Are solar panels a good investment?

[xentropa]

As the title states.

 

Polycrystalline silicon solar panels typically take 8 years to pay for themselves (in Los Angeles, CA weather conditions) but I think if properly maintained, they can last significantly longer.

 

Also do they retain their value over time?  Would a used 1 year old panel have significant depreciation in value?

[Razor Blade]

Really depends where you live and your power needs. If you have a small house in Hawaii where power is $0.37/KWh (source:https://www.utilitydive.com/news/the-10-states-with-the-highest-electricity-prices/298112/) and don't require more than lights and maybe a TV or something, it wouldn't take long for that solar array to pay for itself. But if you're in an area where electricity is cheap and your power needs are much higher... the array may never pay for itself.

 

I am in the latter situation. A proper solar array to meet my consumption would not pay off. Hopefully someone can chime in on value of used equipment. In my area, second hand solar equipment seemingly doesn't exist...

[Max_Settings]

Generally no. You can calculate it yourself if you know all the proper numbers.

[Teddy07]

I imagine it is a good investment as CA seems to have a lot of sunshine. Even a lot of German houses have solar panels nowadays and we have less sunshine than CA. 

[poochyena]

google has a tool for this https://www.google.com/get/sunroof#p=0

 

 

[Razor Blade]

1 hour ago, Teddy07 said:

I imagine it is a good investment as CA seems to have a lot of sunshine. Even a lot of German houses have solar panels nowadays and we have less sunshine than CA. 

I can't speak for German residents. But here in the states in an overwhelming majority of cases, private solar arrays tend to only make sense with the non-consensual tax paid sponsorships from state and federal governments. Even then, it could take a decade or more to payoff. If you buy it in cash it might not be so bad...as in it might not actually cost you money to buy a solar panel system...but you still have to think of the opportunity cost with that huge investment.

 

For example...using the link @poochyena posted if I buy a solar array costing $40,000, in 20 years I would have basically made over $10,000! Not too bad right? That means I would have essentially made $50,000. This is of course assuming the system I bought needed zero dollars worth of repair and maintenance. However...if I instead took that $40,000 and invested it averaging 7% (going by https://www.goodfinancialcents.com/average-stock-market-return and their "widely reported average") over the 20 years (going by https://www.investor.gov/), I would have made over $154,000...so looking at a 20 year payoff makes no financial sense IMO. maybe if it was a 5-8 year payoff? It could be a different story.

[poochyena]

39 minutes ago, Razor Blade said:

using the link @poochyena posted if I buy a solar array costing $40,000, in 20 years I would have basically made over $10,000!

Its the opposite for me, it will cost me $6000

part of my roof gets a lot of sun, but I use very little electricity and cost per kilowatt is suuuper cheap ($0.095) so a solar panel doesn't pay for itself for me.

[Razor Blade]

Just now, poochyena said:

Its the opposite for me, it will cost me $6000

part of my roof gets a lot of sun, but I use very little electricity and cost per kilowatt is suuuper cheap ($0.095) so a solar panel doesn't pay for itself for me.

I was surprised there was a payoff at all TBH. I think it might be a little misleading though. I would still have to pay the electric company's fees to keep the service active so I would only save on generation charge and that is only when there is enough power being generated. With weather being what it is here though, I would be lucky to get 2-3 months of solid sunny weather.

[Zusafek]

I have a solar array on my house that only operates my pool pumps and heaters. Had them installed about 5 years ago and it's been fantastic. Save a lot on energy costs for me and if my pool is down I transfer the power to my AC system for the house. Comes in handy after a hurricane if the normal power is out. 

[Yoinkerman]

If you don't have to run heat or A/C with solar, home power needs are generally quite small and solar can easily take care of it.  Solar panels on a good frame can last 25+ years with only the controllers and batteries needing replaced(maybe minor wire/fuse issues but both of those are cheap).

 

Used panels do not hold real value.

 

Idk how you're getting a 40,000 USD quotation, but you're getting ripped the F off.

 

We use panels at 54 north and generation is fine for off the grid needs.

 

Not everything in life is about min maxing, otherwise why would you pay for water when it's free from the river?

