How "Solar Friendly" is Your Property?
A lot of people would like to go solar but they don’t know how to gauge how “solar friendly” their roof is. That depends on the angle, slope, and shading. We also need to take into account the weather pattern for that specific area to give the most accurate estimate of solar production. We are now using the Aurora Solar design platform which uses Lidar which is like sonar but for above ground. What it does is detect the trees and any other obstructions that could impose shading onto the roof. With this technology it’s making Solar projects safer as well since contractors don’t need to get on the roof as often. Also, thanks to this technology we can offer free quotes for solar projects as it does not take that much man power to procure one. If you’re interested email us at office@AllyElectricandSolar.com!
PG&E Rate Hikes Forecasted
PG&E wants to significantly raise electricity rates over the next three years and increase its state-guaranteed return on capital investments. Customers have already been warned about potential rate hikes due to the recent wildfires and PG&E is seeking a double digit percentage rate hike to help reduce the risk of future fires. Customers are already paying some of the highest electricity rates in the state and in the country. The Bay Area utility’s average rate is 20.06 cents per kilowatt hour, compared with an average 16.06 cents in Southern California and 10.48 cents nationally. In the past decade, PG&E’s rates have been going up faster than inflation. According to the Public Advocates Office, residential rates have risen 31% between 2009 and 2019 — higher than the consumer price index of 19%. PG&E has asked for a 12.4% rate increase in 2020, 4.7% increase in 2021, and 4.8% increase in 2022. That’s nearly a 22% rise. PG&E says much of the extra money is needed for fire-safety improvements such as more fire-resistant poles, covered power lines, new weather stations, and high-definition field cameras. Also, PG&E is seeking a raise on the guaranteed rate of return on capital investments so if both of these requests pass then homeowners will be paying $300 on average more each year for electricity. Do you want to keep paying more to PG&E when you could switch over to an investment that pays you? Each dollar you put towards Solar is a dollar that will multiply and come back to you over time while putting you on the side of the solution for battling climate change. Feel free to email us at Office@AllyElectricAndSolar.com or call us at 510-559-7700 for your free Solar Proposal!
California Home Battery Rebate Explained
California’s Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) is one of the best incentives for home owners to invest in a storage battery for their home. These batteries are great because they can store electricity when it’s cheap to use from the grid and dispense electricity during peak hours so you aren’t paying high rates during the evening time. Obviously it’s also great if there’s a blackout since it will support your electrical needs for a certain amount of time depending on how big your battery is and how much electricity you use. With this rebate you can get as much as $250 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) when you install a home battery. Also, you can use the 30% Federal Tax Credit to pay for it so when you add all of these incentives more than half of the costs of installing a home battery are taken care of! This incentive will be reduced over time however so it pays to be an “early adopter.”
You can check here to see the real time status of the incentive. https://www.selfgenca.com/home/program_metrics/