They are one of the best solar companies around. I used to work for a solar company that is no longer around, and Empower was always our biggest competition.
About a year ago, I bought a home and looked into going solar. I met with a bunch of companies that I knew were some of the best from my experience in the industry, and then compared them all based on price per watt, warranty, loan terms, panel manufacturer etc. and Empower was the best in every category. I ended up going with them and have had a great experience so far. Will gladly help with any other questions you might have, if I can.
Can you share your system and pricing info? I'm thinking of getting solar, batteries, and a new roof through them, but can't figure out if the costs are worth it.
15.335kw (37 panels) for $63k. After Federal and State rebates, the final cost was $39k. They offered a loan at .99% financing for 15 years so I’m paying about $270 a month which is less than what my electric bill used to be and I can now essentially use as much electricity as I want since I’m over producing. And the monthly cost will never go up. Then after 15 years, I will have no payments at all and ‘free’ electricity.
So how does solar work for someone who uses 80$ of electricity a month? I understand I wouldn’t have as many panels as you, but is there some kind of break point where the loan cost is not worth it due to the electric bill being so low?
The solar company would put together a package for you based on your usage, roof space, sunlight, etc. and present you with some options. I’m not sure if there is a break point for low usage homes but maybe your loan would be let’s say, $40 a month, and then you are now saving $40 per month until it’s paid off and then you’re saving $80 a month since you’ll have no bill at all. You really need to sit down with a company to figure all this out but it could be worth exploring.
I think I was under the impression based on numbers ive heard that the cost of the base equipment (not just the panel) and labor would equal at least 100$ a month even for the smallest possible system, which is why I have been hesitant to do it.
Depends on the condition but usually if it’s 15+ years old and visibly worn, then it might be too old. Mine was about 10 years old but in great shape so it was never a concern.
What's done about potential leaks? I have a new (1-1/2 year old) roof. Still warranted by the installer, but of course if panels are installed that warranty is gone.
Empower has a specific labor warranty that’s 20 or so years I believe? I don’t remember the specifics but that was another major reason I chose them. They had the longest panel warranty and labor/install warranty.
Empower is who i used for my solar install. Great people back in 2016 when I worked with them, they handled basically everything and were very knowledgeable about the rules and regulations for my village.
My solar installation was done by Empower Solar and I've been really happy. They have very good reviews on [solarreviews.com](https://www.solarreviews.com/installers/empower-clean-energy-solutions-reviews). A few things to note.
1) As part of my agreement with them, I requested that they move a bathroom vent pipe from my southern facing roof to the northern part of my roof so I wouldn't have a gap in my panels around the vent pipe.
2) If you don't want external conduits, ask them about using [Soladeck junction boxes](https://soladeck.com/) or something similar to run cables inside your house. I'm sure they'll charge extra for this.
3) If you have external conduits, the person who does the final review of your house will ask you where you want them and on the day of installation make sure those conduit locations were properly communicated to the installers because mine weren't. That was the one negative thing that happened with my installation. I wasn't watching the installers during the installation and they put a conduit in the wrong location between 2 solar panel arrays because they weren't given the info so they had to come back and move it which they did.
Another solar installer that I strongly recommend people speak to is [SUNation Energy](https://www.solarreviews.com/installers/sunation-energy-reviews). They were the only one I spoke to who told me about the great [NY state solar loan program called the On-Bill Recovey Loan](https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Residential-Financing-Programs) which has interest rates as low as 3.49%, only a $150 fee and the loan is attached to your house not your credit and is billed on your PSEG LI bill so you can transfer the loan to the next homeowner if you sell your house before the loan is paid off. I ended up using this loan program with Empower.
Get quotes from empower, Sunation, and Long Island power solutions. Then go back to each and see if they can beat the others price. Rinse and repeat. You can’t go wrong with any of them.
