If you are installing solar on your home or in your yard this spring, Cherryland needs your help to avoid a problem this fall. Every year, we see members giddy with excitement about saving the earth, reducing energy bills, or both. Every year, we see these members upset that their solar arrays didn’t produce as promised and the savings are not close to making the payments on the investment. This is when the member gets upset at Cherryland even though we neither sell the product nor did they seek our opinion. We are just the only one they can find who will listen to their complaints.

When a member deals with a local installer with a history and reputation in the solar business, the member never gets upset with Cherryland. Sadly, we have out-of-the-area companies and installers who make the rounds every spring. They promise the moon and stars, while covering their backsides inside the 30-some-page documents that the excited member barely reads, in a rush to some vision of perceived neighborhood green leadership.

So, if you find yourself holding a contract with a salesperson working hard for your signature, there are a few things we need from you to avoid the uncomfortable call this fall. First, double-check the cost and savings numbers. Ask another installer or call Cherryland before signing. You can also plug in the specs at pvwatts.nrel.gov and do it yourself. 

Second, ask if they are using Cherryland’s actual rates and your actual usage. Our kWh rate is 11.91 cents, and your usage is on the SmartHub app on your phone or available through a quick call to the office. Don’t let them tell you the 11.91 cents applies to the energy you put on the grid, because it doesn’t. It only applies to the energy saved inside your home. The energy you put on the grid is less than half of the 11.91 cents (the reason for this could make up a whole other column).

Third, make sure they will point the panels to the south. If you have a roof that faces the west with no obstructions, it may seem like an easy thing to toss some panels up there. If you do, the output per panel will be at least 14% less than that of south-facing panels. This will have a dramatic effect on your results.

Fourth, if the installer/salesperson/contractor doesn’t have a local address, good references, and a service center within 50 or 100 miles, please think twice. Our region has many reputable solar dealers and installers who are trusted and respected. If you purchase from a company outside our region and sometimes even our state, please take no offense when I refer back to this column during our October call. We can’t help you in the fall if you don’t let us help you in the spring.

Finally (I’m begging now), get multiple bids. A solar array will likely be thousands of dollars and tens of thousands in some cases. Do. Your. Homework. We are fortunate to live in a region where this is very easy to do. The hard part is asking your co-op to fix your decision months after the fact. We just can’t.

Last year, Cherryland kept the lights on 99.987% of the time. Today, we have a power supply portfolio that is over 60% carbon free. Every member at Cherryland is already a green leader using a reliable source. You could just send the fly-by-night solar salesperson down the road, knowing you are already saving money and the environment (without talking to me in the fall).