Solar Panels in NE the good, bad, and ugly opinions

[Love Machine]

So let's add up some numbers. I've generated approx. 43 MWh in 5 years on a 7.68KW solar system (MassRewnewables independent installer, I own it). $24500 installed. So that's $15480 at $.36/KWh, plus the monthly check (roughly $1k per year) and whatever I got in tax rebates. So that's about breakeven here.

 

[BroncoAZ]

Okay, but I'd love to see your calculation on how your $34,500 system paid for itself (or will pay for itself) in 5.2 years. Use whatever electric rates and cost of money you want.

Maybe I have this all wrong. It's too late for me anyway. Still, I'd like to learn.

I put together this spreadsheet to convey my numbers. On the first one I added a table with the initial investment at 3%-8% compounding interest for 25 years. That assumes I would’ve invested that money up front and continued to pay Eversource $275 each month, which may not be the case. The first sheet is assuming utility rates stay the same for 25 years, the second sheet assumes a 2.67% annual increase. Comparing the opportunity cost of solar vs investment my return on sheet one is about 6%, sheet 2 is over 7%. Sheet 1 shows in the black in just over 5 years, but that includes overproduction that wouldn’t really be ROI if I’m building net metering credits. We have two EV’s to burn the rest of the surplus power, Sheet 3 is calculating the real annual savings we’re seeing compared to non solar electricity and $3 per gallon gas vehicles, 5.1 years. I may burn a little more electricity with the second EV than we produce. I have $1600 in net metering credits from year one before I’ll see a bill, that would buy 4400 kWh which is more than my anticipated overage for the next three years.

We overbuilt the system with the intention of at least one EV and building credits, I could’ve gotten a system to do just the house needs for ~$30K before credits or $20K net, ROI under 6 years.

 

[pastera]

What/who did you go with?
I’m still on the fence but, I just did the math for last year and our average electric bill was 334.00 a month.

SunWatt did mine and a friend/coworker.
No BS and done right.

 

[pastera]

Selling a home with leased Solar panels is a problem, realtors please add your comments. My nephew was looking at a house for sale in Franklin with 18 years left of the 20 year solar panel lease. His wife is a big deal contracts lawyer and called the solar company to get the buy-out info to negotiate the home sale price. The solar company made it clear that there was no way to buy out the lease, so they moved on to another property.

Just my (very limited) experience

This - don't put AIDs on your roof.
Either buy solar outright (get the subsidized loan if available) or don't do it.

 

[pastera]

Funny how the payback is always just at most people's go/no-go threshold of pain.
That's free market pricing (what the market will bear). Gonna need more competition before it gets better.

That's where smart buying comes in.
My system was as big as I could fit on my main roof and covers 70% of my usage.
9.6kw array installed in 2016
It now only covers about 60% because I drive an EV and just installed heatpumps.