I installed Solar power approximately 2 years ago and it definitely pays for itself. Federal and State incentives for Solar help reduce the overall cost of the solar system. Considering I consume ~ 12,000+ KWH per year and only pay ~ $120 after credits, that’s a big savings. The solar system pays for itself in 10 years or less and every month you get a credit from your electric provider for the power you provided back into the grid. Depending on your electric consumption and the size of your solar install, will determine your overall savings. All solar providers will help determine what you need and the potential savings. Solar is a good green energy solution and worth the investment.

I first inquired about solar panels when I had a MASS SAVE energy audit about 5 yrs ago.  The woman told me after studying my house that my roof had too much shade and it wouldnt work.  Oh well.  Fast forward about 2 years and I had some trees taken down in my front yard because they were getting too close to my home.  I didnt even think at the time that solar may now be an option.  

Then a year or so later, Tom Emero a local salesman from Sunrun knocked on my door inquiring if I was interested in solar.  I immediately began with all of the excuses to try and get rid of him.  I first told him that MASS SAVE said I wasnt a good candidate.  He said I was amazed because I had almost 100% sun and a solar system could meet over 90% of my energy needs.  I then remebered that I had the trees taken down, but came up with my next excuse, I just had a new roof put on and didnt want to mess around with it, and he laughed and said we would want you to have a new roof.  I ran out of excuses and agreed that he would provide me with a proposal.

He came back with a proposal for a 36 panel system that would meet almost all of my energy needs, and also that National Grid was offering a free Solar Battery.  That was the kicker and we signed up for the PPA plan, basically renting.  Cost me nothing and I  got a free solar battery which replaced my aging generator, and also cut my energy bill by 1/3.   And the fact that Sunrun owns the system, I never have to worry about maintenance.   A month after install, a $4K piece of equipment was defective and it was replaced immediately for free.  The system was a little smaller at 31 panels, because National Grid wants to still provide some energy, but they also get the right to buy energy  from my solar battery in times of dire energy needs like a heat wave.  Another excellent benefit of a solar battery is the more of them there are, National Grid has ways of meeting all of their customer needs in cases of emergency.

When I'm out walking my dog, I look for houses with good exposure and no panels and wonder why they havent signed up.  It is a No Brainer.

There are two major home projects required to make your home climate friendly: install solar panels and heat pumps. Solar panels offer a much bigger bang for the buck. With the 30% Federal tax credit and the $1000 Massachusetts State tax credit, my SGE Solar system will be paid for in 8 years. REC solar panels and Enphase microinverters carry a 25 year warranty. So that’s 17 years under warranty with free electricity. After my $8500 tax refund my initial $25,000 investment becomes $16,500 and my average $175 per month electric bill disappears.  I still get an electric bill but now my monthly payment is zero. My panels face mostly East (not South which is optimal). They are also on the back of the house which is aesthetically appealing. Enphase has a wonderful app for your phone or website for your PC browser that allows you to track each panels production and verify their function. If one microinverter fails, the others are not impacted. If you have a singe SolarEdge inverter and it fails, all solar production is lost until it is repaired or replaced. Disclosure: Second Generation Energy made a $100 donation to be one of our 19 original Founders.

My name is Rand and my wife, Carolyn, and I are members of the 350 Mass Greater Franklin Node that launched this website. We live in Mendon but have strong connections to Franklin because we have been attending church in Franklin for more than 20 years. Over the last decade we have systematically eliminated the major components of our carbon dioxide emissions, and saved a pile of money in the process. We are sharing our experience here because we think it is relevant to anyone undertaking a similar journey in Franklin. 

We considered solar panels in 2006 and got an estimate, but it was too expensive back then and the payback time would have been too long. In 2012 Carolyn co-led a town initiative called Solarize Mendon, aimed at making solar panels more affordable by bringing many buyers together for bulk purchasing and installation. By then better incentives were available from both Massachusetts and the Federal Government. In 2013, through Solarize Mendon we installed a ground-mounted array of 32 solar panels totaling 8 kW of capacity. We chose a ground-mount because of our house’s east-west orientation; the ground-mount faces due south. Each panel has its own microinverter to convert DC electricity to AC. That is more expensive than using one big inverter, but it enables the array to go on producing electricity even if some of its panels are shaded or not working. A buried conduit carries the electricity to the house, where it goes through a “net meter” that runs backward whenever the panels produce more electricity than the house is using.

