Why pricing solar is so complex


August 29, 2019 | 3min read

Every solar power system is custom-designed to fit the home it is installed on. The amount of power the system produces is also designed to meet the needs of the household it serves. There can also be incentives that can offset the cost of going solar. These and other reasons are why pricing solar is so complex.

Pricing solar is a lot like pricing an addition to your home

When you add on to your home, an architect designs the addition and the builder builds it according to that design. Because they base their design on your home’s existing structure, the resulting design for your addition is unique to your home.

Get the FAQ’s of going solar with Freedom Forever

Installing a solar system works the same way. Your solar installation company has a design team that custom designs your solar system to fit your home. They determine which way the panels should face. How to connect your system to your home electrical system, and where the components of the system need to be mounted. All of those factors affect how much it will cost the company to build your system.

Solar is priced to fit your needs

Another factor that goes into pricing solar is the amount of energy you need the system to produce. Your energy needs are determined using your electric bill. Solar systems are usually designed to produce as much power as they are allowed to. The maximum amount of power your system is allowed to produce is usually set by your local utility company. For example, San Diego Gas and Electric allows you to generate up to 115% of your highest monthly electrical usage.

The amount of power you need the system to produce will determine how many solar panels are needed to build the system. Solar panels themselves are priced according to the amount of power they produce. So the number of panels that will be needed to build your system will be based on the amount of power you need and the solar panels that are chosen to build your system with.

Some states offer incentives that affect pricing solar

Incentives that can offset the price of going solar vary by state and even by utility company. You can look up solar incentives that are in your area by visiting DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy). It lists by state and by utility the available rebates, incentives and other programs that can help you save money by going solar. In some states, it may be permitted to sell RECs.  RECs are created when renewable energy generation, including solar panels, generate electricity, but RECs are not the electricity itself. Instead, RECs represent the environmental attributes of that electricity. Because RECs can be bought and sold, whoever owns the RECs has the legal right to say they used “clean” or “renewable” energy.

Freedom Forever takes the guesswork out of pricing solar

As you can see, there are a lot of factors that are involved in pricing a solar system. Freedom Forever’s family of independent authorized dealers are experts in pricing solar. When you sign up for a quote, a Freedom Forever independent dealer will come to your home. They will help you choose the solar system that will best meet your needs. Once your dealer tells us what kind of system you need, our design team will then design your custom Freedom Forever solar system.

While your system will be designed to custom-fit your home, it will share one thing in common with all Freedom Forever solar systems. It will be covered by our 25-year production guarantee. Subject to the terms and conditions in your contract, we guarantee the amount of power your system produces for 25 years.

What we do if there is a problem. We monitor your system for 25 years. If we detect that its performance is falling short, we’ll contact you and send someone out to fix it. If the shortfall is caused by something that is our fault, we will compensate you for the shortfall. The amount of compensation you receive will be listed in your contract with us. Guaranteed power for 25 years, that’s the Freedom Forever 25-year performance guarantee.

Ready to go solar? Call us at 800-685-1850 or click below to get started.