Used to roll my eyes at solar panels, now I'm eating crow

Back in 2018 I thought rooftop solar was just a rich person flex, especially living in cloudy Portland. But my neighbor got a 6kW setup and showed me her electric bill went from $120 a month to like $15 during summer. Last year I finally put 10 panels on my garage roof and honestly I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. Anyone else been wrong about something climate related and had to admit it?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannah_wells21d ago

Wait, is your neighbor actually saving that much year round though? Because net metering can be tricky in cloudy places like Portland (I live in Seattle so I know the struggle). Her summer savings are great but winter production drops a lot, so the yearly average might be more like $50-60 a month savings instead of $105. Still worth it of course, just not quite as dramatic as the summer numbers make it look.

shanec6121d ago

Did your friend end up making their money back or are they still waiting on panels?

murray.robert20d ago

Even if the yearly average is lower, those summer months still make the math work better than most investments people throw money at. A $50-60 monthly savings on a system that lasts 25-30 years adds up to something like $15-20k lifetime return. That's still better than leaving the cash in a savings account earning nothing. Plus the panels add resale value to the house even if the buyer doesn't care about the electric bill savings. The real question is whether they plan on staying in the house long enough to break even, which most people don't bother calculating before they buy.