Should I buy solar panels

Aug 08

Have you heard that solar panels are a great investment? Yes they can be depending on where you live!

I bought solar panels for my house and I invested $16,300 in them. Last year they generated 9.65 MWh, which is over $965 worth of electricity! In 17 years they will generate enough electricity to pay for themselves and everything that they generate after then is free money in my pocket! And unlike the promises that sales reps make, these numbers are real. They're not the best case numbers. Those numbers show solar panels as being a much better investment than they really are and they never really happen. But these numbers do happen and they're real!

But wait! On top of that I got a federal tax credit of $4,890 on my income taxes after I bought them making my true cost only $11,410 meaning they'll generate enough electricity to pay for themselves in only 12 years!

Depending on where you live, solar panels might be a better or a worse investment than they were for me. If your electric rates are higher than mine are, for example if you live in California, solar panels are a great investment! But if you live somewhere that doesn't get a lot of sunlight and that has inexpensive electricity solar panels aren't a great investment and will probably cost you more than they generate in power unfortunately.

Check how much sunlight your roof gets and check your local electric company's rates to decide if solar panels are right for you. And if you live where your utility company charges more for electricity during peak hours than they charge during off peak hours, look into pairing solar panels with a battery backup which will save you a ton of money!

Solar panels aren't a good investment for everyone, but they are a good investment for some of us. Hopefully this was helpful and useful.