SolarCity and Carrier hope to boost energy efficiency and solar with a clever deal that’s a win-win for both companies and their customers.
Under the deal, SolarCity is offering to provide a $1,000 rebate to Carrier customers who go solar with SolarCity. The rebate applies to Carrier heating systems, furnaces, air conditioners and heat pumps.
“Carrier has hundreds of dealers across the country and over the course of doing their business, they have people go out to homeowners’ homes and describe the benefits of purchasing new systems. This is a natural time to introduce solar as a cost-effective way for people to save money on their bills,” said James Quazi, director of energy efficiency operations for SolarCity.
Obviously, teaming up with Carrier allows SolarCity to reach more homeowners.
“From the homeowners’ perspective, it’s a win-win,” he said. “They get the $1,000 rebate and save money every month on their bill.”
Here’s how the companies think this will work: A homeowner with a broken piece of HVAC equipment contacts Carrier, and the homeowner gets pitched on going solar.
“When people decide to replace units, they’re broken or not providing a function they’re supposed to. They need to spend money on that right now. We’re offering a $1,000 discount on that purchase,” Quazi said.
If the homeowners go for the discount on the Carrier equipment and decide to go solar, they don’t necessarily need to pay any up-front costs for solar–and their electricity bills drop by 10 to 15 percent.
That’s possible through some of SolarCity’s financing programs, under which customers don’t have to make any down payments. In some cases, SolarCity serves as the utility, guaranteeing that customers will pay less for solar than they were paying before.
The new systems are most likely to be most popular in the south, where the weather is hot and sunny. In this case, there’s sun for solar power and the customers need air conditioning, Quasi noted.
If this partnership between SolarCity and Carrier proves successful, it will boost both efficiency and solar, and likely serve as a model for other partnerships.
