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Go Solar to Reduce your Property's Energy Costs

#1

Hi Airhosts,

My name is Teddy Smith, and I work for a company called Sunrun, which is the largest residential solar company in the country. It occurred to me recently that Airbnb property owners may be particularly interested in the solar products we offer, specifically our solar lease. This is because, provided an adequate credit score, property owners can lease a solar system for $0 down and then start saving an average of 20% on their electric bill every month, while also locking in prices for 20 years, protecting yourself from spikes in your utility’s energy rates.
So it’s an easy way to reduce your business expenses and protect yourself from rising costs for the next 20 years.

It could also be a differentiator that makes your property more attractive to potential renters (“this home is powered by clean, sustainable energy”), which is important in an increasingly competitive market.

We are currently in 22 states: CA, AZ, NY, MA, SC, NV, UT, CO, IL, WI, NM, TX, CT, NH, PA, MD, DE, NJ, RI, VT, FL, HI, as well as Puerto Rico.

Reach out to me if you’d like to learn more about transitioning your properties to clean solar energy and increase your margins in the process.

Teddy Smith
Sunrun
650.861.8887
Teddy.Smith@Sunrun.com

#2

Solar city thought of it two years ago.

http://www.solarcity.com/newsroom/press/airbnb-partners-solarcity-bring-solar-energy-home-sharing-community

#3

Joined 1 hour ago says it all!

#4

That’s not surprising. However, we are the #1 player is residential solar, growing every year and with customer satisfaction rates on par with Amazon and Zappos. Additionally, I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable signing a 20-year lease with a company that is in a state of financial distress, with a solar division that is shrinking.

#5

I was just amused that you used the phrase “it occurred to me recently,” as if you had a brilliant idea no one thought of.

As for Solar City’s problems I’d be afraid of the same thing with your company as well. Any company founded in the last 10-20 years with no track record of longevity but with whom I’m signing a two decade contract? There’s also allegations about your company’s finances so I’m not sure you want to play that card.

Anyway, I’ve no horse in the race, I’d just say caveat emptor to all.

#6

Quite a few of my friends are off grid and solar works well where I am.

The big issue I see is the installation costs and the rebates available, most new build seems to come with it but the cost of retrofitting is high, labour costs. And with Solar City acquisition costs, those guys in Home Depot need to be paid.

I looked at the finance situation and it seemed that was where the money was made, effectively lending money.

#7

So what we specialize in is the solar lease in which you put little to nothing down without any installation costs. And due to the fact that you don’t own the system, there’s no need to borrow money and go into debt, and we maintain and fix the system if anything ever goes wrong.

I’d be happy to discuss it with you further if you’d like, Como.

#8

Robert Heinlein said it decades ago – tanstaafl – There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

#9

Sorry if I was not clear lease = finance costs, that is where the money is made on the leasing not installation.

I looked at it, built a building for my Biomass Boiler with the intent of adding solar hot water or pv, decided against Solar HW as it would be easier just to get more wood, PV where I am is a REA, apparently easy to work with but no subsidies and their buy back tariff is not attractive.

These operations need big subsidies to make the lease costs look attractive.

#10

Which country @solarTeddy? This is an international forum! If you are going to spam a forum to promote your products at least take the time to understand what sort of forum you are spamming.

#11

These are the two letter abbreviations for US States

#12

Thats exactly what i was thinking, he never bothered to read a few threads to figure that out, in my country solar power is useless, we use wind

#13

Our solar lease certainly is NOT free, KenH. I simply noted that those with an adequate credit score can get started for $0 down.

#14

In my market (Massachusetts, USA), purchasing is by far the better decision financially.

#15

HI Dusty,

I understand that. We do offer purchases in Massachusetts. I simply lead with the PPA as it is the most inclusive offering we have. If you’d like to talk about a purchase, let me know and I’d be happy to give you some more info.

Teddy

#16

You don’t quit do you?

Why don’t you tell customers what will really happen? You sign them up, then sell their “lease” to someone else. You earned your commission and are off spending your money. The new leaseholders place contractors liens on their home for the equipment. When they go to sell their home, this leased stuff doesn’t transfer along with the home’s title. The home falls out of escrow time and again and is considered a real estate dud.

Customers who have been disconnected from the grid are on their own if they want to remove the solar or if your equipment causes damage to their roofs such as through leaks, etc. and they want to connect back to the grid.

Then they come to jesus and wonder why they did all this to save 50 cents a day on solar.

Buyer beware!!! Never sign up for FREE leased equipment! If you are going to install solar, buy it yourself. Any other deal is a BAD DEAL.

#17

Hi konacoconutz,

So I totally understand that there are some misconceptions out there about solar, and it sounds like you might have had a bad experience with a different solar company, konacoconutz.

I can’t speak for other companies, but I can tell you that Sunrun does not sell our leases/PPAs to other companies. Additionally, it’s written in the PPA/Lease contracts that if you do sell your home, the new homeowner will automatically qualify to have the lease/PPA transferred over to them (and this happens 98.5% of the time).

Sunrun does not disconnect customers from the grid. In order to sign up with us, you do need to stay connected to the grid and have a net-meter installed by your utility.

As for roof damage, each of our options includes a 10 year roof penetration warranty, which is best in industry.

#18

and lastly, it is also written into each of our contracts that we will not place a lien on your property.

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