BLOG
search

Community Solar Can Give Apartment Renters A Shot A Solar Savings

Ean GoodguyAugust 29, 2018 1375 0

Community Solar Can Give Apartment Renters A Shot A Solar Savings

Solar power is now accessible for apartments through solar community groups. These groups manage the setup and the transaction between utilities to provide customers discount on their electricity bills.

Community solar, or solar farms, make solar panels perfect for suburbs and less dense neighborhoods while areas like downtown New York with lots of vertical dwellings might find it more difficult to obtain clean and more affordable electricity from solar power. However, that dilemma may soon be gone for New Yorkers as efforts to provide people with solar energy has improved another level yet again.


Community For Solar

Apartment owners or renters who dwell in apartments which both want to utilize solar power can now choose to do so. This is granted that your apartment has a solar community group. These groups pool their efforts and finances together to install solar panels on the available spaces of their apartment structures, so everyone pretty much gets a cut of solar power, and therefore more affordable electricity.

There is a program right now with its website that will help you find the nearest community solar group in your area. The price may vary, of course, depending on the available solar panel brands in your area, as well as how many people are sharing the solar power. There are also other factors such as the open roof space for panels which might favor a first-come, first serve approach due to limited space.

Still, the idea is entirely novel and should allow lots of people living in apartments the opportunity to go solar. After all, one could only survive the rising cost of traditional electricity in cities, and solar panels provide a good alternative to this electricity. The cooperative project is also relatively new and has only begun just this Summer, in time for supposed and expected Summer electricity price hikes in the U.S.


Big Apple, Big Savings

People who are living in apartments outside of Manhattan or New York might have to wait indefinitely, however, because the groups appear to be currently only available for the people of Manhattan. Still, this can be quite a significant advantage for people who live in the area because it will also allow them to save quite a lot on electricity and since they are already living in apartments, the profits could get doubled.

“I think community solar gives equal access to solar power for those of us in the city. Anything to offset your bill is great, but there’s a social and environmental impact too,” announced Taka Juba, an owner of a Manhattan condominium apartment, who joined the city’s first community solar group.

The groups have their system and division including the host, sponsor, utility, and customers. A host or a commercial building owner can either buy its solar array system or leases its rooftop space to a sponsor that will design, operate and furthermore maintain a system. The sponsor then sells the solar energy generated as solar credits to a utility, which in New York City’s case is Consolidated Edison.

Then, renters and apartment residents who rely on that utility can sign up for the discount. The community group’s subscription manager will then handle the breakdown of the charges and the discount. There are already many groups that are already up and running within New York, each with their subscription deals, terms, and services. What these groups provide regarding agreements varies with some offering yearly subscriptions while others have a lock-in period of electricity consumption amount.

Curious about solar hard costs vs. soft costs near you, and how that might affect your own solar panel pricing? We here at HahaSmart you will have a look at what we can offer you on the cost of solar panels and cost of solar installations. We will strive to find you the best prices available. Follow the solar experts. Try our price checker tool. It tells you how much solar power you need and how much you can save on your energy bills each month. Please visit our solar blog to find out more about the benefits of going solar.

Solar system price checker

Comments

Design Your Solar Home

START

12 3

Input your address to see if it is solar friendly and how much you can save with solar.

Great. Your address is perfect for solar. Solar incentive is still available. Select monthly utility cost and calculate the size of solar system you will need now.

Whoa ! Going solar is definitely a smart decision.

kw System size years Payback period Lifetime savings

No money down, 100% finance is available.

Looking for certified solar installers? Sign up now and we will find them for you.

Do not show this information again.