How To Sell Solar Panels

Sell Solar Energy Back To The Grid To Create A Passive Income Stream

When you buy a solar energy system, whether it be an entire home or just panels on the roof, the electric company becomes your partner. The utility company must sign a contract with you before you can break ground on your system. Then will pay you for any excess electricity that is generated by the panels. You can then use these proceeds to offset any future electric bills at your home. Its really all win-win when you think about it, both parties benefit from using solar power. Basically, if your panels are generating a surplus of solar power, you arent just saving money. Youre earning money too. This is called net metering, a great addition to your streams of passive income. In addition, read on to learn about Renewable Energy Credits , a great way to make money while saving the world.

Concerns About Buying A Home With Solar Panels

Buyers dont always know much about solar power, so buying a home with solar panels might be intimidating. It is a good idea for a seller to find a real estate agent who understands the advantages of them. Among the traits to look for in a realtor is someone who recognizes the value in your home and can put together a marketing strategy to highlight it. This is particularly important with features like solar panels, as they can help alleviate any uncertainty a potential buyer may have. And more importantly, find those buyers who will see the value in such home additions.

Taking Over a Lease. Assuming responsibility for a solar panel lease is a commitment that will involve additional costs of anywhere from about $50 to $250 per month. The buyer must also meet the credit requirement of the solar company. This could rule out some buyers with poor credit ratings, as theyre already taking on a new mortgage. Transferring the lease is not complicated but will involve extra paperwork. Special care should be taken so the process doesnt delay closing.

Maintenance. Buyers may wonder what type of maintenance goes along with having solar panels. Very little needs to be done other than cleaning the panels every two to three months. Solar companies will do this for a fee, but a homeowner can do it themselves if they choose.

Keep Records Of Your Utility Bills

One of the most popular reasons people choose solar power for their homes is the energy savings. Prospective buyers may or may not have an awareness of how much they could save on their utilities.

Include your past utility bills in your solar system information binder.

This is proof for your buyer of their potential savings and could be another motivating factor in converting a showing to a solid purchase offer. Include details about how much youve already saved. Show your projected savings too!

Find out the average cost for electricity in your area. Calculate what youre paying per watt. Show the comparison on a spreadsheet and include it in your binder.

Does your system produce the majority of the electricity you need? Does it produce ALL of your electricity?

If you show your buyer proof that you pay nothing or very little for electricity thats a great incentive.

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What Is The Ideal Tilt Angle For My Solar Array

A solar module will produce the most electricity when it is perpendicular to the rays of the sun. Therefore, the general rule of thumb for the best annual production is to set the tilt angle equivalent to the latitude. For summer production, the ideal angle is latitude 15°. For winter production, set it at latitude +15°. If you live in Edmonton, please check out the NAIT/City of Edmonton Reference Array System on the SESA website for more detail.

Understanding What Selling Solar Energy Back To The Grid Means

The electricity generated by your solar panels may exceed your own energy needs, meaning you can sell back extra power to your utility. This practice is called net metering, and it essentially gives you a credit for every kilowatt-hour of power that flows from your system into the grid. In return, your utility then lowers your overall electric billâthough usually not by 100%. To learn more about how net metering works, read How Net Metering Works .

So youâre deciding whether or not to install solar panels. But if youâre like most people, you might be wondering howâand ifâyou can make money selling back your excess solar power. And thatâs a good question because it turns out that selling electricity is more complicated than simply flipping a switch and watching your bank account grow with each kilowatt-hour of power sent back into the grid.

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How To Sell Solar Power Back To The Grid In 2022

• SIDE HUSTLE

Creating your own energy isnât just an environmentally friendly way to power your business itâs also good for your budget, as well. With net-metering laws in the majority of states, you can actually sell the excess power generated by your solar panels back to your utility provider, or even other grid operators who might be willing to buy it at market price. Hereâs how to sell solar power back to the grid and make extra money on your investment.

Solar Lead Generation With Reonomy

You can use the Reonomy platform to build a list of prospects in need of solar energy services in any U.S. county, and gather details and contact information, including phone numbers, email, and mailing addresses of both individual owners and members of property-owning LLCs.

You can start building your list by searching for your ideal property type. The platform includes the ability to search for commercial buildings, multi family, land, and many sub-classifications of each.

You can also search for those asset types based on their size and age.

Additionally, you should specify your target location. You can search for properties by state, city, MSA, county, neighborhood, street name, or using an exact address.

After applying the filters mentioned above, youll be given a list of all the properties that match your search.

You can also add filters for specific types of tenants, owners, and sales history . As a matter of fact, any combination of these filters can be added and removed as you please.

