Reviews by Topside

SolarQuest USA

Between late 2014 when I first contracted with SolarQuest for home solar panels, and late February 2015, I experienced the process of solar permitting and installation. The City of Dania Beach permitting took the longest, as the city was in no particular hurry on the application. Scott DeLoach, SolarQuest Project Manager, and his representatives visited the City Hall Permit Office on several occasions to push the permit application that SolarQuest had filed, as did I, but the city inspectors had many other projects on their agendas. Then the Holiday season made things slower. Also, I had to apply with FPL the electric utility, as my solar panels are considered a supplier to the electric grid. After I was approved, FPL installed a Net-Metering electric meter on my house, that measures electric current flow in both directions. Scott and his team were very professional and easy to work with, which made this drawn-out process bearable. Finally in late January 2015 we were approved to begin the work, and the SolarQuest team led by Technician Chris Midyette jumped on the installation part of the project. The hurricane-resistant supports and 15 solar panels on my roof took a few days to install, but the final FPL and city inspections took a couple of additional weeks. During that time my solar panels were ready to power my house, but the system had to be left turned off, which was frustrating. Chris and Scott kept in regular contact during this period, which made me feel better that the project was truly being completed. Finally in late February 2015 the solar installation was approved, we flipped the switch, and my electric bill started dropping much lower.

So far I have had only two truly 0 kW-hr electric bills - which actually cost me $9.04 each with the FPL connection fee plus taxes. However, my bills have been hugely lower, as the summary below shows:

FPL ELECTRIC BILL COMPARISON

Before solar panels in use.
2014-2015: $1009.24 total annual cost, $84.10/mo. average.

After solar panels in use.
2015-2016: $406.10 total annual cost, $33.85/mo. average.

While this is impressive, it would have shown a greater savings had I done everything all at one time: The solar hot water heater (installed 5 years earlier), plus reflective attic film and a solar attic ventilation fan (installed 2 years earlier). The hurricane-impact windows and efficient air conditioner (installed 8 years prior) had begun the process of lowering my electric bill. All of these upgrades cost, and done all at once would be financially overwhelming for most people. But when you do them incrementally they become affordable, save you money in the long run, and feel like the right thing to do if you plan to live in a south Florida home in the 21st century. While the savings are huge, I still have not achieved a $0 electric bill for the year - nor does FPL want me to. If at the end of a year I have produced more electric power cumulatively for their grid than I took from it at night and on cloudy days, FPL will reimburse me for my production overage. However, their reimbursement rate is about $.02 per kW-hr, while they charge about $.12 per kW-hr that you use from the grid during less-sunny times. With that difference plus the $9.04/mo connection fee, you would have to pay for a much bigger solar panel system than you need during most days, to get to an annual $0 bill. However, if every month in south Florida the weather was like March-April, my current solar system would truly result in that $0 electric bill.

I'm glad I went solar, and I would recommend SolarQuest as a competent, professional solar design and installation company. Their post-installation support of my entire solar system has been great also.... read more

Type: Residential Electric

Reviewed: 03/26/2016