How Solar Really Saves You Money in South Jersey (with Garrett Hessinger)
In this Bridgeton Beacon episode, attorney and host Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esq. sits down with South Jersey solar expert Garrett Hessinger, owner of Solar Savings by Garrett, to unpack what solar savings, install, and service actually looks like for real property owners in our region.
When electric bills spike, most families feel stuck. They pay the bill, gripe about the rate hike, and move on—without ever seeing a clear path to lower, more predictable costs.
A Conversation with Solar Savings by Garrett
Garrett doesn’t sell solar with hype or abstract promises. He starts with one thing most people barely glance at: your electric bill. From there, he builds a numbers‑driven plan that either proves solar makes sense—or shows you, honestly, that it doesn’t.
👷AI Summary Pilot for South Jersey Contractors >>👷
Key Takeaways for South Jersey Residents
To wrap up the page for readers who skim:
Solar can meaningfully lower bills for many homes, but only when the math is done on real usage, roof condition, and local grid rules—not generic averages.
Utility maps and grid restrictions mean some neighborhoods can’t add new solar today—but those conditions change, and it’s worth knowing where you stand.
Bundling roofing and solar, and coordinating tree work, can protect your long‑term return and reduce future headaches.
Leases and PPAs are increasingly attractive for households that want lower monthly costs without a large upfront check, as long as the terms are clearly explained.
In an era where AI is rewriting how people find local services, being a genuinely helpful, well‑documented local expert is more valuable than ever.
Meet Garrett: From Leaking Skylights to Solar Savings
Before he became “the solar guy,” Garrett was a first‑time homeowner with leaking skylights, old trees threatening his house, and a roof he couldn’t easily afford to replace. Coming from a mechanical and finance background, he approached his own solar project with skepticism, running the numbers and watching the actual impact on his bills.
That experience led him into the solar industry, first as a sales rep and then as a regional leader working across multiple companies. Over time, he saw how confusing contracts, incentives, and utility rules could be for homeowners—especially when different companies specialized in just one piece of the puzzle (solar only, roofing only, tree work only).
Today, Solar Savings by Garrett is his own firm, focused on guiding residents of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware through the full process: bill analysis, system design, roofing, tree work, permitting, and long‑term support. He builds his business largely on referrals and personal introductions, not cold calls or door knocking, because he expects to stay accountable to customers for decades.
How Garrett Actually Evaluates Your South Jersey Electric Bill
Most of us think about our electric bill in one‑month chunks: it comes, we pay it, we move on. But for solar to be more than a guess, you have to zoom out and look at a full year or more of usage.
Garrett asks new clients for a single recent bill—because utilities like Atlantic City Electric, JCP&L, and PSE&G include a 12–24 month usage chart on the back. That chart shows how many kilowatt‑hours you used each month over the past year or two, which is exactly the data he needs to size a system correctly.
From there, he:
Calculates your annual usage instead of just a “typical month.”
Models what your usage looks like over 20–25 years with realistic rate inflation, not just today’s prices.
Designs a solar system to offset that usage, based on your roof, sun exposure, and property layout.
That analysis produces a clear, side‑by‑side picture: “Here’s what you’re on track to pay your utility with no changes, and here’s what a well‑structured solar solution would cost you over the same time frame.”
The Hidden Factor: Grid Restrictions in South Jersey
One issue that surprises many homeowners is that not every house can add solar right now, even if the roof and budget are perfect. In parts of South Jersey, local grid segments are already taking on as much backfed solar power as they can handle, so utilities place temporary restrictions on new interconnections.
Utilities publish “restricted” maps showing zones where new projects are limited or paused. Some zones are flagged as filling up (“red”), while others are temporarily “blacked out” for new solar because too much power is already being pushed back into that part of the grid.
Here’s how he handles it:
Checks your address against the latest utility map to see if your property is eligible.
If your zone is restricted, adds you to a watch list and re‑checks regularly, reaching out when the area opens back up.
Explains what’s happening in plain English so you’re not left wondering why one neighbor has solar and another can’t get approved yet.
These restrictions aren’t permanent, but they’re a real factor in South Jersey’s current solar landscape, especially as demand for electricity climbs.
Roofs, Trees, and Why “Full‑Service” Matters
One of the most practical parts of this conversation is how roofs and trees fit into the financial picture.
Panels typically carry long warranties, and many systems last 30 years or more. If your roof is already 15–20 years old, putting solar on it without addressing the roof can create a nasty surprise later: paying to remove the panels, re‑roof, and reinstall, which eats into your return on investment.
