upfront cost. Thus, the availability of solar PV (and other ways to more efficiently use energy) has caused many customers to seek their own degree of personal “energy independence” by focusing on ways they can diversify their energy choices and exert greater control over their utility bills.
However, most of the customers who want a greater degree of personal energy independence (and the community leaders who wish to help them get there) often do not understand (or are simply unaware) of how solar PV technology can help them save money and reap the rewards of a largely risk-free long-term investment. Often, the lack of familiarity most customers have with solar PV has the effect of increasing the costs (often called “customer acquisition costs”) that solar PV installers must incur to educate consumers and make a sale. When one considers that selling more PV systems is how solar installers can reduce their other costs and make their businesses leaner, more competitive, and cost-effective without incentives, educating customers and community leaders about the “dollars and cents” value of solar PV truly is paramount. Continue reading
EnergySage is pleased to announce the development of a formal relationship with the Massachusetts Sierra Club to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies, such as solar photovoltaic (electric), solar thermal (hot water) and geothermal-heat pump (space cooling and heating) systems. The joint effort will focus on proactive outreach, education and free advocacy services for owners and decision-makers at commercial properties, including businesses, religious institutions, government buildings, schools and non-profits. The details of this partnership can be viewed here. Continue reading
There’s nothing as immutable as the basic laws of supply and demand. Right? Well, a recent CNN blog post is saying not so fast. With worldwide demand for oil low, CNN’s blogger asks, “so why is oil trading high at $113 a barrel, more than twice the price it was trading at five years ago when the global economy was booming? What in the world is going on?” Continue reading
Hello to new EnergySagers –
I’m located in Massachusetts and I thought my recent experiences looking into solar PV for my house might be helpful for folks.
First off, I should say that I’m pretty lucky to have an unobstructed south-facing roof. I’ve been thinking about solar for a while, and watching prices go down, so a couple of months ago I started asking people who had installed solar PV panels if they could recommend companies. I found two through word of mouth and then I found three more via EnergySage.com.
If you’ve taken steps to save on electricity at home, but you’re not currently thinking about installing a solar energy system right now, consider the following.
A recent Associated Press headline read, “Shocker: Power Demand From U.S. Homes is Falling” but the real shocker came later in the article.
“Suddenly faced with shrinking sales, some utilities are asking for regulatory changes so they can charge higher rates per kilowatt hour in exchange for helping customers further reduce consumption . . .” Doesn’t this violate the basic law of supply and demand—that as demand goes down, prices go down, too? Continue reading
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