The instructions below are for Longmont Power & Communications (LPC) customers only. If you are not an LPC customer and want to set up a solar electric system, contact your electric utility company for more information.
Solar Installation inside Longmont City limits
- If you are an LPC customer and live in Weld County, your address falls inside City limits
- If you live in Boulder County, but are unsure if you live within City limits, please contact Boulder County
Click here to download installation instructions if you are a customer living inside City limits
Click here to apply for a solar PV permit with the City of Longmont’s Building Department
- If you live in Boulder County, but are unsure if you live within City limits, please contact Boulder County
Click here to download installation instructions if you are a customer living outside City limits
The City of Longmont does not promote any specific solar installers or contractors to perform installations on your home. However, you can find a list of active solar installers on solar installer webpages such as the EnergySage solar listings and the Colorado Solar & Storage Association member directory.
Is Solar Right For You?
Is your home energy efficient? Before considering solar, it is important to focus on reducing your overall energy usage by making energy-efficient upgrades. By maximizing your home’s energy efficiency first, you can be sure that the electricity produced by your solar electric system is not lost through leaky ductwork, inadequate insulation, or an inefficient heating and cooling system. Furthermore, if you maximize the efficiency of your home, you will offset more of your home’s consumption with solar or be able to install a smaller solar energy system (reducing your solar installation cost).
The City of Longmont provides energy efficiency offerings and rebates through Efficiency Works™. As an LPC residential customer, you can speak with an expert Efficiency Works Energy Adviser, sign up for a home energy audit, and apply for efficiency rebates. Simply visit the Efficiency Works website or call 877-981-1888 to speak with an Energy Advisor today.
Is your roof a good fit? If you are considering mounting solar panels to your roof, make sure your roof will hold up as long as the panels will. Solar panels are designed to last over 20 years, and removing and reattaching them to a rooftop can be expensive if you need to repair or replace your roof. It’s best to make any needed roof repairs prior to purchasing a solar electric system.
Do you rent or own your home? If you rent or your roof is not well suited for solar panels, you might consider investing in LPC’s Renewable Power Purchase Program.
How long do you plan to live in your home? Purchasing a solar PV system is a large investment that can take some time to see a return. Consider how long you plan to stay in your home and how much of a payback you’re likely to see in that time.
Some basic information about solar energy is shown below, including how it is used and the benefits associated with a solar energy system.
How does a solar energy system work?
What happens at night?
Your photovoltaic (PV) system only generates electricity when the sun is shining, but your home still needs electricity on cloudy days and after the sun goes down. LPC provides net metering to all customers who install PV systems. Net metering is a billing program that allows customers with solar energy systems to buy and sell electricity to and from LPC. By participating in the net metering program, a customer is able to buy electricity when their solar energy system is not producing enough energy to meet the demand in their home or business, and to sell the excess generation to the grid when they are producing more than needed.
The City of Longmont has a generous net metering policy that pays for excess generated solar electricity back to the customer at the retail rate. Please see our residential electric rates page for more information on our self-generation rates.
In addition, federal tax credits of 30% for home solar installations have been extended through 2022. Please look through the Homeowner’s Guide to the Federal Tax Credit for Solar Photovoltaics to find out more. You can also consider these additional resources on federal, state and local incentives for solar PV.
Find available grants and financing assistance through the Colorado Clean Energy Fund.
Solar Customer Rights and Customer Protection Information
Find out more here about state policies related to a property owner’s solar access and solar rights and guidance on consumer protection for solar.
Solar Customers Frequently Asked Questions
What are the steps to going solar? You, your contractor, and LPC all play important roles in bringing clean energy to your property:
- You: A Prepare your home with an Efficiency Works Energy Audit. Once you have completed efficiency upgrades and/or have decided to move forward with a solar installation, contact a qualified solar contractor.
- Contractor: Your contractor will help with a site assessment, recommend system sizing, walk you through all the paperwork needed and provide a bid/cost for the project. LPC recommends getting more than one contractor estimate and choosing the one that best fits your needs. The contractor will then submit a permit application for the project to the Longmont Building Inspection Department.
- LPC: Our engineers will review and approve the checklist and one-line diagrams submitted with your application for a building permit. Once the installation is complete, LPC will install your new bi-directional meter, which measures energy you use from the grid and any energy your solar system puts back onto the grid.
Will I still have a monthly electric bill? Yes. All customers who have their own electric generation equipment, including residential Solar/PV customers, are billed under LPC’s RGEN (Residential Self Generation) rate. This rate helps ensure that customers pay their fair share of the electric infrastructure used by the entire community, and accounts for both the energy LPC delivers to the customer and the energy that the customer’s system delivers to LPC. These are recorded on an ongoing basis via our net metering process. Learn more about LPC’s solar billing.
Why does the amount of electricity I sent to the LPC grid not match the output stated on my solar energy system’s monitoring device? The amount of electricity that you receive credit for will likely not match the stated production of your system’s monitoring device. Electricity is only sent back to the grid when your system is generating more than what your home or business is using at the time. If your home or business is using all of the electricity your system is generating, there is nothing to send back to the grid and therefore no credit on your bill.
What is included in my monthly customer charge? For self-generation customers, most of the fixed costs for the utility’s electric distribution system are placed into the monthly customer charge and removed from the kilowatt-hour charge. This results in a self-generation customer’s fixed monthly customer charge being greater than the charge for a non-self-generating customer, with a corresponding decrease in their energy charge. Unlike a customer who only consumes electricity, a self-generating customer uses the electrical distribution system in two ways: drawing power from the grid and putting power back onto the grid. If charges designed to collect for LPC’s fixed costs were left in the energy charge for a self-generating customer, and that customer generated as much or more electricity over the year than they consumed, it would result in under-collecting for their share of the electric distribution system costs. Since LPC is a not-for-profit customer-owned utility, this would result in other customers subsidizing self-generation customer distribution costs.
Why do I have multiple electricity usage lines in the Electric Service section of my utility bill?The top section of the electric usage detail shows the amount of energy used from LPC’s grid in kWh for the month and the associated charge. The bottom section displays the amount of energy put back onto LPC’s grid in kWh, and the associated credit. This is not the amount of energy your PV system is generating, it is only the amount that your system generates in excess of what you are using at the time of generation. To learn more about LPC’s net billing, please see our Solar Welcome Packet.
Does LPC provide any oversight of the installation process? LPC does not offer installation services or provide oversight of the installation process; however, we do conduct a field inspection to ensure that the installation meets our requirements. Selecting an experienced solar contractor is one of the most important steps in the overall installation process.
How do I decide if buying or leasing is the right option for me? The installer can advise you on the pros and cons of buying versus leasing. If you prefer to own your solar installation, you should consult with your tax advisor to determine your eligibility for federal and state tax credits.
SolSmart – 2021 SolSmart Gold award recipient
SFC – 2014 Solar Friendly Communities award recipient