Garrett’s approach:
Evaluates roof age and condition as part of every project.
Often recommends bundling a new roof with solar when the remaining roof life is shorter than the planned solar term.
Coordinates tree removal and trimming when aging trees threaten the roof or shade out production.
Because he works with roofers and tree professionals as part of one coordinated project, clients avoid the “who’s responsible for what” finger‑pointing that can happen when separate contractors are involved.
Leases, PPAs, and Ownership in 2026
The economics of solar are not one‑size‑fits‑all, and they’ve shifted over time as incentives and utility rates have changed. In the episode, Garrett breaks down three major paths:
Owning the system
Pay cash or use a loan to purchase the system.
You assume more responsibility for warranties, insurance, and long‑term maintenance.
You keep all of the savings once the system pays itself off.
Leasing
You don’t own the equipment; you pay a fixed or slowly escalating monthly fee to use it.
Little to no money down, and responsibilities for performance and repairs largely sit with the financing company and installer.
Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)
Similar to leasing, but you pay per kilowatt‑hour produced instead of a flat lease fee.
Again, most performance and equipment risk sits with the provider, not the homeowner.
In 2026, with pressure on electric rates and evolving incentive structures, more homeowners are choosing leases and PPAs, especially those who can’t or don’t want to write a large upfront check but still want lower monthly costs. Garrett’s priority is not to push a single product, but to show the comparisons clearly so each client can see which option fits their budget, risk tolerance, and plans for the property.
What Happens If You Move or Hit Year 25?
A common worry is: “What if I move before I’ve gotten my money’s worth?” or “What happens when the lease or PPA ends?”
Garrett shares real examples of clients who went solar, then unexpectedly moved a year later. In those situations, buyers often assume the remaining term of the lease or PPA, picking up where the original owner left off and continuing to benefit from the system. With owned systems, the equipment typically transfers with the property, and a properly documented system can even be a selling point.
At the end of a 25‑year term, lease and PPA providers may:
Offer a low‑cost extension for additional warranty coverage.
Present a buyout option for the older system.
Or, in some cases, retire the equipment when it no longer makes economic sense to maintain.
Garrett’s view is that by the time you reach year 25, any financing company has already gotten their “bread and butter” from the system; they’re not eager to repossess aging panels.
Maintenance and Reliability: What Owners Should Expect
For most South Jersey homes, routine rain takes care of panel cleaning, and our climate doesn’t create the extreme dust issues seen in desert environments. Garrett notes that:
True panel failures are rare in his experience.
The component most likely to need attention over a 20+ year life is the inverter, which converts DC power from panels to AC power used in the home.
Many problems can be tracked and addressed through system monitoring and warranty support, rather than surprise, out‑of‑pocket costs.
This doesn’t mean solar is maintenance‑free, but it’s far closer to a long‑lived appliance than a constant project, especially when properly designed and installed.
How Solar Power Actually Flows Through Your Home
One of the clearest parts of the episode is Garrett’s simple explanation of how solar interacts with your existing electric service.
At a high level:
Sunlight hits the panels, creating DC power.
The inverter converts DC to AC power, the type your home uses.
That power flows through your meter and into the utility grid, not straight into your outlets.
The utility tracks both the power you send out and the power you still pull in, effectively using the grid as a massive battery and applying credits against your bill (net metering).
Too much backfed power in a given neighborhood is exactly why some zones are currently restricted; the local grid wasn’t built to act as a high‑throughput two‑way highway for every single property at once.
Why Bridgeton Beacon Cares: Local Experts and the “New Top of Google”
This episode is not just about saving money with solar. It also fits into a broader project we’re working on with our partners at Jornio: helping credible local experts become the businesses that AI mentions first.
As Google and other platforms roll out AI‑generated summaries at the top of search results, local service providers—like solar companies, roofers, HVAC contractors, electricians, and plumbers—are discovering a new challenge: it’s harder for small, local sites to get cited compared to large national domains. But when a local business is mentioned and linked in those AI answers, it can be incredibly powerful for visibility and trust.
That’s why we launched the Bridgeton Beacon + Jornio 6‑Month “Be the Local Business AI Mentions First” pilot, focused on helping a small group of South Jersey professionals show up as the obvious, trustworthy choice in this new AI‑driven layer of search.
