Empower Your Home,Business, Church, School or Non-Profit with Solar Energy
Roanoke, Salem, Vinton and Surrounding Areas
About BillOConnell.info
About Me
Hello, and thank you for visiting my site!
I am a certified solar broker with over 8 years of solar industry experience. I work independently with several installation companies that do not deal directly with the public. This ensures that all my customers receive the best possible price and service customized to their needs, rather than a "one size fits all" approach. I am dedicated to promoting affordable solar energy solutions for homes, businesses, churches, schools and governments throughout Roanoke, Salem, Vinton and surrounding areas. My mission is to educate and connect end users with top-rated solar installation professionals to help reduce your rising energy costs.
Call 540-293-0070 for your free solar assessment today!
(Feel free to use my free solar calculator for home or business to give you a rough idea of what switching to solar can help you do:
https://app.getsunlead.com/organizations/68821ba5a5ff57dc6bc495f1/online-quote-tool
Going Solar Has Never Been Easier or More Affordable
Residential Solar Panel Installation
Residential Solar Panel Installation
Residential Solar Panel Installation
At BillOConnell.info, we offer turnkey solar panel installation services for your home using only top tier 1 panels and inverters. Our team will work with you to design a system that meets your specific energy needs and fits your budget, using only the highest quality materials, and backed by a 25 year warranty.
As of now you can still take advantage of the 30% Federal Income Tax Credit (ITC) on all purchases, including solar batteries, but your system must be installed no later than Dec 31, 2025
Residential solar leases will continue unchanged.
Give us a call today to see how much solar can benefit you and your wallet!
540-293-0070
Commercial Solar Panel Installation
Residential Solar Panel Installation
Residential Solar Panel Installation
As a business, church, school, or non-profit, or government you know that energy costs can be a significant expense. Our commercial solar panel installation services can help you reduce your energy bills and improve your bottom line, or tax payer savings. We offer competitive pricing and a range of financing options to fit your needs while greatly improving your bottom-line.
Let's see how much solar can benefit your company, church, school or government. Call today!
540-293-0070
Solar Battery Backup Systems
Residential Solar Panel Installation
Homeowners, To Buy or To Lease?
Our solar battery backup systems can keep your home or business running during a power outage. We use the latest technology to ensure that you have reliable backup power when you need it most. We only use trusted brands like Tesla, Franklin and Enphase to ensure you get the power back up you need when you need it. Give us a call today to see if a solar battery is right for you!
540-293-0070
Homeowners, To Buy or To Lease?
Homeowners, To Buy or To Lease?
Homeowners, To Buy or To Lease?
Going to solar can be very exciting, but it can also present difficulty deciding on what the best route to take is, to buy or to lease?
Let's first look at the two ways you can purchase your system:
Option 1-Cash. Paying cash allows for a much faster ROI, usually around 7-9 years or so. This is determined by dividing your monthly utility bill savings into the cost of the system. For example, say your monthly average with your utility is $200 and the cost of your system $20,000 (after incentives), simply divide 20,000 by 200. This equals 100 months, then divide this by 12 which gives you 8.33 years to break even. From then on, all of the savings are yours. In this case it would be like receiving a $2,400 pay increase per year for the next 16 or more years. Keep in mind the 30% Federal Income Tax Credit expires at midnight on 12/31/25. You must have your system installed by then in order to receive your tax credit for tax year 2025.
Call us today to schedule your free solar cost savings report!
540-293-0070
Option 2-Loan. A very common means to owning your own solar system is by utilizing a solar loan. These loans are always $0 down, and almost always with a 25 year term. There are shorter terms available but the monthly payments are considerably higher. The usual interest rate is 3.99% - 4.99%. This usually results in a monthly payment that is lower than your monthly utility bill average, while simultaneously protecting you from future rate hikes, which are sure to come.
