SolarCity

An impressively aggressive and persistent sales person, Jana Coyle (JC hereinafter), seemed to pressure me and try to sell a very vendor-​profitable system based on outdated equipment at high prices with several possibly false and/​or misleading explanations.
I got solar proposals from 4 vendors. JC from SolarCity brought 2 plans:
1) Purchase: Buyout for 41% power replacement with 12 260W-​panels on SSW and WSW roof pains and a central inverter (CI, established old technology)
2) PPA (Power Purchase Agreement): No upfront money for 96% power replacement with 28 260W-​panels on S, SSW, WSW, NNE, and ENE roof pains and a CI
PPA is a kind of 20-​year lease contract on which you’d pay fixed $ 0.162/kWh for solar power generation, slightly higher than PG&E’s lowest tier price, to the vendor, and you’d buy the rest of power from PG&E at its tiered retail price. No upfront cost, immediate net savings, but a Purchase’s net savings will likely catch up around the 10^th anniversary and will win thereafter for the same.
After careful considerations and comparsons, I concluded
1) PPA might not be the best for us for we can afford a cash purchase and PPA would be a loser in a long term;
2) A central inverter might not be the best for our multi-​direction installation, compared with micro inverters (MI, newer technology);
3) JC’s quote was the highest among all bids;
4) JC never addressed technical feasibility (allowed amperage capacity),
So, I declined her proposal.
JC followed up by sending me emails to which I responded as follows:
JC: «We use REC 260W panels, …»
— Other vendors proposed either 280W or 317W panel. JC might try to sell us an old model in inventory.
JC: «Why do you feel that PPA would not be the best option for savings?. .PPA showed greater savings … That brings down your rates for about 95−100% of what you consume, rather than only 40−50%.»
— This sounds UNTRUE and FALSE. Her claim of 96% savings with PPA (28 panels) over 41% with Purchase (12 panels) assumes all panels to generate equal power (i.e. 96/28==41/12). Since her PPA proposal would install more than half of the panels on north sides, these panels would generate much less power. So, «96% savings» sound VERY UNREALISTIC. In addition, even if the PPA installation were to cover 100% of consumption (i.e. no power from PG&E) with impossibly many more panels, our current average PG&E cost of $ 0.28/kWh would make the actual savings 0.28−0.16=$ 0.12/kWh or only 43% (¹²⁄₂₈) in dollars, still comparable to 41% from Purchase (tier pricing and over-​time inflation ignored).
JC: «You do not have sweeping shade over your roof, so the panels do not need to function independently. A central inverter is less damage on the roof because you don’t need to uninstall and reinstall the system every 5 years or so.»
— We don’t have sweeping shade, but panels facing different directions should have different shading and incidence angles for which micro inverters (MIs) are supposed to be better. JC never showed statistical evidence that MIs would fail every 5 years and a central inverter (CI) would not. If both inverter types shared the same failure rate, a failing CI could bring down the whole system for days before repaired every 5 years, while an MI system would still continue to work suffering slightly degraded performance; a single-​point-​of-​failure commonsense JC might not have.
JC: «Our prices are competitive. If you have found another option that is significantly lower, it is highly likely that they do not provide comparable value and warranty…»
— JC’s Purchase quote carried the highest bid, 36% higher than our ultimate choice. I am not 100% sure, but I assume long-​term warranties will eventually come from the panel and inverter manufacturers, probably equally for all vendors. JC never disclosed the material brands. In addition, I do not care whether warranty term is either 20 years or 25 years, when considering the life expectancy of myself and house ownership. Moreover, I expect technologies continue to improve and that we will see more efficient products obsoleting the current ones in few decades, if I survive.
More points:
I expressed a concern about PPA to JC that, should we sell the house before PPA maturity, we would have to find a buyer willing to take over PPA or to convert PPA into a buyout at their «appraisal value.» Neither sounds positive for house sale. JC tried ignoratio elenchi; «No problem. Buyer will qualify for PPA takeover.»
Our 30YO PG&E inlet breaker configuration could limit solar backfeed to PG&E. Other vendors addressed this and warned about it, but JC never did.
Other bidders came with a detailed proposal in PDF, but JC sent me a few image files similar to presentation slides after I asked at meeting. Image files appear odd and unprofessional.
Overall, I had a strong impression that JC pushed us a quick sale of inappropriate products/​service in an inappropriate manner. This is why I decided NOT to go with SolarCity.

Woot Woot I have had my solar for about 8 months now. I was at the highest tier possible meaning, I paid the most per Kilowatt. Now I am locked in at a much lower rate, & most months my bill is half of what it used to be. Install took just 3 days and they even reinforced my roof at no cost before install. Installed for free, they maintain it and pay for repairs and I just save money. For me it was a no brainer. It is money in my pocket, so thank you Frank, you rock!

You ever meet one of those guys who just knows his business and is an excellent resource. That is what I found in Frank in my dealings with him in his work with Solar City. You can ask him anything related to Solar and he has a pretty good idea of how things go together, what it will save you and whether it is right for you. Solar is one of those things I just don’t know why you wouldn’t do unless your roof was falling off your house — even then Frank would have a good roofing resource for you and explain some of the loans that were available to help you get one so you could take advantage of solar. Frank calls himself Mr. Solar — that he is!

Solar is a viable alternative energy source and has come a long way in a short time. There are many companies that now offer solar solutions and the decision of who to hire is not simple. However, solar city is a popular choice. And Frank Amdur is the best salesperson there. If you are considering solar city, ask for Frank!
Not all solar solutions are the same so you need someone who you can trust. Frank is impressive with his honesty, knowledge and his commitment to solar. He really cares about his customers, his company and the environment!

I have my solar system installed last Friday, and today I got notice to turn the power on. That is amazing, super fast. And SolarCity did free Main panel upgrade for me, which is awesome too.
I highly recommend to go green energy with SolarCity!
My Consultant is very professional too!

Received my Octobeer PG&E bill and it was only $ 13.23 which is fabulous compared to the hundred of dollars we use to pay.
A big thanks to Frank Amdur for helping me with all the Pg&E issues I’ve had.
Looking forward to his help in regards for an emergency backup power for local city power outages.
I highly recommend Solar City Milpitas.

It was great to meet you, thanks for supporting the games. Solar power is amazing and is a great help to our community. Go Cris O’ochoa!
I’ll be telling my friends about your company!

First of all I’d just like to say that the number one reason I decided to purchase through solar city was because of #FrankAmdur. He is just a really awesome guy. When he came over our home he was very polite and respectful he didn’t push or force us to do anything we didn’t want to do. Not only that but he walks the walk as well as he talks the talk. Frank has a complete charging station at his house as well as drives an electric car. This is some one who cares about the environment. I had previously looked into solar but all the sales people I had spoken with before we’re extra pushy. However #FrankAmdur is a family man and understands people. I mean the guy even took me out to lunch before I even bought anything from him. If you are going to buy solar I strongly recommend going through #FrankAmdur.

I was introduced to frank amder and was impressed that he lives the electric world. I am also impressed that he drives an electric car as well.
We set up an appointment and frank educated my family about what it would take to get a solar system for my home.
I never thought I can afford it, to my surprise however frank educated us on how we can install solar at no cost.
Final excitement, now I can get to decide what I will do with the extra $ 29,200.00 that would have had to pay PG&E.
Frank Amder is highly recomended by me and my family.
If you are looking for a solar system to save money on electric go and call.
You will be pleasantly surprised.
Thanks again.
Happy customer