Installing solar roofing - worth it? (Denver: renters, credit, house)

[Xanathos]

Hello there, Denver,


I recently agreed to purchase a home in Arapahoe County (it will be a rental property initially, but very possibly will one day become our primary residence), and have started the process of some of the improvements I might like to make to the house after we close on it but before we take in a renter. The topic of solar came up today.

My question is pretty simple: Does anybody know if the utility provider for the region offers good buy-back rates on solar energy to where it's even remotely worth it to explore throwing a power plant on the roof? We've got property in a couple of different places, and one has a pretty strong buy-back, whereas the other is so little it's not even worth it. I've still got calculations to do as to whether this is even a concern (it's a large house, coming in at just over 6,000 square feet, so I'm not sure the roof would produce enough to even have leftover to sell back to the grid, anyways), but figured a good 1st step would be to ask what peoples' experiences have been with regards to putting up the panels.

[guyatwork37]

The buy back rates from Excel Energy are wholesale rates and are pretty nominal (I think it was something like 2 cents a kilowat hour or something like that). The better choice is net metering where they rollover extra power generated in perpetuity so that in the less sunny winter months you can dip in to your bank to cover any electricity you're not generating, but using, for a given month.

[headingtoDenver]

My initial question is why would you want to incur such an expense when you are just going to rent the property out anyways? The renters will pay the power bill, not you.

[Willy702]

I'd just do a lease. The technology on the panels will continue to get better and offer better economics in the coming years. If you can find a lease that allows you to upgrade in the future while saving enough to pay for the panels in the meantime with cost savings, then go for it.

[Xanathos]

Originally Posted by headingtoDenver

My initial question is why would you want to incur such an expense when you are just going to rent the property out anyways? The renters will pay the power bill, not you.

Because there's a 30% tax credit that might not exist in a year, and which definitely won't exist the year after that? Because we might eventually move into the home? Because buyers like to see things like that? It's the same reason I'm sinking 50 grand into finishing the basement. It's a nice home, I'd like to make it nicer. But it doesn't sound like panels are worth it up there.

[guyatwork37]

Originally Posted by Xanathos

Because there's a 30% tax credit that might not exist in a year, and which definitely won't exist the year after that? Because we might eventually move into the home? Because buyers like to see things like that? It's the same reason I'm sinking 50 grand into finishing the basement. It's a nice home, I'd like to make it nicer. But it doesn't sound like panels are worth it up there.

Well, I wouldn't say they're not worth it. Depends on what you're going for. I haven't had an electric bill in over a year, but I have my monthly panel payments. In the summer months, it was cheaper than I would pay for electricity normally, and in the winter months, it's more than I would normally pay. It works out in my favor, but you'd have to consult with a solar company to see what type of setup you could / would get and then run a cost benefit analysis to determine if it's worth it for you.

[Xanathos]

Originally Posted by guyatwork37

Well, I wouldn't say they're not worth it. Depends on what you're going for. I haven't had an electric bill in over a year, but I have my monthly panel payments. In the summer months, it was cheaper than I would pay for electricity normally, and in the winter months, it's more than I would normally pay. It works out in my favor, but you'd have to consult with a solar company to see what type of setup you could / would get and then run a cost benefit analysis to determine if it's worth it for you.

I was thinking of doing Elon's Magic Roof. Not so much because I'm stupid enough to believe the "cheaper than a normal roof" bit, but rather because I thought they looked good, I like lifetime guarantees, and I thought it might make for a good high-appeal accessory to the home. I wanted to install it where I live now (on the coast on LA's west side) but, amazingly, it's against the HoA's rules.

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by Xanathos

I was thinking of doing Elon's Magic Roof. Not so much because I'm stupid enough to believe the "cheaper than a normal roof" bit, but rather because I thought they looked good, I like lifetime guarantees, and I thought it might make for a good high-appeal accessory to the home. I wanted to install it where I live now (on the coast on LA's west side) but, amazingly, it's against the HoA's rules.

I would love to hear how those work out. I was going to wait for them to come down in price before going solar.

[TCHP]

How do they hold up to hail?

[BarryK123]

I don't know if it's available commercially yet, but last year Tesla introduced a solar roof shingle that looks like a regular shingle and it is guaranteed for life. Details here: https://www.tesla.com/solarroof

Disclaimer - I have no affiliation with the company, other than owning one of their cars.