Solar as a hobby ROI.

[Mattb4]

Looking back over the 5-6 years of mucking around with Solar my best guess of how much I have spent is ~$7500. It is now at the point I save about $25-30 per month on my electrical Bill. Doing the math I only have to live another 25 years to pay for all of it. Not exactly a quick return. However for something that has provided me with a lot of learning moments, and a way to make the time go by, the investment has not been a total waste. Heck some folks drop $7500 on a Football game ticket.

I wonder how many PV DIY folks out there think of their solar affliction as a hobby or only see it as a means to save money? Of course there is those that want to be divorced from the grid and also the emergency backup power folks. Each has slightly different motivations other than financial for installing various and sundry solar setups.

So are you PV hobbyist, Recreational PV user, EOW (end of world) prepper, Grid tie save/make money PV user, Off grid (willing or no) PV maven or do you have some other motivation to indulge in this modern day worship of Ra? Are you getting a ROI?

 

[MiSh]

Looking back over the 5-6 years of mucking around with Solar my best guess of how much I have spent is ~$7500. It is now at the point I save about $25-30 per month on my electrical Bill. Doing the math I only have to live another 25 years to pay for all of it. Not exactly a quick return. However for something that has provided me with a lot of learning moments, and a way to make the time go by, the investment has not been a total waste. Heck some folks drop $7500 on a Football game ticket.

I wonder how many PV DIY folks out there think of their solar affliction as a hobby or only see it as a means to save money? Of course there is those that want to be divorced from the grid and also the emergency backup power folks. Each has slightly different motivations other than financial for installing various and sundry solar setups.

So are you PV hobbyist, Recreational PV user, EOW (end of world) prepper, Grid tie save/make money PV user, Off grid (willing or no) PV maven or do you have some other motivation to indulge in this modern day worship of Ra? Are you getting a ROI?

I started down the road to solar watching TV one night and seeing the long line of people, gas cans in hand, waiting their turn to fill up after a hurricane. I said I'm not ever going thru that. So, for me, I could care less about the ROI or saving money. I wanted to run the basics if/when power went out and not have to worry for a few days or so. And I love tinkering with my system and adding to it, trying new products. So, yes, it is my hobby too. I've got more than $20,000 invested now and am looking at larger when we move. I'm sure others would say too it really is peace of mind.

 

[David in nh]

Yup hobby here
i had some thoughts about this lately
my system is for back up for my furnace if the elect goes down

my furnace back up

this is my oil furnace battery back up , plus one outlet , it is a aimes hard wired 12v 1200 watt inverter with built in transfer switch , a home built battery 200ah lifepo4 with a overkill bms , not having to add other meters to see what was going made install much cleaner , the blue...

diysolarforum.com

well from that stand point it works and i would lose power almost every snow storm

now how ever due much less trees do development , and aggressive trimming by the power company so total power loss time for this winter is under a hour

now i added solar since my last update and another battery

but as i looked over the pile of parts used , unused , broken ect i have about $ 3500 some i have yet to install

so last week i added a meter and flicked the breaker off for furnace , running off solar full time

well since i put in meter i have used a whooping 6.5kwh bringing my cost down to 538.46 kwh

 

[1201]

For me it's STRICTLY about ROI but Im craving a full hybrid inverter If I buy that it would reduce my ROI and would put me firmly in hobby territory.


The operational aspects are like a hobby though. I spend a lot of time watching a lot of graphs seeing and learning how my system is performing and that's fun.

So, solar for me is a fun money saving hobby.

oh and my system should 100% eliminate my power bill.

 

[pollenface]

I currently save about $5aud/month.

I have invested about $6000 over the past few years

with lead acid I'm doing it for love, not economics given the overall price paid per kwh of battery power over its lifetime, I know now that I'd had been 3-4x better off if I'd gone with LFP

 

[Q-Dog]

Mine started out as a battery backup for power outages. Then we added a few solar panels as an experiment. And now we are working on a plan to move more circuits to solar. So, I guess it is turning into a science project that can currently cut up to about $25 from our monthly electric bill. A gasoline generator can't cut $$$s from your electric bill unless you get the gasoline for free.

 

[hwy17]

I started in 2023 and am still building the system. If it works out as expected and I can utilize 80% of the annual production, I am comfortably within a 10 year payoff. It's more of a hobby than investment for sure at this point, but at $.40-.60/kwh the payoff stays pretty good even if it's not the goal.

I don't think the breakup of home electricity into an individualistic pursuit is helping our system though, it's more like the problem. The grid is necessary for societal functions and supply chains that we are inherently dependent on (unless you're a grow your own food prepper) and the less homeowners are supporting it through participatory consumption just means the more we will end up supporting it through increased cost of goods and services.

 

[1201]

I started in 2023 and am still building the system. If it works out as expected and I can utilize 80% of the annual production, I am comfortably within a 10 year payoff. It's more of a hobby than investment for sure at this point, but at $.40-.60/kwh the payoff stays pretty good even if it's not the goal.

I don't think the breakup of home electricity into an individualistic pursuit is helping our system though, it's more like the problem. The grid is necessary for societal functions and supply chains that we are inherently dependent on (unless you're a grow your own food prepper) and the less homeowners are supporting it through participatory consumption just means the more we will end up supporting it through increased cost of goods and services.

The demise of the grid, like carriage horses, is inevitable, like it or not

 

[AZ Solar Junkie]

I started in 2023 and am still building the system. If it works out as expected and I can utilize 80% of the annual production, I am comfortably within a 10 year payoff. It's more of a hobby than investment for sure at this point, but at $.40-.60/kwh the payoff stays pretty good even if it's not the goal.

