1 month later update, I made a post last month about my March bill being $8.94. My April bill is also $8.94.
We flipped on central AC sometime early April and use a window unit to cool down the master. We usually set the AC to 65 or so for a few hours to cool down the house at night (upper levels are very hot).
Since for whatever reason most of the bills in this subreddit don't have hard numbers, here are my hard numbers
Just to add, you also get paid for every MWh of generation (SRECs) plus you get paid if you are a net exporter at a bit over 10 cents a kWh. So there are additional savings.
Dude, if you like paying Big Brother for your electricity, go for it. Other people like being self-sufficient and helping out the environment. You do you.
You are right and this is wild. I was so upset by not getting my solar in before the feds collapsed it, but I get about 4% on my savings and pay way less than OP in electric. I wasn't doing the math right at all - I am so glad I didn't get them now!
And you would probably make a lot more by investing in index funds. Plus when you go to sell your house, you won't have ancient solar panels that have passed their life-span which will force you to either put on a new roof or new panels before you sell.
i mean... if their average monthly cost is less. presumably they could save/invest that difference. (google says 12-20 yr terms. ...with 15 being common at 7% on 27k. would put you at give or take $250 a month ...so aprox half what they were paying in peak months...so maybe figure 6mo out of the year they can realize those savings that's $1000-$1500 a year ...or 45k total cost over 15 yr[$250 payment times 180 months] . but... potentially 22.5k ...orrrrr $1500 a year. each year at 8% invested is 45k after 15yrs so... quite literally if they're smart. and realize/max those savings and invest it. the install is free)
and there's also tax avenues to undercut some of those interest payments ...ie if you financed the solar with a heloc/home refi loan. or "secured" loan. can deduct the interest if you're itemizing. which you likely should be.
People flex about solar but the facts are that you break even by the time its all said and done. Except now your roof is inaccessible and you'll need to hire people to move all the solar out of the way to do repairs.
Not remotely true. My parents on Long Island have had solar for 15 years. Broke even in 5.5 years. Ten years with effectively no bills. No issues, no problems, and probably at least 10 more years of life on the panels.
(Edit— I know the payoff was 5.5 years because I remember my dad behind happy it was 6 months more than he calculated, but it’s possible they’ve had the system slightly less than 15 years. I know it’s been at least 10 but COVID is causing my brain to question exactly how long)
(Edit again: confirmed system was installed in 2010)
Is that including the time value of money? You need to discount future savings against up front costs to get a true economic comparison. Money today is not worth the same as money in the future. A reasonable interest rate could add quite a bit to the break even time.
Factoring in investing the upfront cost pushed back the savings between 12-18 months, maybe. People value cash flow as well, depending on their stage of life, and this break even does not include any value of the asset itself (which is depreciating, but 5 years into a system that's cashflow break even that has a rated life of 30 years, with 20 years with virtually no efficiency drop did increase the asset value of their home at that time-- no energy bill + new roof is factored into buyer mindset).
Point is, the discount rate matters. So simply adding up the stream of savings isn’t accurate. If interest rates rise, it makes it less beneficial than when interest rates are low.
If you want to be pedantic, sure. I'm not giving someone a calculator with all possible inputs to calculate their return now. I'm not even saying, "if you want the maximum return to capital, go and spend it on solar". My parents wouldn't own a home if the goal was the greatest return possible on capital.
You say shit like this as if we all aren’t paying these insane bills every month.
Maybe you should consider the fact that all these people producing energy through PV is saving these oil and gas shilling asses money through reduced demand for oil and gas.
I had my roof replaced at the same time I installed solar (combo discount for both). Roof will last longer than the panels normally, and the panels actually protect the roof.
Lol, so wrong. How long do you think it takes to breakeven? 5 years. So yes, don't put solar on an old roof. That's just common sense. But it also protects the roof from the elements and UV wear over time.
This is objectively not true. There was a time when it was but that is long past.
Cost of solar has dramatically decreased over the years. This makes going to a solar system much more cost effective. With many people breaking even within 5 years or less. Add in additional rising energy costs and the savings add up quicker.
Also, new solar systems have a much better installation method than older ones. Making them better for the long term health of your roof. Add in that you don’t actually need to access your roof all that often and yeah, they become a no brainer
Did you finance? We started down the path with the community solar program, but couldn't really afford to take on the loan we'd need. I wish we had solar on the roof...
Are you on the residential rate? I didn’t realize I needed to switch my rates from time of use after getting my solar and a kinda confused which one to switch to now.
What’s your anticipated break even timeframe for the installation of solar? I can’t get over the upfront cost. Feels like I’m just prepaying utility bills.
I installed Solar 12 years ago (Solar City at the time). They own the panels (and repairs/upgrades) and I prepaid 20 years of guaranteed generation. Payback time was ~7 years. Someone's estimate on OP's numbers is payback in ~5 years.
One time a fews years in - initiated by the company (Tesla bought out Solar City). Had squirrels get interested in the wiring and chewed through something so the panels were offline and not generating. Company came to investigate, figured out the problem, and then took ~6 month to design a solution and install (wire fencing guards around the edges of the panels). They also swapped the panels out for a more efficient model. We got a rebate check from them for the energy that wasn't generated that year, so no real impact to us.
I didn't pay anything for the repairs and upgrades because Tesla owns the panels. I pre-purchased a certain amount of power generation each year. Any short fall in generation means they send me a rebate check.
I installed 3kw myself in 2007, much easier to do back then. I had the inverter go bad 10 years ago and I replaced it myself. It was going to cost almost as much to repair it than a new one! I also had a couple of leaks, so I removed the panels fixed the issues and reinstalled them.