👉 You can read about the pilot details here:
Be the Local Business AI Mentions First: Bridgeton Beacon + Jornio 6‑Month AI Summary Pilot
Garrett is one of the early participants in this pilot. His combination of lived homeowner experience, clear financial explanations, and long‑term accountability makes him a strong fit for what modern AI systems—and real neighbors—recognize as credible expertise.
Who Should Reach Out After This Episode?
This episode is a good starting point if you are:
A homeowner in South Jersey (or nearby) wondering whether solar could actually lower your bill.
A small commercial property owner trying to get a handle on long‑term energy costs.
A local contractor—roofer, HVAC, electrician, plumber—curious how AI summaries and new search features will affect how your customers find and trust you.
For solar questions or a bill review:
Visit Solar Savings by Garrett: https://solarsavingsbygarrett.com
Have your latest bill handy so Garrett can see your 12‑month usage chart and start a real analysis.
For AI‑summary and authority questions as a contractor or professional service:
Read the pilot overview:
Be the Local Business AI Mentions First: 👷 Bridgeton Beacon + Jornio 6‑Month AI Summary Pilot
Announcer (00:00)
Welcome back to the Bridgeton Beacon. If you've noticed that new AI box at the very top of Google, it's like the new front door for local businesses. And we're running a pilot for service types like HVAC, electrical contractors, plumbers, to shine a light on them matching with the mission of the beacon and put them in those AI summaries above bigger brands with bigger budgets. We're starting with Garrett Hessinger of Solar Savings by Garrett.
And here's the first check-in with Garrett on the podcast, looking at solar savings opportunities in South Jersey.
If you want those AI summaries working for you instead of against you and you're a contractor, follow the link in the description to learn more and get in touch with the Bridgerton Beacon for this pilot program.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (00:54)
All right, welcome back to the Bridgeton Beacon. The sun is out, taxes are filed, snow's off the ground. It's a good day here on April 16th, 2026. And I am joined by Garrett Hessinger of Solar Savings by Garrett on this sunny warm April day. He's gonna tell us all about how you can save money by speaking to him and
switching to solar. Funny little side note, I was waiting for Garrett to join the studio. was standing out here in the sun and my iPad overheated. So just goes to show the power of the sun. Let's harness that energy to save us some money. So Garrett, welcome to the Richland Beacon.
Garrett Hessinger (01:39)
Thank you for having me.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (01:41)
So I'm gonna walk inside so that doesn't happen again. ⁓ But while I'm doing that, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and your business and what it is that you do for the residents of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware.
Garrett Hessinger (01:44)
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely. I started in this business in the solar industry because as a first time home owner back when I turned like 21, I needed a roof because my skylights were leaking and I had trees falling all over my house because they were really old, like dry, rotted pine trees. And being that I just bought the first house, I didn't have a lot of money in the budget after down payment and all the other repairs I was doing. so
I never really thought about the solar industry. came from a mechanical side of things where I worked on cars and did finance stuff. But then I hopped into it because after the first time that I got my panels and my new roof and the trees taken out and everything, benefited me so greatly that I was inspired to learn more about it. And I think I bothered the original sales guy enough to where he offered me a job or at least to come in and check it out.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (02:51)
Now when was this? What year was this?
Garrett Hessinger (02:54)
That was in the end of 2019 so I've been in it for seven years
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (02:59)
Okay, all right. And did you work for someone else first and then start your own business or how'd that work?
Garrett Hessinger (03:06)
Yeah.
Yeah. I didn't really understand how the industry worked as a whole for like any of the background moving stuff. But, after having some training and actually understanding the ins and outs of how like all the red tape between like townships and state stuff and incentives and just the ins and outs of the whole entire industry as a whole. Once I learned about all that stuff, I probably stayed with that company for like a year.
learned a lot. was a really good experience in the beginning and then tried to find a new home. Didn't last for a little bit after like finding that there was some different, I would say businesses that I didn't want to operate in, but I found exactly where I wanted to be. And for the past six years I've been operating as that. And so starting my own LLC so that I could actually, you know, hire people or do any sort of my contractors.
whatnot but everything that I deal with now is just in-house so it's really nice and supportive for the customer.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (04:07)
That's great. Okay, so before I go any further, folks can find you at SolarsavingsbyGarrett.com, two R's and two T's. ⁓ Can folks save money on their electric bill by switching to solar?
Garrett Hessinger (04:17)
Yep.
Yeah, absolutely. That's why I did it in the beginning and that's what really inspired me to say, why doesn't everyone do this?