Once youve customized your search to your liking and youre satisfied with the results, you can export the owner contact information of all of those properties in bulk.

Within the search results page, click the Export button to export the data to an Excel spreadsheet or a CSV file. If you prefer, the contact information can be broken out into a separate list for easier access.

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Selling With Solar: Benefit Or Burden

Whether solar panels will make it harder to sell your home really depends on the ownership status of the panels. But dont fret.

If you have financed panels, look into making the panels a property fixture before selling, or be prepared to pay off the panels before transferring ownership of the property.

If you have leased panels, you may be in a tighter spot, but understanding your lease terms and being upfront with potential buyers will go a long way.

It may take a little longer to find your perfect buyer, but there are plenty of people who will enjoy the energy savings, sustainability, and lack of maintenance that a leased system provides.

When marketing your home, remember that the panels themselves are not that important to most home buyers, but reduced utility costs are, so make sure to emphasize the systems benefits when interacting with buyers.

Tips For Selling Solar Power Systems

• Pin It

Early on the people who bought solar energy systems were either live-off-the-land environmentalists, survivalists, right wing extremists , or engineers & hobbyists. That has changed. Solar electricity systems are becoming quite mainstream, and therefore the approach for selling them has to change too.

In particular, the residential solar lease offers a whole new way to look at going solar, and therefore also presents a whole new way to sell solar. Solar no longer needs to be about amps and volts and which panels and BOS are the right for a particular home. Those are all still very relevant, but at the end of the day may not be something that a homeowner who is considering going solar needs to hear about. Here are what I believe to be the key steps for selling solar. Do you agree?

1. Understand why the homeowner wants to go solar. Is it for environmental reasons? Financial reasons? Prestige? Independence from the utility company? To go off grid? It is critical to understand what is motivating someone to go solar. That way you can speak to them in terms that will resonate with them. Asking questions about why they want to go solar is more important than telling them why they should go solar. Ive read numerous books on sales over my sales career and every single one talks about the importance of asking good questions.

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How Are You Doing Today And What Does The Future Look Like

Since launching in 2014 we have grown very quickly. By the end of our 2nd full year in business, our sales revenue had grown over 1900%. In our 4th year, we made the Inc 500 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the US with over 4300% growth. We also made the Inc 5000 list for the 2nd year in a row.

Today were doing around $7 million in revenue and looking to substantially grow in the next year. Since all growth is self-funded we constantly track our numbers. Knowing your numbers is crucial.

Get a job in whatever industry that you are looking to start a business in. Learn as much as you can before starting your own company. You will gain invaluable hands-on experience.

Our cost per acquisition averages less than $300 per deal, which is very low for the solar industry. This is an advantage that is going to help us expand in 2020, as we look to keep growing our solar business, as well as our energy-efficient affordable housing division.

Were an extremely process-driven company and our back end operations work much like a well-oiled assembly line. Currently, we have some of the fastest installations in the industry and this is all due to our incredible operations team.

Last but not least, we are looking to launch our own fintech company in 2020. It will be a finance company that will focus on financing for renewable energy and energy-efficient home improvements.

Potential Problems For Solar Sellers

Financed panels

We mentioned earlier that many mortgage lenders will require panels to be paid off and transferred to the new homeowner on closing. There is another optionthe buyer may be willing to take over the loan, but this can affect their ability to get a mortgage.

Many mortgage lenders are hesitant to finance a loan when the panels are not owned outright, as mentioned above. Finding a lender might prove difficult for your prospective buyer, preventing the sale from closing on time.

Most buyers will not be interested in taking over the loan and risk being denied by lenders. And even if they are, taking on a large solar loan will increase the buyers debt-to-income ratio, reducing the size of the mortgage they are able to qualify for.

Solar Lease

In the case of a lease, the potential buyer will either have to take over the contract, or the seller will have to buy it out. Buying out a contract can be expensive since the typical lease term is 20-25 years. And some solar leases have escalating payments, which can affect your buyers debt-to-income ratio in addition to making a buyout costly.

Review your lease terms and decide if you would be willing to buy out the contract, or if you are only interested in selling to someone who will assume the lease.

What You Can Do About It

The more streamlined the lease transfer, the less hesitancy you are likely to see from a potential buyer.

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Trust Unbound Solar And Learn How To Sell Solar Energy

Choosing a system that suits your needs is the first step toward a more environmentally friendly farm.

We at Unbound Solar® can work with you to design a system to your specifications.

But our support doesnt end there.

Well be there for you to answer questions or to deal with any problems that arise.

