Remember when buying solar actually saved money? Now, with the federal tax credit gone, owning panels just got ~30% pricier. 📉
The workaround? Rent solar from big companies instead of buying. Some states make it basically a “rented appliance.”
So… is owning your roof slowly becoming a luxury, or can homeowners still make it pay off? ⚡️
Is solar ownership the new “private jet”?
byu/One_Pollution2279 inenergy
Posted by One_Pollution2279
8 Comments
30% doesn’t kill it for everyone everywhere – some people are cool breaking even but helping the environment, so that’d be like 30 yr payback – many are still under 10 year payback.
In Boston I installed a $25k system in fall 2017. I paid cash and got the federal credit and SRECs. It paid for itself in about five years. Without those incentives it would have taken 9 years. I’ve made $30k worth of electricity as of now and the system shows no signs of slowing. The panels are guaranteed for 25 years. A new system will do even better on the cost per watt. Grid electric will get more expensive.
I don’t think the math works out the way you think it does, chief.
1 time cost vs rising utility bills forever. The tax credits help, but they are not necessary for someone to get a system.
Solar is the cheapest it has been in a long time also.
In short: no. Don’t be dumb.
The comparison would only work if the alternative of grid power; or in this case flying on regular airplanes, continued to get more expensive.
Grid infrastructure has been needing upgrading for a while, and that comes at a cost. We are also *exporting* more natural gas than ever. Electricity won’t get any cheaper.
They’re not expensive, the electrical installation having a 700%+ markup is what’s expensive. It’s more akin to owning a car than a PJ…
Installing solar still saves you money, it just takes longer without the tax credit.