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Bass Connections Solar Team Learns from the Clean Energy 4 Raleigh Campaign

By Jen Williams

Our Bass Connections team is exploring how Duke University can help its employees install residential solar PV systems. As part of our research on the best ways to share information with homeowners, two group members attended a homeowner solar installation info session event hosted by Clean Energy for Raleigh (CE4R) and the North Carolina Sierra Club Capital Group. We enjoyed our evening and were surprised at how much we learned about the residential solar process!

The CE4R campaign hopes to make it cheaper, easier and lower risk for homeowners to increase their homes’ energy efficiency and adopt solar power. They select local installation partners through a competitive bidding process and negotiate a price discount for the installations. They also host educational events and provide information for homeowners. Raleigh’s campaign sign-up period ended in mid-November. We look forward to learning more about its success once the rest of the installation process is complete for homeowners.

Five Things Homeowners Should Know about Energy Efficiency and Solar Power

Among the many energy facts for homeowners we learned during the info session, these five stand out:

  1. Homeowners should explore energy efficiency improvements before getting a solar installation. Energy efficiency typically has a shorter payback, and taking care of it first means a solar installation can be sized appropriately.
  1. The most common recommendations for energy efficiency improvements are air sealing, duct sealing and insulation.
  1. While conventional utility electricity rates are projected to continue to rise, solar installation costs have decreased rapidly, making solar electricity more affordable than ever before, especially after a 30% federal tax credit (expires end of 2016) and a 35% state tax credit (expires end of 2015).
  1. Many solar customers opt to receive long term care packages that include stronger warranties, ongoing support, and maintenance. Homeowners considering solar installations should ask for the details and costs of these services when comparing quotes.
  1. Getting a solar installation through a group campaign can decrease costs by 12% or more. Many CE4R installations have average estimated payback periods of 7 years.

We look forward to incorporating this information into our Bass Connections project and would like to thank all of the organizations involved in CE4R for sharing their expertise, including Clean Energy for All, the North Carolina Sierra Club Capital Group, Church of the Nativity, NC Interfaith Power & Light, Energy Savers of North Carolina, Prime Energy Group, Energy Investment Partners, Yes! Solar Solutions, and Southern Energy Management. For more information, visit http://www.cleanenergyfor.us/clean-energy-for-raleigh/ and http://springleafstrategies.com/site/assets/CE4R-education-forums-final.pdf