© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.
“I looked into a couple of those and they refused to put it in writing.”
Photo Credit: iStock
One San Diego homeowner is considering a $46,375.80 solar-and-battery proposal to replace their home’s 1970s electrical panel.
The design described in the homeowner’s Reddit post includes whole-home backup through a meter collar. Two IQ Battery 10Cs would provide 20 kilowatt-hours of nominal storage, alongside an 11.5-kilowatt solar system comprising 25 REC Alpha Pure-RX panels and Enphase IQ8X microinverters.
A future electric vehicle and mini-split heating and cooling account for the extra capacity in a system expected to produce 18,761 kilowatt-hours annually. Current electricity use is about 12,000 kilowatt-hours a year for the six-person household, which runs IT equipment around the clock.
Scheduled payments would total about $127,800 if the homeowner paid the reported roughly $426 a month for the full 25-year term without a payment change — substantially more than the quoted project price. According to the homeowner, Concert would finance an Enphase Propel prepaid energy services agreement.
The homeowner hopes to reduce the principal with a potential $10,000 San Diego Community Power rebate, which had not been approved. The reported financing terms include no prepayment penalty and an interest rate near 10%.
Monthly payments would fall through re-amortization if the rebate were applied.
An early buyout after year five would end the proposal’s initial third-party ownership period.
One commenter stressed the importance of confirming those terms. “Be careful with the transfer after 5 years,” they wrote. “Did you get them to put the $0 transfer in writing? Or does it say at FMV and a wink-wink? I looked into a couple of those and they refused to put it in writing and said ‘trust us’ and they said the document had to say at Fair Market Value just for accounting reasons. They bank on customers not seeing that.”
With energy prices through the roof, there’s never been a better time to go solar — and EasyHome can help you find the best prices from the best installers in your area.
EasyHome takes the guesswork and headaches out of energy upgrades by showing you estimated savings from a network of vetted local partners. To get started, just enter your ZIP and share a few details about your home — seeing your estimate is really that easy.
To check whether 20 kilowatt-hours of storage would fit the family’s electricity-use patterns, one commenter suggested an installer analysis comparing consumption with the proposed system’s production. The starting point would be interval usage data downloaded from SDG&E.
A proper installer load calculation is still planned to determine whether the existing 100-amp service can support future additions with smart load management. The homeowner’s review of 12 months of utility bills showed a maximum hourly demand of 3.7 kilowatts.
Going solar is one of the best ways to save money on home energy, and solar leases in particular can deliver hundreds of dollars in monthly savings without upfront costs. For readers comparing proposals, EasyHome‘s free explorer tool helps identify potential savings through vetted local installers and explore backup battery storage options. Pairing solar with a battery allows homeowners to maximize savings and power their home with solar when the grid goes down.
“Since we’re planning to stay here long-term, I’m trying to approach this as a 20-25 year infrastructure decision rather than just a financial transaction,” the homeowner wrote in another comment.
Other homeowners shopping for solar have also had to sort through installation costs, financing terms, and battery options.
• A Los Angeles homeowner questioned whether separate bids could beat a $60,000 Tesla solar quote.
• A shopper received a $44,000 solar installation quote, prompting commenters to warn against the deal.
• A California shopper questioned a five-year battery PPA amid NEM 3 concerns about going without storage.
• A California homebuyer received an $11,340 solar quote, then learned monthly financing would cost more.
Get TCD’s free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
© 2025 THE COOL DOWN COMPANY. All Rights Reserved. Do not sell or share my personal information. Reach us at hello@thecooldown.com.

source