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (04:30)
Okay, so tell us the process, tell us how it works. Because most people are gonna say, okay, that's great, but how much is it gonna cost me? And how does this work? And how long does it take? And is it really gonna be worth it at the end of the day? So walk us through, somebody like me or one of our listeners, if they were interested, what does that process look like?
Garrett Hessinger (04:37)
Yeah.
Yeah, sure. So, um, from the start of things, usually people either, they hear about me through things like this or, um, their neighbor or a friend, family member. I only deal with referrals. don't like cold call people or do any door knocking or anything like that. So people just come to me because they know that I'm supportive and I'm able to actually get the job done without having any difficulties. Um, so from the start to finish, you know, you would contact me.
Like you said, through my website, can put an inquiry there. And then from that point, I would analyze your bill. You would just send me your bill so that I could see exactly how much energy you're using. That way I can put together like a quote and a portfolio for you so that you can see exactly what the rates are going right now and how much you're spending annually. Because we only look at it monthly. You know, you get a bill in the mail, you check it, you're like, I don't have a choice. I have to pay this. And then you throw it out. So.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (05:44)
many months
bills do you need to get a proper analysis? Do you need more than one? Okay.
Garrett Hessinger (05:49)
Just one, so
on the bill itself on depending if you have Atlantic City Electric or JCP and L or PSC and J or even any other state, every bill has a monthly chart. So it shows you the whole entire year's chart, but on the bars for each one of them, depending on what utility company it is, it shows you what the monthly usage is for the past 12 months. So I just need that. Yeah.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (06:12)
Okay, and I have seen that, yeah.
Garrett Hessinger (06:15)
Yeah, so I think you have a Lanxity electrics, South Jersey. Yeah. So on the back of that, there's a blue and gray chart that shows every single month's usage for the past two years, technically. But yeah, I use that information to be able to analyze and see exactly how much you're utilizing from historical 12 months. then based off that usage, I'm able to figure out exactly how many panels you would need with your address. And then I do a layout and a design.
in-house so that I can figure out exactly what your exposure rating is and see exactly how many panels you would need to offset your usage from the history.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (06:53)
Okay, now you had mentioned to me when we spoke last week that there are certain areas that you within the four states that you operate, New Jersey, PA, Maryland and Delaware, that there are certain areas that you can work in and certain areas that you can't. So talk to me a little bit about that first.
Garrett Hessinger (07:11)
Yeah. So when it comes to restrictions, but because of the actual utility companies, like for example, Atlantic city electric, anyone in South Jersey that has it, ⁓ there's a lot of regions. Like I showed you the map, it's accessible through their website. If you just type in like Atlantic city electric restricted grid map or anything like that. you could type in your address and see if your house is in the blacked out zone or not. there's three different kind of like color codes that they use there.
So in certain regions like Williamstown or ⁓ parts of like Elmer and stuff like that right now, they have areas that on the map, it literally shows you black lines for the roads. Those are the areas that Atlantic City Electric is restricting any new solar projects from going in. So we can't install there at the time, but it can free up and they can upgrade their grid so that they can actually support the power that's being backfed. So it all depends on the time. mean,
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (08:06)
And
is that something that you can help someone with if they're uncertain as to whether or not they're in that blacked out zone or not? Can they call you to say, hey, are you able to help me? And would you give them that information?
Garrett Hessinger (08:14)
Yes sir.
Yeah, if anyone contacted me and they just wanted to see like, you know, get a quote or see like what solar does or get any questions answered or anything. If they give me their address, that's one of the first things I have to do to be able to see if they can qualify because of the utility company's restrictions.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (08:36)
And how often do they change that list? mean, why do they restrict it and how often can that change?
Garrett Hessinger (08:43)
Yeah, so it's been a really weird variation. Like I'll see one day the customer will be in the red zone, which is meaning that it's filling up the actual amount of people that can get it. Um, and then in the next day we'll switch over to black. That's happened a couple of times and customers are like, all right, you got to come back to me. So I put together a list of anyone that's in the black zone and that way I check it like every week, every two weeks. And so if anyone on my list is
then alleviated of the restriction, then I can contact them back and be like, Hey, now we can actually do something like let's look back into it. What we have currently. so if anyone had that kind of question, like, I okay in this area? They can either look it up or they can just ask me to do it for them and put them on the list.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (09:30)
Okay. So you do a workup based on someone's usage, where they live, etc. And, you know, the one question I always got confused about, or the one question I always had was, how does a homeowner who's already struggling to pay electric bills afford to either purchase or lease, and I'll let you explain.
