SIMPLE
SOLAR
SOLUTIONS
L.L.C.
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What goes on during the
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Presentation and Proposal
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process?
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For the presentation and proposal process, a representative of Simple Solar Solutions LLC will meet with you to go over all the options you have. What option are more efficient and what options less efficient. What makes one option more expensive and another option less expensive. Our representative will tell you about which options can add value to your property and which options may have a negative effect on the value of your property. What your home looks like to a buyer is important to the resale value of your home. A nice looking solar collector will always add value to your home, however, a poorly installed collector, that looks bad from the street, can have a negative effect on the value of your home.
While looking at all the options, the homeowner will want to have information related to the costs of each option. This is where a presentation estimate come in. Many dealers have one price that fits all situations, we do not. If you pick a design that saves us money, then it should save you money too. We have a good idea what our costs will be under many different options and designs. With this information, we can work together to arrive at the best product for the best price.
During the presentation we can also go over information about financing. Simple Solar Solutions LLC can not in any way provide Financial Services to our customers. We are not licensed to do that type of work, however, we can tell you about places that are in the financial services business. In this day and age, there are many of them out there. There are also a number of different ways to finance a Solar Hot Water system. There are a number of different tax credits, tax exemptions, local incentives and customer rebates related to Solar Hot Water. We will try our best to tell you about as many these as we can.
Before signing a contract it is important for you to know where you are going to get the money to pay for the Solar Hot Water system. If you do not already have the funds readily available, there are a number of options you can chose from. A homeowner equity line of credit is the most common means of financing this type of home improvement. Another option is a low interest loan from Clark Public Utilities. Because a Solar Hot Water system is such a small investment, some people have even put this type of purchase on a credit card. There are many other options, but we will only talk about the three methods identified here.
Home Equity Loan
Many banks will give a homeowners an equity line of credit loan or a home equity loan. This loan vehicle usually costs nothing in advance and is often very easy to get. You just fill out a small number of forms and you are ready to go. As you need the money, the bank will allow you to just transfer funds from the equity account into your checking account. They will give you a limit on the total amount you can transfer, but small transfers can be made just about anytime. Many banks let you do this over the phone or through your computer. Other banks will give you the full amount on day one. If you have equity in your home, a home equity loan is usually a very good option.
Clark P.U. Loan
The Clark Public Utilities Loan program is very simple. (Be aware that loan funding is limited and may end at any time.) If you have an electric water heater then Clark Public Utilities will give you a loan of up to $6,000.00 to install a Solar Hot Water system. The loan is at 5% for 5 years. They have a one time setup fee of $225.00. In our opinion, this is a very good deal. Simple Solar Solutions is a Clark Public Utilities certified installer. With your permission, we will insure that we only install a system that passes Clark Public Utilities requirements.
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for more information about Clark Public Utilities low interest loans.
Using a Credit Card
Credit Cards are another way to go. Because Solar Hot Water systems are such a low cost item, some people have purchased a complete system by just using a credit card. Others, have used a credit card to pay for the system and then used one or more of the above loans and/or the rebates and credits to then pay off the credit card balances. Some credit card companies allow you to stop payment up to 45 days after you have purchases an item, if something should go wrong with that item. That can be just one of many reasons for using a credit card.
Now let us look at some of other good stuff.
The federal government has what is called a tax credit for Solar Hot Water system. It works by letting you decrease your tax liability by 30% of the cost of your Solar Hot Water system up to $2,000.00. If the 30% of the total cost of the install is greater than $2,000.00, then all you get is the $2,000.00. Most people get money back when they fill their federal tax return. This credit means that you will get even more money back. If you buy a $8,000.00 Solar Hot Water system, then you will get back an extra $2,000.00 from the federal government.
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for more information about the Federal Government's tax credit program.
Right now the Clark Public Utility is giving out $500.00 rebates for customers that have an electric water heater and install a Solar Hot Water system. If you qualify, by having an electric water heater and then put in an approved Solar Hot Water system, after inspecting the installation, Clark P.U. will send you a check for $500.00.
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for more information about the Clark P.U. rebate program.
The state of Washington has exempted Solar Hot Water systems from state sales tax. For a $8,000.00 system you would normally expect to pay $656.00 in sales tax. For all Solar Hot Water systems, you pay nothing in sales tax. (If you have paid sales tax on exempt items, you can apply for a rebate.)
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for more information about the Washington State tax exemption.
Simple Solar Solutions also has a customer sales rebate.
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for more information about the Simple Solar Solutions rebate program.
What does all of this mean?
If you are a homeowner and you have an electric water heater in your home, you should be able to get a $8,656.00 Solar Hot Water system for $5,500.00 after tax credits and rebates. (The $8,656.00 amount above includes what would normally be a state sales tax of $656.00.) This is a little bit more than a 40% savings. Solar Hot Water systems usually have a eight to twelve year pay back. With a 40% savings, this pay back period can come down to 5 to 8 years. Not only will your house be worth a lot more when you sell it, but it should be saving you a lot of money each year while you still have it. This is a win-win situation for everyone, including and very importantly the environment.
At the Presentation and Proposal we do not ask the individuals receiving the presentation to sign a contract. We would like to give you time to review all your options. At the presentation we will give you a signed proposal. The proposal will state exactly what we think you would like for us to do and exactly what that will cost you. This proposal will be good for thirty (30) days. If you later except our proposal, then we will move onto the next process. In the next process we will return to the homeowner house with a contract for the both of us to sign and we will then do a complete site survey.
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to the "System Installation" menu.