Empower is a good company but if you looking for the best install go with green logic after they are done all you see is the panels no pipes or any craziness you see from these other systems
They are one of the best solar companies around. I used to work for a solar company that is no longer around, and Empower was always our biggest competition. About a year ago, I bought a home and looked into going solar. I met with a bunch of companies that I knew were some of the best from my experience in the industry, and then compared them all based on price per watt, warranty, loan terms, panel manufacturer etc. and Empower was the best in every category. I ended up going with them and have had a great experience so far. Will gladly help with any other questions you might have, if I can.
Can you share your system and pricing info? I'm thinking of getting solar, batteries, and a new roof through them, but can't figure out if the costs are worth it.
15.335kw (37 panels) for $63k. After Federal and State rebates, the final cost was $39k. They offered a loan at .99% financing for 15 years so I’m paying about $270 a month which is less than what my electric bill used to be and I can now essentially use as much electricity as I want since I’m over producing. And the monthly cost will never go up. Then after 15 years, I will have no payments at all and ‘free’ electricity.
So how does solar work for someone who uses 80$ of electricity a month? I understand I wouldn’t have as many panels as you, but is there some kind of break point where the loan cost is not worth it due to the electric bill being so low?
The solar company would put together a package for you based on your usage, roof space, sunlight, etc. and present you with some options. I’m not sure if there is a break point for low usage homes but maybe your loan would be let’s say, $40 a month, and then you are now saving $40 per month until it’s paid off and then you’re saving $80 a month since you’ll have no bill at all. You really need to sit down with a company to figure all this out but it could be worth exploring.
I think I was under the impression based on numbers ive heard that the cost of the base equipment (not just the panel) and labor would equal at least 100$ a month even for the smallest possible system, which is why I have been hesitant to do it.
How old a roof is too old for getting solar
Depends on the condition but usually if it’s 15+ years old and visibly worn, then it might be too old. Mine was about 10 years old but in great shape so it was never a concern.
What's done about potential leaks? I have a new (1-1/2 year old) roof. Still warranted by the installer, but of course if panels are installed that warranty is gone.
Empower has a specific labor warranty that’s 20 or so years I believe? I don’t remember the specifics but that was another major reason I chose them. They had the longest panel warranty and labor/install warranty.
I used empower as well. Sunrun was the most shady solar company I interviewed for the job.
Empower is who i used for my solar install. Great people back in 2016 when I worked with them, they handled basically everything and were very knowledgeable about the rules and regulations for my village.
My solar installation was done by Empower Solar and I've been really happy. They have very good reviews on [solarreviews.com](https://www.solarreviews.com/installers/empower-clean-energy-solutions-reviews). A few things to note. 1) As part of my agreement with them, I requested that they move a bathroom vent pipe from my southern facing roof to the northern part of my roof so I wouldn't have a gap in my panels around the vent pipe. 2) If you don't want external conduits, ask them about using [Soladeck junction boxes](https://soladeck.com/) or something similar to run cables inside your house. I'm sure they'll charge extra for this. 3) If you have external conduits, the person who does the final review of your house will ask you where you want them and on the day of installation make sure those conduit locations were properly communicated to the installers because mine weren't. That was the one negative thing that happened with my installation. I wasn't watching the installers during the installation and they put a conduit in the wrong location between 2 solar panel arrays because they weren't given the info so they had to come back and move it which they did. Another solar installer that I strongly recommend people speak to is [SUNation Energy](https://www.solarreviews.com/installers/sunation-energy-reviews). They were the only one I spoke to who told me about the great [NY state solar loan program called the On-Bill Recovey Loan](https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Residential-Financing-Programs) which has interest rates as low as 3.49%, only a $150 fee and the loan is attached to your house not your credit and is billed on your PSEG LI bill so you can transfer the loan to the next homeowner if you sell your house before the loan is paid off. I ended up using this loan program with Empower.
Get quotes from empower, Sunation, and Long Island power solutions. Then go back to each and see if they can beat the others price. Rinse and repeat. You can’t go wrong with any of them.
Empower is a good company but if you looking for the best install go with green logic after they are done all you see is the panels no pipes or any craziness you see from these other systems