Garrett Hessinger (09:36)
Mm-hmm.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (09:53)
how that really works, to do either of those things, how do they purchase or lease solar panels?
Garrett Hessinger (10:00)
Okay, yeah. So once the design is made and we actually figure out how much equipment you would need, a couple other varying features in there, like any sort of electrical, like if we have to do a trench from one structure to another, because we do like metal buildings, garages, just like offshoots of the house, like different regions of the property. Then obviously we have to do trenching and like any sort of conduit and all that stuff. After all, like the additional things, because we also do roofing in house.
We have to add stuff like that together. Once we have grand total everything that you need, then I can be able to put together a quote and whether you want to do financing and take a loan or if you want to pay cash or if you want to do a lease or a PPA, there's a lot of variables, but I like to be able to go over all those options instead of telling a customer like, hey, here's your only option. It doesn't make a difference for me. I still can do the same exact thing in house for it.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (10:51)
Okay, and I should have said this in the beginning, but it's my understanding that you work with both residential as well as commercial. Okay, and is there a minimum roof age that you need?
Garrett Hessinger (10:59)
Yeah, that's true.
Yeah. So when it comes to roofing, we actually do an evaluation after we're, after we sign everything, we would like to make sure that if we're going to be warranting anything, because even if we don't install the roof and you have an old roof, you get a roof penetration leak warranty as well on top. so if the roofs say like 15 years old, we're at that basis, it's like, you know, most shingles last like 30 years. So if you're going to put a system on there, it's going to last for more than 25 years.
We don't want to put you in a situation where it's going to cost you more money to remove them, put the new roof on and then put them back on because that just doesn't make the best ROI for you. So we'd rather do the roof. Even if you're, you got 10 years left on your roof or something like that. It's usually financially better to be able to actually just get the roof done then as a package.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (11:53)
And
you said you do the roof or you refer them to someone that you work with?
Garrett Hessinger (11:58)
no we don't yes we have a roofing
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (12:00)
Okay.
And that's such a nice benefit because I've heard of people that have reached out to other solar companies and were told, were basically sent away and said you need to get a new roof first. So that's full service at its best. ⁓
Garrett Hessinger (12:11)
Yeah. And one of
the best things about that, packaging it together, not only is it not having a lot of overhead or any sort of like extra costs compared to other companies that make, you know, their margins on that. We do it as a package just to make sure that the panels can go up there safely, but also we give you better warranties and we can roll it into the cost of the monthly solar payment. It's not a free proof though.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (12:36)
Okay, and
Yeah, I mean you said a couple minutes ago that the thing I always get hung up on is the idea of the cost right involved whether again you purchase or lease or Pay up front or finance. Are you able to provide basically, you know the long-term? savings even with that cost based on their usage the long-term savings and and I know everybody is different, but
Garrett Hessinger (12:57)
Yeah.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (13:03)
Is there kind of an over under in your analysis where you say, this is really worth it for you to do and explain why? Can you maybe give us just some general examples?
Garrett Hessinger (13:15)
Yeah. So, ⁓ whenever it comes to like a long-term analysis, I'm a very financial kind of like analytical guy. So I always like to go over, you know, here's day one. This is what happens after solar, and this is what your projections are going to be for year one ending. And then, you know, I do it every single year, analysis so that you can see up to 25 years, which is the whole term of the warranties, but panels last like 30 or 40 years. you know, hold up, but.
Yeah, I can actually take someone's bill, tell them exactly how much they're going to spend, you know, do an inflation calculation. And a lot of people like that because most people are just talking about, what they're doing now, but they want to know about the future.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (13:55)
Yeah, for sure. And what about ongoing maintenance of the panels? Is that something that you also handle or? Okay, what type of maintenance is involved?
Garrett Hessinger (14:02)
us. if
so when it comes to panels the the rain here in New Jersey does wonders. I mean if they get overly dusty which we're not in a super dry climate it's not like we're in the desert or like getting dust and stuff kicked up often or anything it's like pollen but pollen wipes off you know your car and whatever with just rain.
As far as like actual maintenance goes, there's nothing that really has to be maintained. The only thing that I've seen historically that I'd say every like 10, 15 years, maybe if after installation or break in period, it doesn't already have something. There's the rare case of maybe a couple percentage of houses that need like an inverter or something, or maybe one dead cell from the factory. But I've never seen a dead cell yet. I've just heard about it.
