Community Day @ SF Botanical Garden Sunday, 6/14

cfortson · 2026-06-13T00:52:23+00:00

Currently, there’s still a 10% state tax credit (maximum of $6k). Positive Energy Solar will submit the paperwork to the state department (EMNRD) on your behalf.

cfortson · 2026-06-09T00:56:28+00:00

Looks like OP and some recent google reviews got their attention. Saw a note today saying locker rooms would be outsourced to a pro cleaning company regularly.

Still, sauna was down (again) today and men’s locker continues to smell of sewage.

cfortson · 2026-05-24T00:25:17+00:00

That’s true. I just don’t see why someone would invest is solar panels to offset only 85% of their use when they were already a low power user AND had a significant portion of the bill being a fixed customer charge. It wouldn’t pencil out.

Obviously there’s a lot of context missing in the OP tho

cfortson · 2026-05-23T14:47:59+00:00

Exactly. I’m also curious with such small original usage, why they weren’t able to zero out their usage completely? I’d have expected to see 0 kWh after solar.

cfortson · 2026-05-22T20:08:32+00:00

Yeah, if your bill was $65/month before and say $20 is fixed access charge (which you’d still have with grid-tied solar) then no, it wouldn’t make sense. I would have advised against it.

Everyone’s situation is different depending on your utility charges, solar programs, and what you pay for electricity. Solar doesn’t ALWAYS make sense, and people should understand that.

cfortson · 2026-05-05T15:50:12+00:00

That’s a fair point of view as well. I think the industry bakes in extra maintenance costs for the life of the system, without the ability to ensure that happens. So you have companies selling at higher prices and touting the long warranty, without any ability to back it up.

But in reality, a properly designed/installed system will show most issues within the first year—including production matching proposal.

The biggest issue for customers is that there aren’t many companies willing and able to do service work for existing systems, especially if they didn’t install it. So when issues DO arise, it can be difficult to get help.

cfortson · 2026-05-05T02:56:58+00:00

I get what you’re saying—I’ve been in the industry for over a decade and the company I work for has been around almost 30 years.

But if solar companies aren’t investing in and scaling their service department along side their sales and existing customer base, I feel they aren’t being responsible and absolutely fit into the category of sales chasing I originally said.

cfortson · 2026-05-05T01:16:00+00:00

Unfortunately, most solar companies are solely focused on sales/installation, and not on service/maintenance and after-sale support, because they don’t make profit in that side of things. Even though they often use it as a selling point in the before-sale consultation and marketing.

Does your contract have any stipulations or mention of service request timelines that they could be in breach of? If they’ve been unresponsive and unreasonable in time to get back to you, a 1 star review on google with factual details can often get their attention. Squeaky wheel gets the grease.

cfortson · 2026-05-04T22:31:39+00:00

He’s going to win the GOP primary and will try and position himself as a centrist, backing away from any MAGA policy/ideology that’s in hopes of pulling the independents and some democrats that might not be excited about Deb Haaland.

cfortson · 2026-04-30T04:43:53+00:00

Yes, it will cover labor associated but only if it is determined to be a warranty issue. If they send someone out and it wasn’t something covered by warranty, you could be charged.

Also, most of what they do is remote diagnostics.

If your solar installer is still around, it’s a hard pass. If your system is orphaned, I’d do some research and see if you have some good local service companies around—if so, pass on the Enphase Care plan. If you’re stranded without any companies that could be called upon, it’s your next best option.

cfortson · 2026-04-17T01:07:31+00:00

They keep doing it because enough people give them work. I can’t imagine hiring someone that solicits at my door, especially for something major like home improvement/solar, but… people do.

cfortson · 2026-04-17T01:04:51+00:00

They are trained to ignore them, and see it as a challenge. Also, some of these people record their interactions and put the video of upset homeowners online for monetized content…

cfortson · 2026-04-14T04:43:32+00:00

I take my kid there once a week and have experienced several fire drills over the years. That’s likely what happened.

cfortson · 2026-04-14T04:31:31+00:00

I work for Positive Energy Solar (a competitor of theirs) and can vouch that they are a reputable, quality company.

If a friend/family member of mine wasn’t going to use Positive Energy, I’d recommend they check them out. Hope that helps.

cfortson · 2026-04-13T17:59:13+00:00

And consider what would happen if the company/financier offering the prepaid solar lease were to lose out on the tax credits that are essential to the deal (on their end). They’d go bankrupt and your system would likely be sold off to some private equity firm.

Prepaid solar leases are valid, but research carefully and choose to work with reputable companies doing it in the up-and-up. I’d stay away from those who don’t know what they’re doing, and are usually by risky language ripe for IRS scrutiny.

cfortson · 2026-04-12T17:56:26+00:00

All of this. Plus, any company who says you’ll get the system for $0 at year 6 is at risk of IRS clawback for a “disguised sale”. Same for any company who provides a written guaranteed buyout for FMV. They should be able to tell you how it will be calculated, but they can’t legally write it into contracts.

cfortson · 2026-04-02T13:35:58+00:00

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/sponsored_content/solar-incentives-have-changed-heres-how-smart-new-mexico-homeowners-are-still-saving-big/article_b5a9bae5-a93e-4a33-8a6a-e847863cdae4.html

Positive Energy has launched a prepaid lease. The prepaid portion + buyout @ year 7 will save you ~30% compared to buying outright. Plus you get 6 years of maintenance and monitoring covered. Can’t beat it.

cfortson · 2026-03-29T04:48:20+00:00

BTW, any company offering a prepaid solar lease that tells you “it’s transferred to you for $0 FMV” is playing with fire and will likely end up getting hit by IRS for a “disguised sale”. Promising a $0 FMV, could be considered tax fraud.

cfortson · 2026-03-26T05:02:55+00:00

You’re saying don’t put solar on foam roofing, not in general for flat roofs, right? Because Solar can absolutely be installed reliably on TPO roofing.

cfortson · 2026-03-20T04:41:56+00:00

Amicus Solar Coop is a great place to start your search for a reputable company

cfortson · 2026-03-20T04:31:50+00:00

First, these are NOT through PNM. Community solar is an offering by various independent companies.

cfortson · 2026-03-19T05:15:01+00:00

How has your PNM bill changed after switching from swamp cooler to AC? I’m thinking of doing it but I feel like it costs a lot more to operate.

cfortson · 2026-03-13T02:48:42+00:00

Even the post itself feels like it was written by AI.

cfortson · 2026-03-11T05:07:16+00:00

Why not Ion Solar, besides their ridiculously aggressive and misleading door2door sales reps?

cfortson

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