Solar Success Story: Vincent Albanese and His Cash-Saving System

If you’re reading this, then you probably know that at CalFinder, we’re all about home solar power. We write about it, we daydream about it, and we always do our very best to make it happen. We love our readers tremendously, because while we try to facilitate solar power, it’s you, the homeowners, that invest in clean, solar energy one rooftop at a time. So we get absolutely ecstatic when a reader shares their very own solar success story.

We found exactly that brand of excitement when, in response to our first solar success story, avid solar enthusiast Vincent Albanese left us a comment with happy tidings of his own. Impressed by Vincent’s “obsession” with his solar system, we decided to press him for even more information. It turns out he’s a bona-fide homeowner genius, having installed a 5.2-kW system that’ll be completely paid off in as little as five years. Here’s his story.

Meet Vincent, Michelle & Megan

Vincent Albanese is a physical therapist living with his wife Michelle, a teacher, and 7-year-old daughter Megan (the home “water czar”), in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The family moved into their current home five years ago to downsize their property taxes, utility bills and commute, saving $5,000 per year by this token alone.

That was just the start.

Prepping for things to come

As some of you may know, it’s important to prepare your home for solar power. And the Albanese family is no exception. In the five years leading up to their solar electric system, they had purchased an efficient pellet stove to save on heating costs, upgraded siding and windows for increased efficiency and installed a new roof to avoid having to pull off the solar panels at a later date for roof repair.

“I felt that I did all that I could do traditionally to reduce my energy usage without going overboard money-wise and family-wise,” says Vincent. “By January, 2010, we had put a lot of money into the house… and were almost finished. All we had left were the roof, doors and a bathtub, and the entire home was less than five years old.”

The house was ready as ever for renewable energy. After hearing warnings from his solar contractor that state incentives were likely to be reduced with the ongoing economic downturn and may not be renewed, he knew that there was no better time. “Being almost 40, and turning into an eco-geek as a midlife crisis kind of thing,” he adds, ” I started to bug Michell about the payback period with and without incentives: 10-12 years with, versus 20-30 years without.”

“Add in renewable energy credits and the system will pay for itself in five years.” Vincent explained that even in worst-case scenario (i.e. the price per kilowatt goes up, the family splurges on central air or installs a pool, etc.), payback would only be 7 to 8 years. Four months later, following installation of the new roof, the Albanese family solar power system was installed.

The Solar System

22 solar panels on the home’s rooftop create up to 5.2 kilowatt-hours of clean solar electricity every hour. “A typical home uses 20 to 80 kWh per day, depending on appliances,” notes Vincent. So, given above-average energy efficiency, it is perfectly feasible that the system could provide all of the family’s power needs in the summer time alone, with some left over to offset winter consumption.

Installation of the system took four men from Eco-merica only two and a half days to complete. About a month later, the system was inspected, the local power company added a power meter in order to handle the dual flow of electricity, and Vincent finally received permission to switch on.

The Incentives

For the Albanese family, as for most families going solar through a reputable contractor, Eco-merica handled all the incentive paperwork. At last report, Vincent had received an e-mail stating that their rebate check for just over $9,000 had been approved and is making its way through channels on its way to their mailbox by the end of the year (no later than six months after system completion). Of course, the 30-percent federal tax credit will increase savings significantly, and then there’s the renewable energy credits (RECs), which in Pennsylvania, work as follows:

“Utility companies now have to produce a certain percentage of their electricity using renewable resources or get slapped with a HUGE fine. That is where RECs come in. For every 1000 kWhs [of solar power] I produce, I get an REC. I sell this to a power company that gives me a check as a renewable provider (currently estimated between $300 and $400 in PA), even though it is MY home that uses most of the energy.”

He goes on to explain about brokers who buy certificates off providers (such as Vincent), bundle them and sell them for a percentage of profit (7%). The symbiotic relationship between broker and homeowner comes when the broker gets a better deal by selling in bulk and the homeowner doesn’t have to deal with shopping around. Vincent’s broker has estimated that his first few checks will be in the range of $340 each.

The Savings

Here is Vincent’s recap of his and his family’s cost savings:

• Total cost of PV system: $33,800
• State Rebate: $9,000
• Estimated Federal Rebate: $9,000
• Upfront costs: $15,800 (less than half original cost)
• Energy savings (conservative estimate): 5,000 kWh per year at $0.14/kWh equals $700 per year
• REC rewards (conservative estimate): $1,500 per year

So, according to Vincent, with a very conservatively estimated $2,200 annual return on his investment, the system should pay for itself in 7.2 years. “Make it 8 years to account for the interest on the home equity loan I took out to take over the money borrowed,” he adds to make it honest.

“So by 2018, I will have an electric bill that is half what it should be with NO payments left for myself. I will still be making RECs and selling them…and they should still be giving me good money unless the power company gets smart and stops buying oil and coal and starts putting up solar and wind.”

In 20 years, when most solar panel warranties guarantee panels will still be producing (at minimum) 80-percent power, Vincent estimates that he will have made roughly $25,000 on his system, and that’s without accounting for rate increases from his electric company over that time.

Furthermore, he adds while admitting that doubling his money over 20 years may not seem all that great on the surface, “I’ll never pay taxes on $700+/year savings on my electric bill, I am guaranteed the production as long as the sun shines and my property value just went up.”

Many thanks, Vincent, for your story, and congrats on building your own green-brick road with clean, free energy from the sun. We salute you.

Posted on August 2nd in Solar Information by Dan.