2023 was a very successful year for Sisu Solar as its 2nd full year of solar installations. Both Rickey and Aaron have been working diligently to install 17 solar PV systems that averaged around 12kW. Also 7 different reroof projects that help homeowners reshingle their house. We would take off their solar panels and put them right back on.
One of the takeaways we had was our love for ground mounted solar. We found a manufacturer called Sunmodo that made it SUPER easy to come to site, drill in posts, and set up a 12kW system in just 2 days on average. So we hope to do more of these in the future, especially in Northern MN because they make it very easy to shovel snow off of them in the Winter.
Secondly we found that people have several misconceptions about solar:
YES, there is solar panel recycling. We've done it several times and the positive environmental effect of the overall system vastly outweighs the negative end-of-life costs. We use this company to recycle any panels we need to throw away: https://retrofitcompanies.com/environmental/solar_panel_recycling/
We heard lots of : "Minnesota is one of the darkest and snowy places there is, no way solar is good here." That right there has some truth to it, Minnesota can get dark and snowy in the Winter. Overall what I try to emphasize as much as I can to people is: you need to look at what solar looks like throughout the whole year, and not just focus on the Winter. When you take a step back and see that one kW of solar in Hibbing, MN can produce 1300 kWh of electricity throughout the whole year and the same amount in Jackson, Mississippi will get ya 1450kWh. Its not that much of a difference. Overall I always say to not judge until you've seen the hard numbers. We offer free solar consultations to get you that information that's specific to your property!
And lastly we hear: "Its too expensive" and that also has some truth to it. On average the systems we sold were around $40,000 overall. But this is what I have to say about that. It is possible to get solar on your property for zero money down and still be able to own your system. The only downside is that the loan interest will chip away at your solar investment gains. So its pushing a 10 year payback to a 15 year payback for example. And throughout that whole time you'd still be paying the same per month for electricity. You'd just be paying a loan payment instead of a big electricity bill. Its still a great deal because you get to help save the environment even when on a budget!
And lastly our final takeaway is that solar is a feel-good industry even when the crunch-time hits! We have several moments on uncertainty and setbacks throughout this year. But lucky all of our customers were very accommodating as we worked together to get everyone their system at a reasonable cost and done in a reasonable timeline. In the end we are happy and looking forward to doing it all again in 2024!
-Rickey