Dawn Stockmo wanted solar panels for her Victorian home in Oak Park, but a funny thing happened when she and her husband started calling installers.
“When we talked to one of them, we started getting a lot of calls from other installers,” said the retired affordable housing director. “It was just overwhelming.”
At a time when customers complain about aggressive sales practices, confusing offers and a lack of transparency, going solar can be daunting, but there are government-backed programs that make it easier.
For Stockmo, help came in the form of an electronic newsletter from his village.
Oak Park was promoting Solar Switch Chicagoland, a group purchasing program offered by a partnership that includes the nonprofit consumer watchdog Citizens Utility Board, five local counties and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association.
The program, formerly known as Grow Solar Chicagoland, has helped more than 600 customers get solar roofs from licensed contractors over the past five years. For those who sign up now, the group rebate for an average solar roof is expected to be about $4,600.
Solar Switch customers surveyed by the Tribune said the program simplified the purchasing process, saved them money and gave them the ability to work with entities they knew and trusted.
“Honestly, the biggest thing was peace of mind,” said Dan Portincaso, an English teacher who lives in Oak Park. “Since it was through a government-affiliated group, that everything had been verified, I thought, ‘This is fine. I’m not going to get scammed.’”
Chicago resident George Witchek said he and his wife planned to install a solar roof on the 1910 stucco house in Old Irving Park where they live with their two young daughters, but Solar Switch likely accelerated the purchase by four or five years.
“The main reason was probably the cost savings,” he said. Solar Switch had offered a discount of about $4,000 at the time, and sure enough, when a reputable installer bid on the project, Solar Switch’s offer “was almost $4,000 cheaper.”
Witchek said he got solar panels worth about $28,000 for $24,000, with an out-of-pocket cost of only about $8,000 after federal and state incentives.
Today, he says, he saves between $1,200 and $1,500 a year on his electricity bills.
“I’m going to pay back (my investment) and then for 20-plus years I’ll have essentially free energy, which is exciting,” he said.
Respond to a need
With federal and state solar tax credits and rebates reducing the price of rooftop panels for Illinois residents by up to 60%, some customers are taking the plunge because they believe the financial incentives will never get better.
In fact, one incentive is already set to diminish: Starting in 2025, state investor-owned utilities, including ComEd, will offer lower bill credits to households that export solar power to the grid, leaving new solar rooftop owners with potentially smaller electric bill savings than those who got their solar roofs by the end of 2024.
When the change goes into effect, the estimated electricity bill savings over the lifetime of a solar roof will drop by up to 35%, depending on the size of the homeowner’s electricity bill and the size of their solar roof, according to Emily Walker, senior research analyst for EnergySage’s home electrification market.
At a time of record global temperatures, customers are also citing climate change as a reason to switch to solar power.
“It’s something that’s in our hands and I can’t control what other people do, but I can control what I do, and I want to, you know, ‘be the change that you want to see,'” Witchek said.
But while there are incentives and motivations, there are also obstacles.
Customers like Tania Kadakia of Logan Square’s west side told the Tribune that installing a solar roof can be difficult and time-consuming.
“There are a lot of people who want to do this,” she said in December. “My gut tells me that part of the reason there aren’t more solar panels on people’s houses is that people are starting to get interested in it and they’re like, ‘I don’t even know what this is. I don’t know what I’m signing up for. I don’t know how to approach this. I don’t even know if these are the right panels.’”
The CUB has been inundated with questions from people interested in solar energy but overwhelmed by all the information they’re receiving, according to executive director Sarah Moskowitz.
The consumer protection association has also received complaints from people who claim to have been misled, particularly by sellers of solar products.
“It’s tough out there,” Moskowitz said.
The Solar Switch program is unusual in that it does some of the work for consumers by vetting installers and securing a volume discount, through an auction in which approved applicants submit bids.
“CUB doesn’t often put its name behind a program or a company or companies, and when we do, we have to make sure the offering lives up to its promise,” Moskowitz said. “We’ve put a lot of effort into making sure it’s worth putting our name on it.”
The group purchasing program, now known as Solar Switch Chicagoland, began in 2018, when a state lawmaker invited CUB to speak to a group of suburban seniors who wanted to go solar. At the end of the presentation, a man in the back of the room raised his hand.
“We have a lot of neighbors here,” he said. “What if we all decided to install solar panels? Is there an installer who could give us a discount?”
The group purchasing program, which began in 2019, has always included CUB, the nonprofit Midwest Renewable Energy Association of Custer, Wisconsin, and some local counties. Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will counties are currently partners, and last year the group tapped Dutch solar group purchasing company iChoosr.
Chicago area residents can take a survey to find out if their roofs are good candidates for solar. Those who sign up for Solar Switch have access to educational webinars.
The CUB also offers training sessions on solar energy.
“I highly recommend that if anyone can, come to one of the CUB events in person or in real time, if it’s a virtual event, and ask your questions. We’re here. We’re ready to help,” Moskowitz said. “If you send us an email through our website, someone will get back to you.”
For those who meet the income requirements, there is also Illinois Solar for All, a government program that helps you get solar panels on residential roofs, often with no upfront costs. The program guarantees savings on your electricity bills.
“It’s a great program,” Moskowitz said. “If you’re eligible for Illinois Solar for All, you shouldn’t go through our program because you’ll get a better price through Solar for All.”
The deadline to register for the current session of Solar Switch is September 10. The next session will begin in February or March.
Jealous neighbors
Stockmo was so pleased with the solar company that installed her that she continues to display their panel in her yard, 10 months after receiving her solar panels.
“The whole process went smoothly and very pleasantly,” she said. “Everyone we interacted with was great.”
For her, the process started with an online PowerPoint presentation. When Solar Switch selected a solar installer for her, the installer gave another presentation. Stockmo and her husband, Perry Johnson, decided to move forward, so the installer inspected her roof and electrical panel.
The installation on its steep Victorian roof was completed in one day.
“When the tornado hit Jackson – we were only a block away – nothing happened, so I guess (the signs) are up pretty well,” she said with a laugh.
Portincaso said he and his wife, Barbara Rykaczewski, have not paid for electricity since their panels were installed, and neighbors had plenty of questions at a recent block party.
“Everyone in the neighborhood was jealous,” he said.
One of Witchek’s friends got into solar power, partly because of his encouragement: “When I believe in something, I’m a promoter,” said the 35-year-old project manager for an industrial supplies distributor.
Today, he and his friend have branched out into apps that let them compare how much energy their solar panels produce, and neighbors and co-workers tease Witchek about his enthusiasm.
“The funny thing is, I talk more about my solar panels than I do about my kids,” he said.
nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com