Why Consider Selling Solar Energy Back To The Grid

Selling solar power back to the grid is a great way for businesses and homeowners alike to get a return on their investment. If youâre interested in selling your solar energy back, here are some things you should know about your options.

If youâre interested in selling your solar energy back, there are two options. If you have a net-metering connection, you can sell excess power produced by your PV system. When your PV system produces more power than is being used at any given time, that electricity is sent back into the grid for resale.

However, if you want to ensure a guaranteed return on your investment, youâll need to purchase solar renewable energy credits . SRECs are tradable certificates that represent proof that 1 megawatt-hour of electricity was generated by an eligible renewable energy source.

These SRECs can be sold to local utilities, who are required by law to ensure that a certain percentage of electricity produced comes from renewable sources. This is called Renewable Portfolio Standard . If you have solar panels on your home or business, youâre eligible for an SREC contract.

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Abc: Always Be Closing

Its an old sales adage, but its true. If you want to close more solar sales, you should always have your eyes on the prize. Dont race to the finish line and pull out the big contract without listening to your customers, of course but always remember why youre engaging with a solar prospect and lead them towards the value in order to close more deals.

We hope these closing techniques give your teams closing ratio a healthy boost. Oh, and if they could use more leads to use these tips on, RGR is here to help. We offer the best quality solar leads and the best customer service in the industry. Get in touch with us today and give your solar installation business a serious boost.

Become The Incentive Expert

Solar sales representatives use the rebate programs offered by local utility companies as a selling point. These rebates often offset the costs of an expensive solar panel installation. Rebates are provided through utility companies who receive block grant funds through the federal government. These grants are not always available, so staying up-to-date with current opportunities is important.

Your job is to understand incentive programs, learn how to navigate the red tape to help consumers get the most back, and to offer alternatives when the programs expire. If your company doesn’t have financing services available, develop relationships with solar financing companies to help clients find a reasonable way to afford a solar power installation.

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How To Sell Solar Panels Online

Following the 4 steps outlined below, you may sell solar panels online:

The first step is to identify your potential buyers because beginning a business if you don’t have any interested buyers for your goods is pointless. Those who currently have a battery backup or have high electricity bills could be good candidates for solar.

If your customer has a battery backup system already

• Learn about the locations where electricity is only available for 5-6 hours a day.
• Learn about the locations with low voltage .

If your customer’s electricity bills are excessively high

• Find info about clients who use air conditioners frequently, such as houses, hospitals, schools, and offices. Try to pay them a visit when their electricity bills have just been delivered. It normally occurs between the 7th and 14th day of the month.

If your customer already has a battery backup, you can skip this step.

A solar panel with three times the capacity of the batteries should be provided. If the customer has a 150A battery, for example, you should offer a 500W solar panel to ensure that the battery is fully charged during the day.

If your customer’s electricity bills are excessively high, which exceeds Rs. 1,000, an AC module can be placed, and the system can be expanded if necessary.

How to sell electricity from solar panels?

There are some ways on how to sell electricity from solar panels. The most important one is the net metering concept.

Pros And Cons Of Solar Panels For Your Home

Like most things, solar power has its benefits and drawbacks. At the same time, some economic costs may be defrayed by the social benefits to the environment and lowering your carbon footprint, which exceeds pure monetary evaluation.

• Green energy that lowers your carbon footprint

• Net metering allows you to sell back excess energy produced

• You may be eligible for certain tax breaks

• Installation and maintenance costs still high

• Solar only works when the sun is out

• Parts of the system need to be replaced every few years

• Some tax breaks may have expired or will be expiring

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What Barriers Might Stop Someone From Succeeding

Certain physical abilities are a requirement for outside solar sales, as salespeople need to travel long distances and enter many types of homes that might not meet accessible design standards. Evening hours and weekend work can also be expected in some solar sales roles.

But when it comes to education, solar sales can be more accessible than some other positions in the cleantech industry. Salespeople learn about the product they sell on the job, and a college degree typically isnt required, although salespeople come from a variety of educational backgrounds.

The first few days, we had in-house training and learned everything about the company and the benefits of solar, so education isnt much of a barrier, said Vorobyova.

The role is also flexible and potentially lucrative, Vorobyova said. It can take up as much time as you put into it. It can be a little difficult sometimes on very busy days, working so many hours, but if thats something youre willing to do, then you can succeed. If you want time off, theyll approve it. And theres no cap on how much you can get paid, or on your satisfaction.

Every solar company is different. Often, new salespeople can succeed and move up quickly based on strong performance. Vorobyova canvassed for three months before being promoted.