I don't think the breakup of home electricity into an individualistic pursuit is helping our system though, it's more like the problem. The grid is necessary for societal functions and supply chains that we are inherently dependent on (unless you're a grow your own food prepper) and the less homeowners are supporting it through participatory consumption just means the more we will end up supporting it through increased cost of goods and services.

Wow - 40-60 cents per kWh is your rate or am I misunderstanding? We pay 18.

 

[Watts Happening]

I’d call myself a hybrid of all the scenarios. I want backup power for any scenario, but I want it to make some form of financial sense.

I’ve got about $20,000 into an 11kW system with 25kWh of battery backup through a hybrid inverter. I’ll get 30% of that back this year so more realistically $14,000. Our home is near 100% electric, and the system produces plenty of power for everything. We didn’t make enough power this winter, but we’re now working to have an interconnect agreement with the power company, at which point we’ll have plenty of credits next winter.

I expect a full ROI in 5 years at current rates, but if they keep climbing as they have over the last 24 months, it could be as short as 3 years.

 

[hwy17]

The demise of the grid, like carriage horses, is inevitable, like it or not

I completely disagree. The grid is our greatest achievement and our society is dependent on it. If there was a demise of the grid, it would be hand in hand with the demise of civilization.

A bunch of little standalone chinese boxes do not make a more resilient or efficient system. What do you call a 20 year old power plant? Young. And a 20 year old solar system? Garbage.

 

[42OhmsPA]

The more electricity we use the quicker the ROI...
Just sent this to my Dad and brother yesterday, ironic this topic came up today.


I'm always complaining to my Dad I'm missing out on so much potential energy... He thinks I'm a bit crazy but is started to understand the thought process.

 

[400bird]

I'm amazed there's so many of you that are $5000-7000 into this an only saving $25/month!

I installed my first system in 2018 for $7,700 ($11,000 - 30%)
This saved me an average of about $200/months.

 

[Watts Happening]

I'm amazed there's so many of you that are $5000-7000 into this an only saving $25/month!

I installed my first system in 2018 for $7,700 ($11,000 - 30%)
This saved me an average of about $200/months.

I think the first question here would be whether you had battery backup or not, my assumption would be no. Additionally, you're in California so your ROI is likely to be vastly more attractive compared to most other states.

 

[koolcatjoe40]

Started out as a way to have power if a hurricane comes through and takes the grid power down. Started with 1.6 kw panels and 10 kw batteries. My system has now grown to 3.0 kw panels and 30 kw batteries. High dollar hobby . Save 30 to 40 bucks a month on power. I live in the deep south . We have a lot of sun . I dont think we can be grid free just because of needing a/c . That is the biggest power draw in my house. It would take one heck of a system to run 24/7 .

 

[1201]

I completely disagree. The grid is our greatest achievement and our society is dependent on it. If there was a demise of the grid, it would be hand in hand with the demise of civilization.

A bunch of little standalone chinese boxes do not make a more resilient or efficient system. What do you call a 20 year old power plant? Young. And a 20 year old solar system? Garbage.

Our society was dependent on it. 50 years from now with low pv and battery prices the grid will not need to exist.

Technology marches on and we adapt. Using power from the sun is in it's infancy.

 

[Aridom82]

Are you getting a ROI?

25k euro system here. In Italy, where you pay 50cents for each kwh in the bill i am using around 5k euro worth of solar generated electricity a year.
Lights, cooking, hot water, heating/cooling, ev charging, two workstations on 24/7, workshop, etc, you name it. People count that as 5 years wait time to see a profit (5k x 5 years = 25k), but that is not true because at the end of that you sill have all your equipment. So in reality in 3 years i break even, and after that is all gravy.

 

[murmeister]

Much like others, we started because of numerous extended power outages. We have a propane full-home generator but we got seriously stressed when we couldn't schedule a delivery during an extended outage. We were told, "We'll get to you when we can but we don't know how long that will be". That strengthened the "self-reliant" gland in me and we started down the path...

We took many turns on the path but have ended up with an EG4 18kpv with 42kwh of EG4 PowerPro batteries. I'm currently still installing the solar panels in our pasture - should have 14kw installed just in time for the rain and clouds next week!

For me, it's not about ROI as much as it is about not depending on supply chains for fuel to keep my freezers running. We are also experiencing more regular outages as well as price increases. The benefit of the system so far is that we are completely unaware of if/when the grid goes down because our system continues merrily on it's way. It's so nice to have the power available without having to hear the generator running and alerting all the neighbors that WE have power while they don't.

As remote workers, that's a peace of mind for which we have a tough time quantifying the value - but it's definitely there.

 

[400bird]

I think the first question here would be whether you had battery backup or not, my assumption would be no. Additionally, you're in California so your ROI is likely to be vastly more attractive compared to most other states.

Well, that's where this being a hobby comes in. I added a battery in 2021 and more solar (to directly charge the battery) in 2023. Neither really changed my power bill.

Sure, California rates are higher. But I realize there is an error in my monthly savings, I've never updated the metal model from 2018 rates.

At that point it was $0.18 off peak and $0.20(winter)/$0.37(summer) on peak. Even then, peak was just 4-9 PM.
I think it's about double that now.
I guess I should start thinking of how my solar hobby is saving me nearly $400 a month now!

But, I'm pretty sure elsewhere in the country is closer to $0.18/0.37 now.

 

[Brett V]

The grid tie system on the roof is to save money and it mostly offset what my electric bill was before solar. The ground mount and batteries with the Growatt are for security for when the grid is down. It doesn't happen too often but is part of our plan to be self sufficient when SHTF happens.