it all depends on your individual situation.

1) How long you plan to stay n the house
2) age of roof. if older roof, you have higher chance to need to pull off the panels to replace room (this will add to the payback time)
3) gas/electric house? all electric?
4) trees around the house that have potential to block light exposure.
5) trees/dirt feilds/construction that could add to dust/pollen that coats the panels reducing exposure
6) hours of sun per day
7) quality of panels. most panel effeciency will drop between 0.5 % and 3% per year. at 0.5% loss in 20 years they will produce at max 90% of original output.
8) are you getting a tax break? yes. then years of payback will decrease, no the full term payback

say you buy a 6kW system for $20,000 (no tax break) and save $150/mo. without factoring in efficiency loos over time, you have an 11+ year payback. (on a 20-25 year lifespan)

a $20k invstment for 11 years at 4% would be worth $30k,......

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Posted by Korkstand

Member since Nov 2003

28745 posts

Posted on 7/14/23 at 11:54 am to tigeraddict

quote:
a $20k invstment for 11 years at 4% would be worth $30k,......

Yes at the end of the solar payback period you would have been better off investing the $20k, but if you continue playing it out to 20 years you come out better with solar.

$20k invested at 4% compounded monthly comes out to:
$31k after 11 years
$44k after 20 years

$20k in solar panels and investing the $150 saved per month at 4% compounded monthly comes out to:
$25k after 11 years
$55k after 20 years

Of course that assumes a lot of things, mainly stable returns on investment, stable energy prices, and minimal equipment maintenance.

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