[Packrat1]

Correct me if I am wrong but on average you don’t break even for roughly 7 yrs. That being the case, if you were planning on selling your home before that solar panels would be a detriment to home buyers not a benefit. Why, because unless you are willing to pay off the solar contract yourself, the new home buyer must qualify not only for the home loan but also the solar panel contract. Something to keep in mind.

[lost_traveler1]

Originally Posted by compwiz02

Gotcha. What do you mean when you say "roof top industry" and "they load the costs with profits and overheads that basically double the cost of roof top versus utility scale solar."? What is rooftop vs scale solar?


Problem for me is....I know I will pay $20-30 per month during some months and more in other months depending on how I setup my fans in the house. But a few solar panel companies have quoted me for a flat $80-90 per month fee. My goal is to support renewable energy but pay less on my bills. It's like comparing organic food vs regular food. I only pay maybe 2-10 bucks more on organic food depending on what I buy but $2-10 is a small price difference compared to $30-60.

If you are living in an apartment than solar doesn't make sense because your utilities are really low. If you have a 4 bedrm house with a family of 4 or 5 and paying upwards of $300+ monthly, than it would be worth it because as how Billy had showed you the numbers it can reduce your bills with the tax credit.

I just had mine installed and waiting for NV Energy to turn it on. I expect to pay about only $20 less per month than my current bill. My utilities are low around $50 at the low and $240 at the highest. I plan on installing swamp coolers which will greatly reduce my useage in the summer. With the 26% cash credit back and low useage in the summer, I will be feeding the grid more than I use, so I'll (hopefully) be getting cash back from NV Energy every month.

People don't consider how global warming will play a factor. Our 110 degree summer and high temps the past few months may be the norm, so our bills may go higher.

Also in 10 years most cars will be electic so that'll also help cut costs you pay for gas.

And lastly if you sell your home, your home value will be higher because your home already has solar.

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by lost_traveler1

If you are living in an apartment than solar doesn't make sense because your utilities are really low. If you have a 4 bedrm house with a family of 4 or 5 and paying upwards of $300+ monthly, than it would be worth it because as how Billy had showed you the numbers it can reduce your bills with the tax credit.

I just had mine installed and waiting for NV Energy to turn it on. I expect to pay about only $20 less per month than my current bill. My utilities are low around $50 at the low and $240 at the highest. I plan on installing swamp coolers which will greatly reduce my useage in the summer. With the 26% cash credit back and low useage in the summer, I will be feeding the grid more than I use, so I'll (hopefully) be getting cash back from NV Energy every month.

People don't consider how global warming will play a factor. Our 110 degree summer and high temps the past few months may be the norm, so our bills may go higher.

Also in 10 years most cars will be electic so that'll also help cut costs you pay for gas.

And lastly if you sell your home, your home value will be higher because your home already has solar.

I would still counsel waiting a few more years. Want to see how the industry breaks as the technology gets better and better.

The problem with jumping in now is that you now have a solar array either owned or leased. And the normal life is around 20 years. So what do you do if the deal is 25% better in two or three years? Or 50% in 5 years? I think it likely that costs will come down by 1/2 and we may see other distribution deals. I also expect the storage problem to yield in the next five years so fully integrated systems will be cost effective.

[RationalExpectations]

Originally Posted by Bill the Butcher

Depends on location and usage but we are currently doing both. We pay less per month (loan + utility bill) then we did with just our utility bill prior to solar.

Are you in Southern Nevada?

[RationalExpectations]

Originally Posted by lvmensch

But let it unfold for a couple of years. It is going to get better and better.

No doubt.

BTW, the same was said 10 years ago. And 20 years ago.

[RationalExpectations]

Originally Posted by Packrat1

Correct me if I am wrong but on average you don’t break even for roughly 7 yrs. That being the case, if you were planning on selling your home before that solar panels would be a detriment to home buyers not a benefit. Why, because unless you are willing to pay off the solar contract yourself, the new home buyer must qualify not only for the home loan but also the solar panel contract. Something to keep in mind.

While opinions differ, in general I don't put as much weight on "break even analysis."
I prefer to make decisions based on looking at risk-adjusted ROI, risk-adjusted IRR, or even risk-adjusted NPV (APV).

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by RationalExpectations

No doubt.

BTW, the same was said 10 years ago. And 20 years ago.

Of Course true...but the rate of improvement has vastly improved in recent years shocking even the proponents of solar.

My view is the tech is moving so fast right now one should let it unfold a couple more years.

This is opinion stuff so one can do as one wishes. But caution is in order. Fast moving tech provides lots of chances of being wrong.

[boatpi]

It does take in my case 7.5 years to break even all factors considered and that is with the 30% tax credit. After that, just $10.50 per month.

[Bill the Butcher]

Originally Posted by RationalExpectations

While opinions differ, in general I don't put as much weight on "break even analysis."
I prefer to make decisions based on looking at risk-adjusted ROI, risk-adjusted IRR, or even risk-adjusted NPV (APV).

You are getting into stuff that is way over the average home owners head. In terms of ROI, I agree that I don't know that it is wise to pay for a system cash when one could put $30K in the market and likely come out further ahead with gains over 10-20 years. So we went with the loan purchase. You do need to be smart about finding the right loan though. The "solar loans" have very low rates in the 2-3% range but they tack on anywhere from $5,000 - $10,000 extra in "finance charges". For this reason we went with a home equity loan with a higher rate of 4.75% but no fees. We pay far more than the current minimum monthly payment so that we pay the loan off faster and pay less interest.

And no I am not in Nevada. I'm in California. As I said, Nevada may be different in terms of ROI and break even points compared to California.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by Bill the Butcher

You are getting into stuff that is way over the average home owners head. In terms of ROI, I agree that I don't know that it is wise to pay for a system cash when one could put $30K in the market and likely come out further ahead with gains over 10-20 years. So we went with the loan purchase. You do need to be smart about finding the right loan though. The "solar loans" have very low rates in the 2-3% range but they tack on anywhere from $5,000 - $10,000 extra in "finance charges". For this reason we went with a home equity loan with a higher rate of 4.75% but no fees. We pay far more than the current minimum monthly payment so that we pay the loan off faster and pay less interest.

And no I am not in Nevada. I'm in California. As I said, Nevada may be different in terms of ROI and break even points compared to California.

If one bought 1000 shares of Tesla on 03 June 2019 for $35.79 / share ($35,790.00 total investment) then it would be worth $574,00.00 at today's price of $574.00 / share. The profit of $538,210.00 would pay a lot of electric bills, eh.