I've helped out hundreds of houses and people, so it's really rare to actually hear about that kind of thing. The inverters are usually what you hear about.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (15:00)
What is the what's the time frame from when you let's say somebody calls you and you go through that analysis and they say, okay, let's do this from when you start to when the panels are up and running.
Garrett Hessinger (15:14)
Yeah, so as soon as you sign up and you agree to whatever, you know, quote that I gave you, then at that point we have to contact the utility company to let them know that we're going to be doing this. And then we also have to contact the permitting office at the township with wherever they are. And those are the things that actually hold us up the most. If you've ever pulled a permit or done any sort of construction or dealt with any of your utility companies, you know how long it takes them to actually get back to a customer.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (15:36)
that.
Garrett Hessinger (15:45)
And we're taking them customers from them because they're not going to be getting paid for. So, I mean, I don't know if they have some sort of weird interest to where they don't want to give us the timeline, but it usually from start to finish is like a two to three month process. We usually kind of give them about 30 days each one of the utility and the permitting office, but everything else, I mean, as far as the installation, that only takes like a day or two, depending on what electrical needs are there at the house.
we pretty much can take care of everything as soon as we actually get it in our hands.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (16:15)
That's great to hear. You know, I guess one thing that I don't understand, and maybe you can explain it very high level to our listeners, is how does it work? How is it that the solar panels are, is that coming off of the supply side of the bill? Explain how this works to me.
Garrett Hessinger (16:33)
Okay. Yeah. when you right now, if you're paying for electric, the electric comes in through either underground electrical to your house, to your meter, and then it goes into your main service panel. Or maybe you see, you know, telephone poles that have the power coming in through, you know, the conduit up that way. but when you switch to solar, you're going to be producing electric from the panels and then there will go into an inverter, which, which, takes it from DC energy, the direct current.
to alternating current, is what we use in the house. So it's a safe actual energy to process through the house. Then it goes into the meter so that it can be read how much energy the panels are making. And then also how much energy your house is using. And it doesn't actually go straight into the house. It actually goes to the utility company's transfer. So then they use that as a credit basically, and that credit alleviates your bill and whatever usage. So they're monitoring both the incoming and outgoing.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (17:08)
Mm-hmm.
Garrett Hessinger (17:29)
And that's why they have the blacked out zones. Because when you have too many houses that are on that same grid area, there's too much power getting backfed into their grid.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (17:38)
Right, and so, you know, it may not be a common misconception at this point, but just to be clear, if someone has solar panels, you're basically assisting in everyone's bill that is using solar, right? It doesn't go right to your house is what I'm getting at.
Garrett Hessinger (17:54)
Yeah, the last
Yeah, no. So it's not like your energy that's from the solar panels goes to the grid and then anyone can have it. mean, essentially, like, technically, I guess you could say that in a way, but because the utility company doesn't have to generate or pull energy from other states and pay that extra connection to where they have to transfer it over to us, like, for example, like Ohio wind farms or like Pennsylvania, if they have solar arrays and ground mounts.
⁓ we buy all their energy. that's why our like distribution costs and our supply costs are so expensive. So if we're producing our own energy, residentially, it's going to be a lot cheaper for everyone else because we don't have to buy it somewhere else. And it's a little bit better.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (18:45)
Okay, that makes sense. The financing, I'm imagining that you refer them out to outside creditors for that.
Garrett Hessinger (18:52)
Yeah, so we work with a couple different banks. There's probably like five or six different ones. Most of the time what I've been seeing currently because of the differences of what happened federally for the state. I see most people doing leasing and PPAs or on the offshoot of maybe a cash deal, but that's because the federal tax incentive went away this year.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (19:13)
So let's dig into that a little bit. When you say leasing or PPA, how does that work? What do you mean by PPA and how does a lease work?
Garrett Hessinger (19:17)
Mm-hmm.
So a power purchase agreement and a lease are almost the same exact thing. It's a little bit different as far as like the contractual way that it works, but as far as what the customer has to do, if they're paying say $300 for their electric bill, that's their average bill or whatever. And then say they're in a good spot and they chop their bill in half and it's $150 for the solar payment through the financier, then all they have to do every single month is pay that $150. then while...
the other company, the utility company's rates are going up. It's not $300 anymore. So they're see they're getting that savings gap. When it actually comes to what the customer has to do for either of those occurrences, though, is they just pay the monthly bill. They don't have to keep up with any of the warranties or anything. All the liabilities actually on the financier and the installation company. So throughout all the warranties, it really backs you up.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (20:14)
Right.
