Is Solar Really Worth the Investment?

[RvNaut]

your poll question is fine but

but what... stop being critical of people asking a legit question.. they have to start somewhere...

BTW folks tend to use more power when have solar so really the ROI is a lie.

You are going to need to back that statement up.. *I* use about 25% of the power I used to in a home...

One other reason that this thread has gotten this far is:

What is it with you elite and the need to chastise people seeking information.... sheeesh... yes, the question is vague, but as I say above, people need to start somewhere.

Further... this all serves to chase people away from this resource when you folk jump in to be critical of the OP... stop it.

 

[aussiesam]

Where is the "< 5 years" option?
We pay $0.47 per KW to the utility

 

[wpns]

but what... stop being critical of people asking a legit question.. they have to start somewhere...



You are going to need to back that statement up.. *I* use about 25% of the power I used to in a home...



What is it with you elite and the need to chastise people seeking information.... sheeesh... yes, the question is vague, but as I say above, people need to start somewhere.

Further... this all serves to chase people away from this resource when you folk jump in to be critical of the OP... stop it.

It probably would’ve gotten a better reception had the OP used the search function and found the other poll and other recent discussion about this exact subject, and had started with:

“I’ve already seen this discussion and that discussion, and I want to further refine my understanding of the ROI of a solar system by asking a slightly different question:”

 

[Delmar]

- What is the value of the food in your fridge that did not spoil?
- If an elderly family member relies on a CPAP or other medical device for survival.
- If you lost power in the winter, and your pipes froze & broke, what are the cost of repairs? Don't believe "it can never happen here", see below.
Payback may be quicker than you think.

 

[CaySol]

Can't even tell, because the goalposts kept moving, but definitely worthwhile in the land of 68 cents per KWHR, with poor power quality and power bills pre-solar up to $1200/month.

Now that power's "free" (up to a point), I'm using way more than before, and doing 'wasteful' things like running the AC in the guest bedrooms on 'dry' mode when there's no-one there. Do I get to count that? I've got 14 MWHR consumption since I put in the EG4 system last year, that's almost $10K.

Plus all of the above. Plus look for a recent thread on payback.

68? Wow I’m constantly complaining about our 33¢ per. I can’t wait to get my arrays up and running. I went all out and it should pay for itself in 5 years.

 

[Bires]

Even with cheapo E ($0.14/kWh), solar pays for itself in about 6 years.

I day dream of the day...
I have long extension cords for my neighbors' to plug in their refrigerators and freezers when the grid pops.

 

[JeffW]

Like everyone -- each person's math is very unique. But for us -- it isn't even an eventual break-even -- it's immediately paid back with a cost avoidance, then 'free' power thereafter.

The cost to pay our utility to run an underground line from the box at our ranch road to our build site and connect a meter would exceed our 100% off-grid costs....although it is skewed since we're doing it all ourselves.

 

[chrisski]

A decent battery powered system for a power hungry house installed by a contractor will likely see a 50 year payback.

DIY can save money, but you might not have enough time to go through an installed permitted build on uour own

 

[Quattrohead]

My system in Massachusetts paid for itself in under 4 years, it was that quick because of a large rebate from the utility at the time. They pulled it right after we applied because they said the only people that could afford it were the Lexus people and not the general population, retarded idiots.
Now I am 100% off grid here in Florida and I do not know what my ROI is and I really don't care, I did it because I could. Also I was able to build the cost of the system into the house build.

 

[42OhmsPA]

BTW folks tend to use more power when have solar so really the ROI is a lie. If they used the same amount of power after they got solar the payback would be way longer.

Agreed, excellent point. My usage tripled on average.

 

[42OhmsPA]

@Ecovault Solar did you get your hands on any of these relabeled SRNE ABPs yet? I'm curious how well they work.

EcoVault 6500 Watt Off-grid 2 MPPT Solar Inverter Single/Split Phase

Power your off-grid living with EcoVault EV6500-S Pure Sine Wave inverter. Get more more solar production with exceptional efficiency.

www.ecovault.com

I think your Lux Power relabels are overpriced. https://www.ecovault.com/collections/house-solar-inverters

 

[Flunkyboi]

Situations vary. Some are not handy and pay Duey Cheatum & Howe Solar LLC for a turnkey system. Some of us are handy and love DIYing things to make the ROI happen much faster. I fall in that former group.

In my situation, I needed a storage shed and a solar plant. My panels were something I lucked into cheap. The shed was going to cost me anyway, so for about an additiinal $2k, I solarized it. My little 3KW plant is not offsetting my power bill, but it can use drop cords to run criticals in my home during a power outage. Basically, a backup generator to my gas generator. I love redundant alternatives.

Aside from that cost, it has been a total blast wading into this stuff. Fun, actually. I've not engaged this much math since school, with a grin. I'm having even more fun planning a second 3kw plant. My brother was so impressed with my little plant, he now needs solar in his new barn. This one is even more fun because I'm not footing the cost.

 

[ksmithaz1]

BTW folks tend to use more power when have solar so really the ROI is a lie. If they used the same amount of power after they got solar the payback would be way longer.

