Q: What if I move or sell the home during the contract term?

A:There are three options:

Please see the “Tab/Page” Solar Home Sales for information and links to recent, credible studies showing that Solar Homes Sell Faster and At A Premium.

1. The Customer has the option to transfer the contract to the new homeowner, under the same terms and conditions of the agreement. Many studies have shown that solar homes have higher sales values over comparable homes making a solar lease contract an asset in the sales process.
2. The customer has the right to move the system to a new home – as long as it is within our service territory – for a minimum fee of $500. Customers who are in their second 10-year contract are allowed one free temporary removal or relocation. 
3. If neither of the first two options is available, the Customer will be charged 10 cents per Watt peak for removal of the system. For example, if they have a 3.2Kw system, the fee would be $320. In addition to the recovery fees, we may charge additional fees if the Customer is uncooperative with us and does not allow us to recover the system in a timely manner. These additional fees may include collection fees, overdue service fees, early cancellation fees, late fees, and other fees that are described in the General Terms and Conditions, 7 of the Forward Rental Agreement. (Just like if you cancelled your cable and would not give them back the box and refused to pay your bill).

Since reliable, recent reports reveal that solar homes sell faster and at a premium, option #3 is highly unlikely.

Q: Will I pay a premium for solar power?

A: Studies repeatedly show that customers are willing to pay a premium for green power. We provide green power usually at a lower cost than the local utility rates at the time of installation. Note that over the life of the contract, there will be no rate increases from us while utility rates will increase, usually annually. This will be defined clearly at the time of the “site visit” when the system is designed and all details unique to the installation are covered with the homeowner. The process will not move forward without all customer questions being answered and full customer approval.

Q: What is the Your Guarantee?

With our “Worry Free Performance Guarantee” the customer only pays rent for the system. If there is ever a problem with the system, the customer is never left alone trying to figure out how to fix it. The system is monitored automatically every day and our national network of franchisees will rush out to fix any problem because our revenue stops until the system works. 

Q: How does our offer differ from traditional PV packages?

A: There are four major advantages to our system:

Financial: Our system does not need to be purchased. So the customer has no capital costs and no installation costs. Additionally, customers have no investment risk. PV technology is continuing to advance at a rapid rate. Renting the system effectively shields the customer from the risk of technology advances resulting in a large capital investment loosing its value.

Operation and maintenance: In a traditional installation, the owner is responsible for operating and maintaining the PV system. Usually this requires the customer to purchase a separate monitoring system and/or rely on their own resources if the system fails to perform. If the system breaks down, the owner will most likely need to call and pay for service. We monitor the performance of our system on a daily basis to determine whether performance is optimum. If it is not, we will issue a work order to repair the system immediately at no cost to the customer.

Hassle-free - Customers get hassle-free installation, permitting, guaranteed performance, and quality maintenance. If the customer was to purchase a system, he or she would bear these responsibilities or would have to pay someone else to take on the responsibility.

“Peace of mind”: Our system is a performance-based rental. If the system temporarily stops working, the customer stops paying for it until the system comes back on-line. In the case of the traditional installation, the customer continues paying for the system, even if the system stops working.

Q: What solar technology is you using?

A: The Company has chosen polycrystalline or multi-crystalline solar cells under glass as its core technology. This is technology that has already been proven to last in the field for well over 25 years. With the absence of technology risk, we can obtain the needed project financing for large deployment of distributed solar systems.

Q: What is Net Metering?

A: Net metering is the provision in many state laws that require power companies to give you credit for the electricity power you generate your site. These laws give you the right to generate electricity and “sell” any excess to your utility.

Although net metering laws vary considerably throughout the States, the basic understanding is that any excess electricity delivered to the utility (during the day when the panels are generating) will be held as a credit. You may use that credit in the times where your system is not generating electricity (during the night or bad weather).

As long as you do not use more electricity than the panels generate, you should only have to pay a minimum line-connection fee per month to your local utility. This small monthly fee that you pay to your utility is essentially the cost of having a redundant electricity supply and a virtual storage for your self-generated electricity.

Because some net metering laws are unfavorable to our customers, we will design systems to provide no more than 100% of the customer’s historical power usage. Additionally, because the absence of a net metering law would adversely affect our customer, we are not presently offering the program in areas with no net metering law.

For the latest information on the current net metering laws please visit: www.dsireusa.org

Q: What happens if the system generates more electricity than consumed?