[Razor Blade]

 

14 minutes ago, Yoinkerman said:

If you don't have to run heat or A/C with solar, home power needs are generally quite small and solar can easily take care of it.  Solar panels on a good frame can last 25+ years with only the controllers and batteries needing replaced(maybe minor wire/fuse issues but both of those are cheap).

 

Used panels do not hold real value.

 

Idk how you're getting a 40,000 USD quotation, but you're getting ripped the F off.

 

We use panels at 54 north and generation is fine for off the grid needs.

 

Not everything in life is about min maxing, otherwise why would you pay for water when it's free from the river?

It was not a quote. It was derived from the website posted (referenced below). Using the calculator, it suggested a 18KW array (likely to cover heat and A/C system) so I don't doubt it would be financially that far off. I get what you're saying but being that most of my electric bill is from operation of HVAC, that means I would benefit even less... As a hobby or emergency energy supply, solar would certainly work. But answering the OP's question, I stand by my "it depends" opinion.

4 hours ago, poochyena said:

google has a tool for this https://www.google.com/get/sunroof#p=0

 

 

[xentropa]

3 hours ago, Razor Blade said:

 

It was not a quote. It was derived from the website posted (referenced below). Using the calculator, it suggested a 18KW array (likely to cover heat and A/C system) so I don't doubt it would be financially that far off. I get what you're saying but being that most of my electric bill is from operation of HVAC, that means I would benefit even less... As a hobby or emergency energy supply, solar would certainly work. But answering the OP's question, I stand by my "it depends" opinion.

18 kW for a house??

 

Yeah I might need that if I had a weed farm in my basement.

[Amazonsucks]

58 minutes ago, xentropa said:

18 kW for a house??

 

Yeah I might need that if I had a weed farm in my basement.

Our whole house generator is 20kW. Central air takes a lot of power. 

[mr moose]

depends on everything really,  I have 1.7Kw on my roof connected to the grid with a 10.6c feed in tariff (about 68c a day off my power bills if everything I generate goes into the grid).  But I don't even care if it pays for itself or not, it has increase the salability of my house. 

[UrbanFreestyle]

I think it is dependant on usecase.

I have installed a single 40w solar panel, controller and leisure battery at our horse yard.

This allows us to have lighting and charge our electric fencer as well as our phones if needed.

Much cheaper than running electricity out to the stables and significantly easier than using head torches and having to swap and recharge fencer batteries.

The total cost of setup was under £120 and i'm incredibly pleased with the results.

[porina]

Too many variables to make any general statements. Need to work it out for your own circumstances. I did price up a system for my house in the UK some years ago. My useful roof area wasn't big, so I could only get around 2kW system. With the government subsidies in place at the time, the break even point was estimated around 10 years. With hindsight I probably should have gone for it then, as electricity pricing has gone up a fair bit and break even would be even sooner than then estimates.

 

I don't know what conditions are like today. I do know the subsidies have been slashed, if there are any at all for new connections, but that is kinda understandable as component pricing has also come down a lot too. I could probably DIY a solution for comparable to a few 2080Ti's, although getting an installer to do it properly will bump that up.

[Razor Blade]

8 hours ago, xentropa said:

18 kW for a house??

 

Yeah I might need that if I had a weed farm in my basement.

No idea why the calculator put that. When I was sourcing the backup generator I believe I was only suggested 1.5-2Kw models... Only guess is the area I live does have tall trees and get quite a lot of rain and snow.

[Monkey Dust]

12 hours ago, xentropa said:

18 kW for a house??

 

Yeah I might need that if I had a weed farm in my basement.

That would dramatically shorten the pay off period.

 

If the panels don't hold their value, finding some used ones to stick on your roof seems like a win?

[Real_PhillBert]

I did some digging into solar for my place a couple years ago, and the general consensus with the industry (at least from the people who weren't trying to sell you panels) was that although it may or may not make sense in your area, buying right now is not ideal. The efficiency rates and longevity of the panels is/was growing, and the prices were/are decreasing at a rate such that (assuming the trend continues) it made more sense to wait a few years for a cheaper more efficient panel than it did to buy in. 

 

I'm not sure if this is still the case, but I would guess it probably is. 

 

 

[xentropa]

In our area, excess electricity generated from panels would return power to the grid and supposedly the power company is supposdd to pay you for it (no need for battery for storing large amounts of energy)