So is that probably the best benefit for someone that may not be able to afford either the cash deal or purchasing and financing? Is there any upfront costs if you go that route?
Garrett Hessinger (20:25)
Yes, yeah, so it's.
No, so that's one of the best benefits of it. So you don't have to put any money out, there's no down payment. After 30 days after it's installed and it's been operating, that's when you'll get your first bill. And the bill is less than your old bill, so I don't know how you wouldn't be able to afford it. You know, easier. It's a lot easier.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (20:45)
Right.
I mean, are people concerned about the fact that they don't own the solar panels on their on their roof? Or do you do people not really care as long as their bill is going down?
Garrett Hessinger (20:53)
It depends on the person, honestly, but a lot of people ask that question because they used to have the old misconception that, you know, ownership was the best way to go about it. You take a loan out or you pay cash for it. That's where you get the best ROI. things have drastically changed, especially throughout every state in America since the federal tax credit used to be 30 % of the overall system costs would be coming back to you as a tax credit. But that got alleviated. The last bill that got passed.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (21:23)
Yeah. So I mean, if somebody is going to stay in their house long term, you know, I guess the only question you would have at that point would be what happens at the end of the term.
Garrett Hessinger (21:27)
Mm-hmm.
Right. Yeah. So if you have a 25 year warranty and system and agreement and everything like that, you're going to have to, you know, just make the monthly payments and reap the benefits the whole entire time. But you don't have the liability when you do at least your PPA. So all the warranties are on them. You don't have to even insure them or anything like that. But when you own the system and you take a loan out or you pay cash for it, lot of that liability is on you. So
Now if you're not getting the best ROI from ownership of the system and then also if you don't have to do anything warranty wise, it just makes way more sense this way.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (22:10)
Well, it's the quickest way to get short-term savings. Right. I mean, the only thing you'd have to keep in mind is at the end of the term, you're going to have to make a decision about, you know, what to do and who knows what would happen at that point in time.
Garrett Hessinger (22:14)
Yeah, definitely.
Yeah, I mean, if you have a lease or a PPA at the end of 25 years, they, I've seen some companies, some of the financing companies give you the alternative to say, Hey, if you want another 10 years of warranty protection, can pay, you know, X amount. It's a lot less than what you used to pay, but they already, they already got their bread and butter out of the system at 25 years. I don't think they're coming after you for a 25 year old system. They'll either just say, Hey, you want to buy this out for X amount or
I don't think they're gonna take it. It's not like they're gonna repo a 25 year old car that's had its payments done already.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (22:59)
Right, or just replace them and do it all over again. Yeah.
Garrett Hessinger (23:02)
Yeah, and that's usually what
people would do because at that time the roof's already going to need to replace them anyway. it's like.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (23:08)
I mean, I guess the only question
somebody would have is like, well, what happens if I decide to sell my house? Or what happens if I want to buy a house where the homeowner is, know, 10 years into a 25 year lease term?
Garrett Hessinger (23:19)
Those are great questions and I get them all the time. so if you're buying a system with the house, like say you're moving in somewhere and it's already been 10 years on their agreement, they just pick up where they left off on the same agreement. So if it's, you know, escalator one, then they just pay 2.99 % a year.
every single year for their monthly payment going up or it might be a 0 % fixed which is usually something I suggest to people when it's a fixed payment for the rest of the term but if you start at year 10 and you know for the next 15 years because most agreements are 25 years you just pay the same thing so it's a lot cheaper. What was the other part of that question?
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (24:01)
Well, it was really, you know, what's going to happen at the end of the or what's going to happen if somebody either is buying or selling a home that has that's in the middle of a lease.
Garrett Hessinger (24:09)
⁓ yeah, yeah.
Yeah, so transferable utility. like I had a customer in Leisure Town over near like Tabernacle and they bought their house a couple of years before I got there. They wanted to save money on it because they had like a lot of electric heat and stuff like that. So they had super high bills. I got them a really good system, really good deal and
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (24:20)
Mm-hmm.