My pay back was around 7 years. There was a state grant of $5k and Federal tax credits which helped.
Technically it would be bank CD return - (sum of electric bills for the year). My power bill is high enough that it basically negates most if not all cd gains and I'm still in the negative.
I have solar and get a $10 bill every month. Just fees for being connected to their grid. I also got a $150 check from them too when the overage cashed out last. And zero grid consumption over the past year too.
I think the $8.94 is an account charge. If you sign up for Pepco energy wise awards, you'll have no bill from March/April until Novemberish.
My bill was about $6 but I have an electric car and a long commute that uses my previous surplus power. But I did also get $37 in SRECs to balance out last month.
Love it, can you share a general location (even just county) and who was your installer?
We're on Potomac Edison and when I've looked into solar in the past, it wouldn't save us substantially on our bill. Which frustrates me and I'm hoping won't always be the case.
They could have an EV/EVs. We have two EVs. For our April bill cycle, we used 980kwh to charge and 682kwh for our house (total bill minus data from the charger). Our electricity bills obviously got significantly higher when we switched to EVs, but we used to have to pay for gas.
Edit to add: it is also annoying because Pepco ends up sending us tons of emails saying we use way more electricity than similar houses. They know we have two EVs because we have them linked to Pepco for charging to happen on lower-stress times for the grid, but they harass us anyway lol
Inefficient house really, we both work from home. If the AC is 73, upstairs is 78. So we set it to 68 for big cool days, with window unit on for the master which is a huge energy hog.
System annual estimated production 21400 (110% production)
SREC income* = $700 per year (21 MWh x $22 x 1.5)
Break-even without including opportunity cost = 6.6 years
Break-even including risk-free interest rate of 4% on $30k compounded annually = 9.8 years ($44200 total)
Note that this does not include any income from selling excess generation back to Pepco during annual true-up and does not factor in any increases in electricity rates, both of those will accelerate break-even
*SRECs currently at worth ~$45 each but the value should drop to $22.50 by 2030. There is a 1.5 multiplier in effect for solar systems installed between July 1, 2024 – January 1, 2028. I am using the more conservative $22 figure here.
**I was signed up with a 3rd party electric supplier for most of those 12 months so my electric supply rates were lower than the Pepco SOS rate. Third-party electric suppliers are no longer available in Maryland due to legislation so I would expect to pay more than $3800 for the same 19600 kWh now
It feels like solar is getting cheaper is that true? I feel like i remember break even used to be like 20k. I think it could be good for a new administration that brings back alot of the solar subsidies and when solar is even cheaper
I haven't followed it closely but I was surprised when I got serious about it last year and saw how much the panels themselves have dropped in price (and increased in output), a typical top-tier panel costs about $200
Unfortunately the cost of the materials is probably about only half the total project cost when you have it done professionally - there is a substantial amount of paperwork involved (interconnection agreement, permitting) and of course labor.
Probably there was more padding last year with the tax credit expiration looming.
It would be great if the federal solar tax credit comes back when a new administration takes office.
One of the benefits of Maryland is that we have true 1:1 net metering so any excess electricity you push to the grid is credited against electricity used later (e.g. at night) so there is no need to install expensive batteries - the grid basically acts as a battery for free.
Do you ever wonder how much more production you could get with the IQ8AC or IQ8HC?
The latter was an upgrade for me for an additional $40/panel and I didn't think it was worth the extra cost but seeing my panels max out at 326/327 for hours a day makes me wonder how much more I could have gotten with the IQ8HCs
Nope. My task list only grows and neither my brain nor my mind get a break. I’m happy we got the system installed last year, and when they come out with the plug and play bidirectional charger we will get that and a “cheap” EV to offset gas costs and give ourselves backup capability. Plus we generate much more than we use.
That comes with the micro inverters (I think) - maybe you also have access to it and don't know ? You can ask the company that installed your panels if there is a monitoring system to see your production/consumption. You can ask them directly about Enphase I guess, it's pretty common.
Ok ! I totally agree that's it's "nice to have" but not a necessity. I'm a numbers nerd so I love it
Also you might want to look at your Pepco account. I know I have the option of downloading my consumption data (regardless of going solar, I've had this option for years). But again, I don't know if it is specific to certain meters or something all the customers have access to.
Since most of my bills is gas and electric transmission costs...and my usage is like 1/4...I wish I was paying for what I used but almost the entire bill is BGE getting it.
Does anybody know how much it cost to have the panels removed in order to have a new roof put on and then reinstall? Only reason I didn’t do the solar panels years ago because my roof was old and I’m waiting to replace it first. Thx
Cost me $120 per panel last Summer. 22x panels total. Insurance covered it as I had to replace a 12 yrs old 3-tab asphalt roof with hail and wind damage. New roof even lowered my premium afterwards.
I have owned solar since 2019. My roof does not leak. They have worked with no problems. I’m very pleased. If I were to sell my house and somebody objected to having free power, they would be fools. I charge my electric car for free. I pay nothing for gasoline. (If I have to take a road trip say to the beach or out of state I’ll rent a car.)
That is a savings of $2000 a year tax-free.
Electric vehicle cost, used: $ 10,000
Cash Cost of installation, without battery, after credits/ rebates:$30,000
Fuel costs at $5dollars a gallon annually: $3380
Old annual cost of electricity 2025: $3600
New annual cost of utilities, 2025:$ 108
Annual savings,which is tax, oasdi free:
3380+3600 - 108=6,872
Actual annual Rate of Return: 17%
Bank cd rate of return as of May 2026including 28% net federal and state income tax rate: 3%
73
u/RidethatTide St. Mary's 23d ago
Do you lease or own the array?