The ROI is about 4-5 years longer with a solar loan compared to a cash buy because the lenders always add to the cash price to mitigate their risk. This is best suited for those who pay an appreciable amount in federal income tax. Solar loans are unlike other loans. This is because all solar loan payment amounts are based on the assumption that you will buy down the loan on month 18 in order to keep the payments where they are. You do not have to buy your loan down. The 30% ITC is your money to do with as you please, however the lender will re-amortize your loan on month 18 based on what you give them on month 18, meaning your payments will go up on month 19, depending on what you pay on month 18. If no ITC money is applied on month 18 the payments will increase considerably. Your payments will not change from then on, however. Most people apply their full tax credit on month 18, thereby keeping their payments at the lower amount, which is why I believe that a solar loan purchase is best suited for those who pay an appreciable amount of federal taxes. Keep in mind the 30% Federal Income Tax Credit expires at midnight on 12/31/25. You must have your system installed by then in order to receive your tax credit for tax year 2025.
Call us today to schedule your free solar cost savings report!
540-293-0070
Now let's take a look at the Lease option:
Lease. This is an ideal option for those who pay little to no federal income tax. A lease is always $0 down. In this arrangement a third party of investors actually own the system so they will receive the 30% Federal Income Tax Credit. Your solar lease payments remain level thru the duration of the lease with no payment increases. However, you get a much lower monthly lease payment if you select the option to allow the lease payments to slightly increase each year.
The benefit to you, the homeowner, is that you will enjoy the savings on your utility bill each month while also being protected from future rate hikes that are surely on the way. The savings on a lease are not as large as with the purchase option but the savings can be very substantial, nonetheless. The system is warrantied and monitored by the third party for the duration of the lease. If you decide to sell your home the transfer to the new homeowner is a simple one signature process. Having solar usually means a quicker sale because the new prospective owner realizes they are buying a home that will be much cheaper to live in. Even though solar purchases will be affected by the loss of the 30% Federal Income tax after 12/31/25, solar leases will remain unchanged.
Call us today to schedule your free solar cost savings report!
540-293-0070
Commercial Solar and NOI
Homeowners, To Buy or To Lease?
How Much Are You Spending?
Net Operating Income (NOI) is the heartbeat of commercial real estate. The value of a commercial property is heavily influenced by its NOI, as applying the capitalization rate to the NOI determines the estimated property value.
There are two primary ways to increase NOI: raise gross income (typically through rent increases) or reduce expenses. Installing solar panels presents a unique opportunity for commercial building owners. By making a capital expenditure to adopt solar energy, property owners can significantly reduce or eliminate electricity expenses. This reduction in operational costs directly boosts the property’s NOI, subsequently increasing its overall value based on the income approach to valuation. It also provides an attractive selling point for prospective tenants who are passionate about the environment.
In essence, solar power not only contributes to sustainability goals but also enhances the financial performance of the property.
(By Ken LaRoe)
To have your company assessed for solar and its many benefits just give us a call today!
540-293-0070
How Much Are You Spending?
Homeowners, To Buy or To Lease?
How Much Are You Spending?
Solar is an investment, but is it a smart one? Let's look at the numbers. In this scenario we are going to look at a Homeowner with a $200 monthly average electric bill:
$200 a month x 12 months equals $2400 a year.
In 5 years that's $12,000
In 10 years that's $24,000
In 15 years that's $36,000
In 20 years that's $48,000
Now consider, the above totals are wrong. Why? They are wrong because they have no rate increases. This scenario presumes that your electric company is not going to touch your electricty rates in 20 years! That simply is not realistic, so the numbers above are wrong because they are too low. The real picture is much uglier. Just using a paltry 6% yearly rate increase in 10 years you'll be out $33,532 with a monthly average that was $200 but now may easily be $358 per mo, and in 20 years you'll be out $93,583 with a monthly average around $605. Scary.
Now let's say your system was $28,000 minus out the 30% Federal Income Tax Credit and now it is only $19,600.
Now subtract $19,600 form $93,583. That equals $73,983 in savings over a 20 year period. Granted, you must also consider the value of future money, and inflation, but even so, solar stands out a very smart and savvy financial tool.
When considering commercial solar the same formula applies only with much larger numbers.