Garrett Hessinger (24:35)
not even like 10 or 11 months later they call me and they're like, hey, my reorder's here, can you help us? And I'm like, yeah, sure, what's going on? And they're like, we're gonna move to Florida. And I'm like, you haven't even reaped the benefits that long, like what are you doing? But I was like, yeah, no problem. And I explained and gave them contact information for who the reorder had to connect with to be able to make the transfer. So they were able to transfer their house and sell it to the next person. They just picked up where they left off and got a really good system.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (24:39)
Yeah.
Okay.
Is this a busy time of the year for you? Spring, summer? Yeah.
Garrett Hessinger (25:07)
It's
starting to ramp up. just got done two meetings yesterday. So every day it's going to be nonstop. And I don't have like a consistent nine to five, like most people when people get home from work is when they usually are like setting up meetings with me. It's either their day off or the weekend or after five o'clock or whenever they get home from work. So I'm going to be busy, busy, busy.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (25:17)
Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, it sounds like it's a lot. I don't know how you operate out of four states and I appreciate you taking the time to speak with us. How are you making your money on leases? Is it part of the...
Garrett Hessinger (25:41)
So it's all worked into the payment. So as far as like every system size, usually the bigger the system, the better the payout. But I usually give a better discount because it just makes it more easily aligned with how the savings goes. ⁓ working with all the different states, they all have different programs and everything. So.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (25:58)
Mm-hmm.
Garrett Hessinger (26:03)
The pricing is different for everywhere. I mainly try to concentrate in South Jersey because it's really easy for me to drive out somewhere. I'll travel up to like an hour and a half, two hours sometimes. ⁓ So I can just help as many people locally as possible.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (26:12)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I would love to send you some electric bills. I've got a property in Bridgestone and a property in Summers Point, so I'll be sure to send you my bills and you can, you know, be kind of a fun analysis to walk through.
Garrett Hessinger (26:29)
Yeah, maybe we could do a whole walkthrough process so that we can educate other people and see what it's like and then you know you can see the benefit yourself as well.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (26:37)
Let's do it. I'm all in that sounds great. I'll send you the addresses and you can we can we can just go through the process and You know, I certainly would love to save money now. Do you do you yeah, do you? Do you sub out any of your work or is it is it you and your employees doing the work because that's what I also hate I hate when you you talk to a Contractor about this that or the other and then all of a sudden you find out somebody else is actually doing it
Garrett Hessinger (26:47)
Haha, I'll be your...
Yeah, no, we don't do any of that. I know exactly how you feel because being a homeowner and renovating two different houses as I have so far, it's like, if I'm talking to someone and I'm directly trying to get a job done from them, I don't want them to hire Joe Schmo that I never met or even, I don't even know if they have insurance. I don't know them. So yeah, same thing with solar. Yeah. When you're talking to me, I'm the guy that's actually going to be guiding your project through the process to be able to get.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (27:24)
Exactly.
Garrett Hessinger (27:32)
you finished and completed correctly so that if you have any issues you can call me, contact me in any way to be able to make sure that everything's going smoothly.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (27:40)
Well, and you know, I knew the first time we spoke that, you know, you were the kind of guy that would do that. And that's why we want you to be the solar expert here on the Bridgerton Beacon. ⁓ you know, we'll have follow up conversations to actually walk our listeners through what this really looks like. So, you know, I'm going to tie it up now. ⁓ Anything you want to add for today?
Garrett Hessinger (27:49)
Appreciate it.
Yeah, if you want me to look at your bill, I would suggest doing it now, because this year's going to be crazy.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (28:09)
You're busy? Okay,
well, and what if somebody's listening right now? Is the best way to reach you through the contact form on the website? Is that how you prefer it coming into you?
Garrett Hessinger (28:21)
That's
very easy because when I look at my emails, I can take all the information off there and be able to put it into the lead format to be able to, when I do actually talk to them, be able to already have it all set up so it's much quicker of a process. If they did that, if not, they can just call me. I answer my phone literally all the time, even if I'm in an emergency.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (28:43)
Well, I know that you have been very easy to get a hold of, which is another plus in my book. everybody needs to go to Solar Savings by Garrett.com with two R's and two T's in the name Garrett. And we're going to stay in touch. And I appreciate you joining us here on the Bridgerton Beacon so that we can help our listeners save some money on those electric bills.
Garrett Hessinger (28:51)
I appreciate that.
Absolutely, Meg, I appreciate you having me.
Meg McCormick Hoerner, Esquire (29:12)
Absolutely. We'll talk again soon. Don't go anywhere. Hang tight for a second.
Garrett Hessinger (29:16)
Yep.