Forget storm chasing roofers, what about government subsidy chasers? "When things are for free, every man and his dog gets accreditation and starts installing," says Solar Systems USA CEO Solar Sam. And effectively, solar installation is close to free....especially with Federal & State tax credits when added in with utility company "buy-backs".
Remember the insulation debacle of the 1980's when subsidies were so high it covered over 150% of an average house's initial insulation cost? You see, it wasn't just free, it became a large profit center for the "insulation installers" that otherwise may not be in the business. Press coverage of the subsidies was so high there was no shortage of customers, and for a while there it was an easy ride for insulation contractors. Both experienced and no-experienced received lots of training and information about how to do it "The US Government Way" and then went about bidding contracts in the main stream market place. In fact, this program went so well that ultimately what happened are the difficult commercial jobs and flat roof buildings that didn't pay as much ended up not receiving any insulation at all. Within 18 months of the program's inception all the easy jobs were cherry picked and the rest remained not insulated. Typical huh?
Opportunistic businesses popped up all over the place, from "bat insulation importers" to tele-marketing firms that canvassed for customers over the phone, to teams of marketers going door to door or dropping millions of leaflets through the mailbox. Take up was so high that the market ran out of imported bats. Talk about a massive stimulus package!
Allot of people are unaware of this, but if you read the fine print the public could apply for free insulation have credit towards installing a solar system on their roof. The problem with installing a solar system in the USA back then was that storage of energy on the grid was not available then. Most everyone took advantage of the free insulation. Besides, they figured that solar cost would reduce over time so they had plenty of time to get into solar panels later.
In comparison to the insulation debacle of the 80's a US spokes-person for the US department of energy very much defended the program and said they are not seeing the same problem or signs that they did in the past. It was further commented that shoddy workmanship and low quality products are definitely not the norm this far in the solar energy business of today. The spokesperson claimed this was largely due to the checks and balances system that was in place before the program was initiated. Let's hope it stays that way!
This time around the safety issues of the past and the marketing frenzy has not kicked off to the same level. So are we seeing a zebra of the same stripes, but in different places? All indications are NO! In fact, this time around, it seems less likely that the insulation debacle will happen at all. After all, rebates in the solar systems installation business do not necessarily imply a free solar system, but merely a healthy discount and rebate for the installation cost.
If you are seeking to find quality solar PV and solar thermal products in the US and abroad then America's best and most affordable is www.solarsystemsusa.net - The writer of this article is Nathan Thompson CEO of Solar Systems USA, Inc.
Remember the insulation debacle of the 1980's when subsidies were so high it covered over 150% of an average house's initial insulation cost? You see, it wasn't just free, it became a large profit center for the "insulation installers" that otherwise may not be in the business. Press coverage of the subsidies was so high there was no shortage of customers, and for a while there it was an easy ride for insulation contractors. Both experienced and no-experienced received lots of training and information about how to do it "The US Government Way" and then went about bidding contracts in the main stream market place. In fact, this program went so well that ultimately what happened are the difficult commercial jobs and flat roof buildings that didn't pay as much ended up not receiving any insulation at all. Within 18 months of the program's inception all the easy jobs were cherry picked and the rest remained not insulated. Typical huh?
Opportunistic businesses popped up all over the place, from "bat insulation importers" to tele-marketing firms that canvassed for customers over the phone, to teams of marketers going door to door or dropping millions of leaflets through the mailbox. Take up was so high that the market ran out of imported bats. Talk about a massive stimulus package!
Allot of people are unaware of this, but if you read the fine print the public could apply for free insulation have credit towards installing a solar system on their roof. The problem with installing a solar system in the USA back then was that storage of energy on the grid was not available then. Most everyone took advantage of the free insulation. Besides, they figured that solar cost would reduce over time so they had plenty of time to get into solar panels later.
In comparison to the insulation debacle of the 80's a US spokes-person for the US department of energy very much defended the program and said they are not seeing the same problem or signs that they did in the past. It was further commented that shoddy workmanship and low quality products are definitely not the norm this far in the solar energy business of today. The spokesperson claimed this was largely due to the checks and balances system that was in place before the program was initiated. Let's hope it stays that way!
This time around the safety issues of the past and the marketing frenzy has not kicked off to the same level. So are we seeing a zebra of the same stripes, but in different places? All indications are NO! In fact, this time around, it seems less likely that the insulation debacle will happen at all. After all, rebates in the solar systems installation business do not necessarily imply a free solar system, but merely a healthy discount and rebate for the installation cost.
If you are seeking to find quality solar PV and solar thermal products in the US and abroad then America's best and most affordable is www.solarsystemsusa.net - The writer of this article is Nathan Thompson CEO of Solar Systems USA, Inc.
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With the rise in the number of novel developments in solar thermal heaters available for sale online, homeowners are spoilt for choice. Visit America's Solar Store for the best offers.
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