This system went online in October 2013 and paid for itself in 2020. Since then it has generated a profit of about $13,000. It produces 7-8,000 kWh per year of free electricity. Some other basic parameters, and how they would be different today:

Purchase price: $47,500. This would be substantially less today, because panels are more efficient and cost less. An 8 kW system would need about 20 panels instead of 32. Also our ground mounted installation cost more than a rooftop installation would. Note that there is no Massachusetts sales tax on solar systems. According to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the average cost of a roof-mount 8 kW solar system in 2023 is about $28,500 before tax credits and rebates.

Massachusetts tax credit: $2000. Today this is $1,000. See this Massachusetts Clean Energy Center table.

Federal tax credit: $14,560 in 2013. Today the federal tax credit of the purchase price is still 30%. If this exceeds your Federal tax liability in the year you install, you can carry the excess credit forward to future tax years.

Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECS): $23,000 as of 2022. This was a market-based incentive program whereby you earned a credit for every 1,000 kWh you produced. Utilities would purchase these credits to meet their obligation to obtain a certain percentage of their electricity supply from renewable sources (the so-called Renewable Portfolio Standard). This system has been replaced by the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program, which pays you a more predictable monthly amount based on your production.

Production: 71,000 kWh 2013 through 2022, which would have cost us $21,000 to buy over that period. If you buy a solar system outright, expect about half of the return on investment to come from reduced or eliminated electricity bills, and half from the SMART program.

Payoff: 7 years.

Bottom line: If you are a homeowner planning to stay in your current home for more than about 7 years, solar panels are an excellent investment. Zillow estimates that homes with solar panels sell for about 4% more than homes without, all other things being equal.

I want to share a bit of my solar journey to encourage others to consider this option as well.

We had an existing A/C unit that worked quite well but generated higher electric bills every summer as it was not very efficient.  It was also limited to the upper floors and did not cover the critical first floor where we spend most of our time.  We also had two natural gas furnaces for heating.

I had considered solar panels in the past but not seriously as my roof is facing east / west and is not considered optimal for solar generation.  However, I was inspired by my neighbor to consider solar more earnestly as his roof has the same orientation and he had reported good results with his recent solar installation.

I used EnerySage to get quotes from multiple installers and also contacted a couple of local installers to get additional quotes.  I ended up choosing Great Sky Solar in Arlington due to their strong reviews, in-house installation and service teams, and reasonable prices. I chose to get twenty 400W panels which is expected to provide about 120% of prior year's usage.  I planned to simultaneously get two heat pumps to replace our aging A/C unit and to heat our home in the winter.  My expectation was that the excess solar power and the much more efficient cooling units would cover much of my winter heating usage.

I signed the solar agreement in October 2022.  National Grid approved the design in November 2022 and the town approved it in January 2023 after requesting a change.  The panels were installed in March 2023 and our solar system became operational in April 2023 with a starting net meter value of 0 from National Grid.

I simultaneously replaced our old A/C and one old natural gas furnace with 2 heat pumps to provide both heating and cooling for our home.  Our first floor did not have cooling earlier but now has a split unit to make summer days much more bearable.

Our meter reads less than 99000 after 4 months which means I have more than 1000KwH credit with National Grid.  I expect the credit to cover a good amount of the higher electric usage by the heat pumps in the winter.

I am very pleased with my solar installation and would like to encourage fellow Franklin residents to consider this option to go green and also save money in the long term.

Fully recommend Dave Simmer and the team at SGE. I began the process of getting quotes from vendors and eventually choose SGE at the end of 2022. SGE's quote was by far the best value for the work I was looking for (28 panels on the entire side of my roof) even after getting quotes from 8 total vendors in the area. Dave provided me all the details I needed to make the best decision on which panel products to use, where to install them on my home and how to go about financing the project. I didn't feel pressured or inundated with emails (I did get this from other vendors). Dave was easily available to discuss adjustments in the project that I wanted to make and the team made things very easy to accommodate what I was looking for. I realize I was looking to buy solar panels at a very popular time, but SGE notified me and gave me dates when I would have the installation completed in early 2023. The installation team was attentive, friendly and clean (I have children and didn't find any left over pieces. They left my house like they found it). The electrician and crew kept me involved in the time frames for project completion and completing permits. The panels have been working great and I'm not worried since SGE has been available for questions since the project was completed. I completely recommend solar panels if it is in your budget, and will only recommend SGE Solar for any project you plan on doing.