A: This is called generating a Net Excess of generation. In this case, utility companies have several options, depending on the state’s Net Metering law. They may:

Pay for the excess power generated at retail or wholesale price.

Credit the excess to the next period.

In a few cases be granted the excess power without paying anything. Their options depend on the current net metering laws for each state.

According to most net metering laws, credits or charges for Net Excess are calculated on an annual basis, with few exceptions on a monthly basis.

To avoid having our customers pay for excess generation, our systems are designed to meet up to—but not exceeding—100% of the customer’s historical needs. In addition, because the system will be monitored on a daily basis, we will be able to downsize the system if the customer needs less electricity than the system regularly generates.

For the latest information on the current net metering laws please visit: www.dsireusa.org

Q: How is my rent calculated?

A: Customers pay a flat rent according to the size of the system, which is designed to meet no more than 100% of their historical annual usage. Many utilities’ net metering will not buy excess energy at the end of a year’s accounting, so it is of no use to the customer to generate more than 100% of their usage.

Q: Do I have to pay rent when I’m away?

A: They still have to pay rent when they are away, just like they would still pay their cable bill and their mortgage. The “excess” energy that was sent to the grid while they are away can be used later, so it usually balances out by the end of the year.  

Q: What if my usage changes significantly during the contract term?

If a customer’s usage changes significantly when, for example, their kids go to college, we will become aware of this. The system monitors the energy usage daily. If a significant drop is registered, the local franchisee will remove one or more of the panels and adjust the contract.

Q: What is the advantage of a customer signing up now if the system cannot be installed for several months?

A: There are several advantages:

 Customers who sign up now lock in their rent today. If the local utility rates are higher when their system is actually installed, the customer will enjoy greater savings from the lower rent calculated when they signed up.

If the customer decides before the installation that they do not want the system, then they simply cancel.

Q: What if I need to have my roof repaired or replaced during the contract term?

The customer will need to inform the Company of any roof repairs or replacement. The franchisee will remove the system and put it back up when the work is complete. For this service, the customer will be charged a fee of minimum $500 or 10 cents per watt peak, whichever is greater.

If the removal lasts more than 30 days, the customer will be required to pay a Monthly Rent for every 30 days it is removed.

Customers with a second 10-year agreement have the option to use their one-time free relocation for this event.

Q: Who gets the tax credits and rebates?

A: The entity that takes the risk and responsibility for the capital investment owns the system. Rebates and tax are developed for the owners of the systems, the leasing company, and are a significant part of the solar leasing business model.

Q: What is covered under the included Insurance?

A: We insures the system against all damage except in the case of gross negligence or abuse.

Q: Can a customer purchase a system from you?

A: At present, our system is offered as a rental only. Even though it might be possible to sell our systems directly, that is not part of our model at this time.

Q: What if a customer wants to back out?

A: The customer can back out at any time for any reason prior to installation. In particular after the customer sees the design for the installation, they can decide not to proceed. Even if they decide to move forward, it is still possible that either:

a. The utility company refuses to approve an interconnection agreement

b. The local buildings and codes department refuses to issue a permit

c. The mortgage lender refuses to sign a letter of acknowledgement

None of these is likely but could occur.

Q: Who owns the system at the end of the contract?

A: Think of leasing a solar system as parallel with paying your electric bill – only the bill will be lower. After 10 years of paying your electric bill, you don’t have an asset, you have had a service. The leased solar system is the same, it still belongs to the leasing company. The positive part of that is that you are not responsible for redeploying or responsibly disposing of a technologically out of date piece of equipment, as we must do with our 5 year old computers.

Q: What happens to the system at the end of the contract?

A: When a contract is completed, you may renew the your agreement with Citizenrē.  More than likely you will be issued new, more technologically advanced equipment.  Or the system will be scheduled for recovery. A service team will be dispatched to remove all equipment. The Company will replace the roofing material where the solar array infringed upon the roof and will re-plaster or caulk all holes that were created by the mounting structures. Once the recovery is completed, the service team will reconnect the utility meter directly to the consumer junction box and test the connection.

We are not responsible for damages or general wear-and-tear to the house or surrounding structures and fixtures that were not caused by the system or the decommissioning of the system.

We retain responsibility to redeploy or responsibly dispose of such systems.

Q. Can I lower my bill at any time during my contract?

A: Absolutely yes!  If any of your friends, family, neighbors choose to get a Citizenrē solar system on your recommendation, 5% of their monthly bill will be credited to your account, up to 100% of your monthly bill. Thus, you could be getting your electricity for free.