Twenty dollar electric bills are a beautiful thing! It’s consistently in the 100s here in Tucson right now, and our air conditioning seems to be running non-stop, but the cheap electric bills keeps rolling in. We had our solar panels installed by Technicians for Sustainability in February, and it’s been smooth sailing ever since.
The Installation Process
Although TFS had originally told us it would take until April to get them installed, they had an opening suddenly and were able to start installing on February 8th. The plan was to finish on the 9th but with high winds that day, it took one more day, and they came back on Monday the 12th to finish the job. Oro Valley’s inspector came out the very next day on the 13th to check out the work, and TEP installed the new bi-directional meter the next week which was when the system officially got turned on. This timing turned out to be perfect, as we had an abundance of sunny, yet cool days up ahead, allowing us to produce a lot of energy without having to use much of it. We banked so much energy in the Spring that we are likely to make it through the entire summer without having to pay any more than our $20 base electric bill.
Data Monitoring
On February 28th, we had a follow up appointment at the house with a TFS technician to set up the data monitoring. We are able to view our energy production stats on an app on our phones, and TFS is also able to monitor the status of the system remotely. There have been a few hiccups in our wireless network, and TFS has caught it each time, reaching out to us to let us know they are unable to see our system. We’ve had a technician come out once already for free to make sure everything was still hooked up correctly. These issues only involved the communication. Our solar PV system has been generating electricity consistently without any hiccups. Data monitoring from your phone is extremely common and available from most companies, regardless of who you choose.
Sometimes Solar Just Doesn’t Fit Your Home
During our install time, another friend had three companies come out to her house to give quotes: TFS, Tesla, and one other. Once again, TFS was the only one to go onto her roof to take measurements and assess the viability of panels. TFS was also the only one that gave her the bad news that her roof was not oriented in a favorable way for solar panels, and it would not be possible to generate enough electricity to meet all of her home’s needs. The other two companies gave quotes that would produce all of her energy. She decided to forego solar installation based on the recommendation of Technicians for Sustainability.
So When Are the Rates Changing?
This keeps getting delayed, but the very earliest possibility is just a few days away on August 14th. This is when a contract would have to be signed with an installer, not when the panels would need to be installed. The Arizona Corporation Commission is having an open meeting again on the 14th and may finally make a decision then, but there have been numerous open meetings in the last year, and it has yet to be decided, so it’s possible that it may be pushed off once again.
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