The Bethels Saved by Financing Their Solar Panels with Ygrene
When Carol and David Bethel moved into their Coconut Grove home, the first thing they wanted to do was install solar panels. They felt like going solar was one of the best home improvements they could make, for many reasons. "Our interest in solar panels is just part of an overall sustainable living plan that's important to us, especially in South Florida where the weather is great most of the year. And with energy being literally free coming from the sky, it's a great way for us to have a positive impact on the environment," David shared.
But when they realized their home had quite a few other costly improvements that needed to be done first, they thought their dream of getting solar panels would have to take a back seat for a while. "There's a difference between something like solar energy, which isn't something that you need right away in order to make a house habitable. We had to do the electrical first, and the roof was falling apart so we had to do that. You can't have solar until you have a roof. That's the order that we had to put it in. But solar was always a priority for us," explained Carol.
How They Discovered They Could Pay for Their Solar Panels with Ygrene
When the Bethels were trying to figure out how to pay for their home improvements and solar panels, they assumed they would need to need to either pay out of pocket or use a credit card, neither of which sounded too appealing to them. But after getting a postcard in the mail from Ygrene about a different type of financing called PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy), they thought to themselves "This is too good to be true".
After doing their homework and talking to the Ygrene team, they realized that they could make all of the critical improvements to make their home comfortable to live in, and go solar. With a background in international commercial real estate, David was a stickler when it came to reviewing the Ygrene financing contract in great detail, and that's what made him comfortable with moving forward. "For me, the devil's in the details. Once I went through all of the paperwork, I got a better feeling about the legitimacy of Ygrene".
Why Financing with Ygrene Was the Right Decision
After identifying a great contractor from Ygrene's independent network of contractors, the Bethels finally got their long-awaited solar panels installed with no money down. "No money upfront from us, not a cent, not one cent, not even for the permit applications," David exclaimed. Not having to worry about getting construction permits for the home improvement project was especially nice for the couple, along with the easy installation process that didn’t take over their entire home.
How Solar Helped Them Reduce Energy Use and Monthly Utility Bills
The benefits of their solar system surround the Bethels, literally. As Carol put it: "the sun's out all the time, why wouldn't everybody do something like this?"
The Bethels explained that becoming more eco-friendly and living a sustainable lifestyle is incredibly important to them. They really wanted to reduce the amount of energy they used at home, and make the energy that they did use cleaner and better for the environment.
But they hadn't even factored in the economic savings before going solar. "From a cost-benefit standpoint, we don't just look at just the economic savings in our electric bill. It's very important to us that our footprint is lessened and the electricity that our system creates goes back into the grid to help lower someone else's footprint. And I feel as though, yes there is an associated cost for us, but [solar power] more than pays for itself".
David and Carol explained that with Ygrene financing, they didn’t make their first payment on their solar panels (through their property taxes) for over a year after they were installed. And their monthly utility bills have shown huge savings for them. "Each month I've seen our electric bill go down by just huge percentages," said Carol. After three years of having their solar panels, their monthly electric bills have gone down to anywhere from $10 to $100 per month. (It’s important to note that savings aren’t guaranteed with any type of home improvement project, so individual results may vary). "And the addition of the upfront federal rebate and the credit that we get from Florida Power and Light for unused electricity, it's a win-win," said Carol.
The Bethels feel that going solar was one of the best home improvements they made. As David put it simply, “it’s cooler [at home], and it’s cheaper!”
Curious if Your Home Qualifies for Solar Panel Financing?
With a cooler and more comfortable home that is much more affordable to maintain, the Bethels feel like going solar has given them far more than they could have ever imagined. If you're curious to see if your home qualifies for solar panel financing (or another type of energy-efficient project) through Ygrene, click below to find out in less than 5 minutes.
Individual results may vary. Savings are not guaranteed. The persons giving testimonials may have been compensated for use of their experience.
