Is Solar Power Right for You?: The Answer

Last week, I talked about the major factors that determine whether now is the right time to pursue solar energy for your home. If you’ve done your homework, read on!

Investment. After taking a look at your finances and talking about it with your partner, hopefully you came up with a ballpark figure. If you’re firmly under $10,000, don’t worry: in some states this can still get you a photovoltaics system (see below), and in most states it will get you a small one. Is it cost effective to start out with a very small system and add to it as finances allow over the years? No. Is it a possible solution if you’re really committed to going solar? Yes.

However, a better use of your money might be a solar hot water system. Especially if your family uses a lot of hot water, your water heater is oil or gas-fired, or if you’re in a state with high insolation rates (basically, lots of sunshine), solar hot water systems are an incredible deal. Also referred to as solar thermal–though this term encompasses a broader range of applications as well–solar hot water can provide most of your home’s hot water needs, year round. Residential systems rarely cost more than $6 or $7k to install, are highly reliable, and are eligible for the same rebates and incentives as PV, in most cases. It’s a technology that’s been around since, oh, ancient Egypt. You really can’t go wrong.

Average electric bill. If you’re spending less than $100, on average, per month, it’s possible that a solar system would have an unattractive payback period for you. If you’re in a state with good incentives, right around $100 or higher is probably okay; if you’re in a state with poor incentives, your monthly average should be a great deal higher–at least $150–to warrant the investment in solar. The more you spend every month on electricity, the more money your solar system will save you; this is the main number that goes into figuring out how long it takes for your system to pay for itself.

Your roof. The ideal roof for solar faces south (west is the next-best), is totally unshaded, and has been recently redone. Flat or angled doesn’t matter too much–collector panels can be installed at an angle to correct for pitch. In general, you should allow about 100 square feet of roof area per every kilowatt of system size. An average 4kw system, then, would need 400 square feet of roof. For most people there’s no problem there. Many people are interested in solar shingles these days, which look like architectural shingles but act as collectors. Those require up to 50% more installation area, but are a good option if your housing association won’t allow panels that are visible from the road and yet your unshaded, southern exposure roof area happens to be facing the road.

State incentives. After reading through your state’s incentives on the DSIRE database–or at least checking out our handy reference map–you should have some idea of how receptive your state is for solar. The most standard incentives are tax credits, sometimes as high as 35% of system cost, and rebates. Rebates are usually calculated per watt of system size (good ones are between $2 and $5–with a national cost average of $8/per installed watt of system size, even a $2/watt rebate is equal to a savings of 25%). Rebates are the most attractive form of incentive but tax credits are helpful, too. They just don’t reduce your out of pocket expenses. If you live in a state with few or no incentives, think about waiting a year or two. The trend is toward renewables rather than away, and your state might institute incentives soon. Contact your state senators and representatives and tell them about your desire for solar: they’ll listen.

Net metering, which is available pretty much everywhere, should not entice you to a PV system on its own. This is the process through which excess energy created by your system is purchased by your utility; it’s a great program but on its own, it doesn’t get your system to pay for itself.

So let’s recap. If you’re prepared to spend more than $10k and preferably up to $25k, spend more than $100 per month on electricity, have a large expanse of roof that receives full sun, and live in a state that provides financial incentives for PV systems, you’re an ideal candidate for solar. If you don’t meet this criteria, you can still pursue solar: but be aware that the time to system payback might be much longer than ideal for you, and that you might be facing higher out of pocket expenses.

If you think you’re ready to pursue solar more seriously, take a look at our database of installers around the country and contact us. We can help connect you with the best qualified vendors in your area to help you move forward.