Many homeowners who have been waiting for the “right” time to go solar are beginning to see that 2019 is the year to make that leap. There are two main reason.
First, the big California utilities, like Southern California Edison, working with the California Public Utilities Commission, are planning to put all homeowners on a time-of-use (TOU) rate plan by 2020. This means that the rate you pay for electricity will be much higher during periods of high demand – like weekdays and summer evenings. As a consequence, most homeowners are going to see their utility bills increase substantially.
SoCal Edison, through billboard and TV advertising – and on their website – are strongly encouraging homeowners to consider installing a solar system and also to start taking a look at electric cars. If you install a solar system, the utility will pay you for electricity you send out to the grid during the day. Also, a solar system will include smart energy management software that will allow you manage your energy usage from an app on your cell phone.
In addition, if you also install a rechargeable energy storage battery with your solar system, this will allow you to drain the battery during the high-demand period in the evening – and then recharge it in the middle of the night when electricity rates are low.
A second reason to go solar in 2019 is that the federal government is going to start phasing-out the 30 percent energy tax credit at the end of the year.
But don’t worry about the cost of a solar system. Prices for an installed solar system are much lower than they were a couple of years ago. Simple no-money-down financing is readily available that will allow you to MAKE money with a solar system.