Shedding light on the cost of going solar [View all]

[Lodestar]

When you say you want to help the environment, few steps could signal it any louder than putting solar panels on the roof of your house.

It is easier than ever for Americans to tap the sun's energy with costs coming down and the number of providers going up. In 2015, residential solar use jumped by more 135,000 installations in the United States, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, bringing the total up to 748,000 homes. At the same time, the SEIA says initial costs dropped 73 percent since 2006, and ongoing costs fell 45 percent since 2010.

For Tom Moser, a homeowner in Tucson, Arizona, the decision to go solar was not a hard one. Moser spends his days helping people invest their retirement portfolios in green ways, as head of the Impact Investing Division of Portfolio Resources Advisor Group, so it was all part of putting his money where his mouth is.

Here are Moser's everyday tips on getting a solar system up and running:

Q: What did you do to get started?

A: My wife and I bought house in 2012, and solar was one of the first things I wanted to get installed - because payback starts from the day of installation.

We compared buying a system outright versus leasing. At that time, it seemed better for our purposes that we lease a system for 20 years. Even after tax credits, it was a larger outlay of capital to buy at that time. I paid down $15,000, and now I don't have a monthly bill. SolarCity (solarcity.com) owns it, and they are responsible for the maintenance.

cont'd
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-homes-solar-idUSKCN0XG298