This is kind of a silly thing. Part of the reason you put in solar is just to get more power availability without paying the power company. You wanted an HVAC in the shed, but couldn't justify the power bill. I've also mentioned before, if you have the solar, you may as well use it, so why not use heat pumps instead of gas? The whole envelope changes, I got the solar started after buying the first EV, then bought the second. Naturally I needed more solar to support TWO cars, so since I had some cookies left I bought more milk, and now that the cookies are gone, I need more cookies to go with my milk.

Part of what drove the adoption of electricity in the first place was availability. Since it was there, what else could I be doing with it that would be productive? It's a useful cycle with diminishing returns as it scales.

 

[ksmithaz1]

Can't even tell, because the goalposts kept moving, but definitely worthwhile in the land of 68 cents per KWHR, with poor power quality and power bills pre-solar up to $1200/month.

Now that power's "free" (up to a point), I'm using way more than before, and doing 'wasteful' things like running the AC in the guest bedrooms on 'dry' mode when there's no-one there. Do I get to count that? I've got 14 MWHR consumption since I put in the EG4 system last year, that's almost $10K.

Plus all of the above. Plus look for a recent thread on payback.

To this point, power costs will go up. Maybe not much, but they will go up over the long haul.

To the you just use more power, . . . There is a cost associated with highly desirable but not critical usage of electricity that is hard to quantify in an ROI. Making your recurring costs zero on that usage, now fulfills the desire, creating an ROI on usage you did not have.

 

[wattmatters]

A decent battery powered system for a power hungry house installed by a contractor will likely see a 50 year payback.

That really depends on location. Where I am I expect our professionally installed solar PV and battery system to recover costs in 6-7 years.

 

[OffGridInTheCity]

For me, part of the ROI is to be able to live comfortably during a significant grid-down event - think Puerto Rico a while back after the massive hurricanes went thru and the grid was down in some regions for months/years. Will I ever get that kind of ROI? - hopefully not.

Another part of my ROI is the DIY fun aspect - as off-grid is actually something significant one can do on their own and get amazing results. Already have achieved this portion of the ROI

Finally the financial - hovered at >20yrs+ for a long while but electricity prices are up 70% in just 2 years and at this rate I'll be <10yrs soon. If this trend keeps going (the gov mandates are only getting crazier) I'll be financially glad I did solar much sooner than later. Saving $2600/year this year and this could reach $4000, $5000, .../year in just another few years.

 

[J.H.]

Just wondering how many think solar is a worthy investment.

Yes… it is…..it’s fun, productive , teaches you stuff and in some cases can save you some money.

if you can build a system …and it works …but your neighbors system keeps blowing up or burning stuff down it make you look more cool to the other neighbors …

There’s a some value in that …

I live in my rv..( 10 yrs) …I have been totally off grid since the weather turned sunny last month .I will be un till the late fall hopefully …
it’s not much money but it’s uplifting to not pay them poco rascals as much.

J.

 

[Pinto Yates]

We live on the gulf coast and back in 2008 we lost power for 3+ weeks after a hurricane. It was late august, 80%+ humidity and topping 100 degrees during most days. I lived with my wife and three kids without Air conditioning or refrigerated food. My portable generator died in the first week and none could be found thereafter.

People ask me about the payback on my whole home solar system and I tell them it’s about 2 weeks of living in those conditions with my wife. YMMV..

 

[onkelz]

Just wondering how many think solar is a worthy investment.

Yes i think it is ,,how ever i live in Australia so solar panels here are very cheap ,,-400w -$90 Aus on ebay even amazon has cheap panels ,,but i would say living in the us with all the tariffs would be hard !blame trump for causing shit with china on that one

 

[seneysolar]

I think we can all agree,
For off grid living, most ROI is instant.

 

[ksmithaz1]

Yes i think it is ,,how ever i live in Australia so solar panels here are very cheap ,,-400w -$90 Aus on ebay even amazon has cheap panels ,,but i would say living in the us with all the tariffs would be hard !blame trump for causing shit with china on that one

Stop with the political. Solar panels are still fairly cheap, and 6 months from now likely the cost per watt will not be significantly different than it was a year ago. Batteries are where the money is anyway, and we should see a continued drop per kwh.

 

[Fisherguy66]

At the off grid place I would have paid alot more just for the silence of no generator running and the gas adds up fast here too. Never considered ROI.

 

[Chicat]

Just wondering how many think solar is a worthy investment.

It is when your off grid, better than living off a generator, or spending 60K to have electric run

 

[Primal1]

Zero electric bills for the last 8 years, Id say it's well worth it.

 

[J.H.]

We live on the gulf coast and back in 2008 we lost power for 3+ weeks after a hurricane. It was late august, 80%+ humidity and topping 100 degrees during most days. I lived with my wife and three kids without Air conditioning or refrigerated food. My portable generator died in the first week and none could be found thereafter.

People ask me about the payback on my whole home solar system and I tell them it’s about 2 weeks of living in those conditions with my wife. YMMV..

Been there… it’s no fun…