To have a free cost savings report for your home or business simply call us today!
540-293-0070
Is Your Attic Costing You Money?
Believe it or not, your attic is costing you money, even the most insulated ones if regular insulation is being used.
Here's why. Regular fiberglass insulation, whether it is blown in insulation, or batten insulation is called Absorbent insulation. It protects you up until the insulation has absorbed all the attic heat the insulation can hold. The more insulation you have the longer you are protected. However, once your insulation has absorbed all the heat that it can, it only has one place to go...into your home. This causes your a/c system to work harder to keep you at your desired temperature. When our Attic Shield Radiant Barrier is installed you are preventing 97% of the heat in your attic from ever entering your home. This is because our Attic Shield is called Reflective Insulation. Developed by NASA it is designed to reflect, or repel the heat trying to enter your home. The attic represents 40% of the heat gain your home incurs in warmer weather. By taking the attic out of the heat gain equation you will notice two things: 1) You will have much lower cooling bills, and 2) Your home will be made much less stuffy and much more comfortable, and your a/c system will thank you.
In the wintertime the radiant barrier works in reverse by keeping 97% of your heat where it belongs...inside your home. Gone will be the days of your attic costing you money by preventing your heat going up and out. This is a great one two punch when combined with solar, but this can also be a stand alone installation.
Enjoy 20%-25% off of your heating and cooling bills with this NASA invented form of insulation.
You can see a few pics in the photo gallery above.
If you would like a free demo on this amazing insulation just let us know. Call Today!
540-293-0070
Frequently Asked Questions
Please reach us at billoconnell@billoconnell.info if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Solar panels alone cannot power your home during a power outage. However, with the addition of a battery storage system, you can store excess energy generated by your panels and use it to power your home during an outage.
Yes. For homeowners this tax credit, which offsets the total purchase price, will be expiring on 12/31/25. In order to receive this credit you must have your system installed by that date. Commercial solar projects and solar leasing will continue unchanged.
Net metering is a billing arrangement with your power company that allows you to receive credit on your utility bill for excess energy generated by your solar panels. This credit can be used to offset the cost of energy you use from the grid, such as at night, or on rainy days. Solar alone cannot achieve the cost savings most business and homeowners are looking for. The savings are accomplished thru the use of solar and the net metering credits.
If you need to replace your roof, solar panels will need to be removed and reinstalled. Our team can assist with this process and ensure that your panels are properly reinstalled.
Excellent question. Every homeowner is different. Your utility bill is unlike your neighbor's, even when your homes looks very similar, if not identical. The way your home orients to 180 degrees south is often different. Solar is truly a very customized home improvement project. That said, if solar is able to eliminate 100% (known as "offset" meaning off of AEP) of AEP you will not have a bill for the electrical portion, as well as all the taxes and fees associated with your bill. However, you will always get a bill for simply being connected to AEP. That's usually around $10 a month. If your offset is 75% then you will have a small remaining bill each month. The savings are still on solar's side because you are protecting yourself from 75% of your bill escalating. Often the remaining bill amount, coupled with your solar payment (if you financed this) is still going to be less than your monthly average, and the savings keep growing because for every year you are protected by 75% you otherwise would have your full monthly average escalating and therby costing you more and more over time.
To see a complete solar savings report just call us today!
540-293-0070
Indeed there are many incentives that make going solar commercially extremely attractive. To begin with, your company is eligible for the 30% Federal Income Tax Credit. This means 30% of the cost of the system is coming back to your company. You will also be able to take accelerated depreciation so that about 60% of your system is paid back in year 1. This greatly reduces the amount of time for your breakeven point. The ROI is almost always excellent making a commercial solar project a viable investment tool as well as a huge increase to your company's bottom line.
We would be happy to assess your property for solar and provide you with a free financial performance report. Just call us today!
540-293-0070
Contact Us
To get a free quote, or if you have questions or special requests, just drop us a line by clicking the "Get A Free Quote!" button, or by clicking the Chat icon at the bottom right of this page
Hours
Today | By Appointment |
This website uses cookies.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.