does any one know what the duty is on solar power systems?
or is there a reputable source in belize?

Aaron Krohn
623 7774

thank you
im assumming Aoron is the reputable dealer?

Aaron is working for Lou and Robert Nicholait, founder of the Belize Center for Environmental Studies, the breeding ground for many people in that field today. They are well respected around the country.

I would size up a system and then email a few dealers in the US and also talk to the local guy. In general duties are low 5% but you also have the 12.5% GST and the 2% Environmental tax.

The key to having the right system is size. You will need to add up all the amperage usage in your house.

There are several kinds of systems that will either supplement power via the sun or the wind or both and also those systems that are considered primary power sources.

Good luck and my advise is start reading so that you will understand what people are telling you.

I would have to look back on my records to be completly accurate but I ended up paying in the neighborhood of 25% duty and taxes. Even with the additional charges I was way far ahead bringing my own system down.

I had heard that solar equipment is duty free, my broker told me to make sure the paperwork read "complete solar system" but that didn't help. In trying to buy small stuff related to the system (I needed a charge controller) it was 3 times the US cost.

Try to pick a solar dealer near houston or Miami, or at least one that will ship cheap direct to a shipping company.

Mark

When I brought my solar system down The duties were 5 - 12.5 - 2 just as TravelinMan 1 said. The dealer I used was in San Diego and they shipped everything thru Hyde Shipping in Miami. Most of the stuff was shipped directly from the manufacturer so the dealer you buy from doesn't make much difference. You will have to pay duties on the shipping as well. Most dealers will help you with sizing your system. a big factor in the system is the number of batteries necessary. I use a combination of wind and solar. Depending on what you are running at any one time will determine how much solar you'll need. I don't have any AC which draws lots of power. Your inverter will also need to be sized correctly for the amount of power you want to pull from the system. My inverter is a 4000 watt system which means the max I can draw at any time is 4000 watts. Thats more than enough for lights, frig, water pump. But my stove draws 7000 watts so I can only use 2 burners at a time before the system shuts down. An AC unit can also use 1500 watts and thats a continuos draw. When sizing your system you need to be very selective of the appliances you buy. The stove will go next time I'm down, to be replaced by a gas model. All the lights are energy savers and the frig is the most efficient I could buy in the States. You have a better selection of frigs in the states than in Belize. The first frig I had used about 3 times the wattage that my current one uses. Design the system and appliances carefully and solar works ok, design it badly and its a not good. A good magazine to look thru is Home Power. Also remember that in Belize they don't allow you to sell back to the grid so even if you are on the grid you'll need to use batteries. The grid doesn't go near my house so I have to use batteries. It also means I have paid my last utility bills which also feels good.