How to Go Solar With No Money Down

(NewsUSA) - As arguments for switching to renewable energy become more urgent, homeowners are finding new options to help finance rooftop solar systems.

Over the last five years, U.S. electricity costs have jumped more than 21 percent, and the average American household now produces 7.4 tons of carbon dioxide through yearly electricity consumption.

Homeowners who switch to solar energy can halve their electricity bill or eliminate it completely.

"My SolarWorld system really cut my electric bill, and I was able to go solar with no money down through financing," said Glen Takabayashi, a retired Marine colonel and homeowner in Temecula, Calif., whose solar array was installed by Orange County-based Infinity Solar.

Like Takabayashi, many homeowners either can't or don't want to pay for solar panels upfront. Fortunately, there are affordable ways to finance solar installation.

"I felt good about buying solar made here in the U.S. because I think it's important to support American jobs," Takabayashi added, noting that SolarWorld offers the only financing option dedicated to American-made panels.

SolarWorld, the largest U.S. solar panel manufacturer, created the Freedom Plan to help families of all sizes and incomes afford a solar system. In choosing among three plans, homeowners minimize upfront costs by replacing all or a portion of their electric bill with a monthly solar-power payment. The end result: lower utility costs guaranteed for 20 years.

Consider your options:

Zero Down Plan. Like the name indicates, this plan requires no down payment and no upfront costs. But homeowners are assured a monthly electricity payment that is less than their current bill. The contract includes solar monitoring, maintenance, repairs and insurance coverage at no extra charge.

Low Down Plan. For those who have a little more flexibility with a down payment, the Low Down Plan asks for a small upfront cost, usually less than $5,000. This option locks in a set solar payment that provides even more annual savings. It also guarantees system maintenance, repairs, insurance coverage and monitoring.

Prepay Plan. If households already have the money saved to go solar, they can pay for 20 years' worth of energy upfront and get the lowest electricity rate available. The prepay plan eliminates all or most of the household's utility bill over the duration of the two-decade contract. Free insurance, regular maintenance and monitoring are included, too.

Learn more about solar financing at www.solarworld.com/solar-finance.

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Spooked by Hurricanes, Homeowners Make Storm-Proofing Upgrades

(NewsUSA) - All those monster hurricanes and tornados we've been experiencing have apparently spooked homeowners worse than just about any disaster film Hollywood ever produced.

Six years after the housing bubble burst, the National Association of Home Builders reports homeowners may be beginning to dabble again in largish home remodeling projects costing an average of $100,000 to $150,000. But -- and this is one of the biggest trends -- they're also putting lots of their dollars towards more practical storm-proofing upgrades like wind-resistant roofing, built-in generators and basement drainage.

"It's exploded since Hurricane Irene in 2011," Justin Mihalik, a vice president of the New Jersey chapter of the American Institute of Architects, told MarketWatch.com.

And who can blame them? Hurricane Irene, which affected much of the East Coast, was bad enough. (Final toll: at least 56 deaths and $15.6 billion in damages.) But then, almost like a one-two punch, in October 2012 you had Superstorm Sandy -- the second-costliest hurricane in U.S. history, according to the National Hurricane Center, whose destructive path across 24 states left:

* 159 dead (including at least 87 from related causes like clean-up accidents and hypothermia due to power outages).

* More than $71 billion in damages.

* Distraught homeowners, especially in hard-hit New York and New Jersey, arguing with their insurance companies that wind had sheared off their roofs and allowed damaging rainwater to pour inside. (A crucial point since standard homeowners' policies cover wind-driven rain but not floods.)

Clearly, the hope now is that by investing in wind-resistant roofing, for example, homeowners can avoid or limit damage in the future -- and maybe even cut their insurance bills.

Jason Joplin, program manager of the Center for the Advancement of Roofing Excellence, has studied all the alternatives and recommends that new roofs include pre-cut Starter Strip Shingles available from GAF (www.gaf.com), North America's largest roofing manufacturer. "Starter strips lock the first row of shingles tightly in place to help prevent future blow-offs," he says.

And for those still wavering about whether to join the trend even after May's killer tornado in Oklahoma? Well, if you really want to know what it's like to see your home reduced to rubble and then be locked in a wind-driven rain vs. flood dispute with your insurance company, two words from New Jersey's Susanne Bannon, who's in her mid-60s, sum it up.

"It's traumatic," she told the Star-Ledger newspaper.

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