How long did your Solar Power generating system take to pay itself off?

At this time here in Phoenix, which is one of the best places for solar power systems in the world (almost no cloudy days), the payback time (Break even point) is approximately 18-20 years. This is with great taxpayer funded subsidies they are offering that pays almost half the cost. This is a system that is tied to the grid and the utility company gives you credit for any power you produce in excess. The system consists of 12-18 solar panels, inverter / Controller, breakers and wiring needed. It looks like an average system is around $30,000 installed, but with rebates is only about $16,000. Some utilities even offer financing to help. Remember, this is Arizona. Most areas will not perform as well as here. One thing to keep in account is the controllers / rectifiers will need to be replaced, and most solar panels will not maintain peak efficiency for years. Most warranties seem to be 20-25 years on panels, and 5 years on controllers. Controllers can cost several thousand dollars.

It seems as soon as subsidies were added, the prices started going up. We need a not-for-profit solar equipment company to help keep the greed out of the equation. It is our taxpayer dollars going to the increased profits when subsidies are involved.

Just go to your local utility website and check out the special subsidies they are offering now. Most good utility companies will have an on-line calculator to estimate the cost, size of system recommended, payback period, and savings projections. Both our utility companies have this, and they are easy to use. Get copies of your electric bills. You will need some information about your past usage from them to get good projections.

I have a small system and do not make enough to sell back (no batteries) so it was less than 7 years BUT when you are talking about putting the initial in to a high yield div account and comparing it then I would say it took only 4 years to pay for because I was invested like many others with the capital it would have taken to get a large system and that investment LOST money while my solar pays for itself every year bit by bit.

With systems now more efficient and rebates bigger and the investment alternatives not any better it is an easy choice.

You ask a good question but I think this is part of why Solar gets criticized a lot. Rather than look at the payback period why not look at rate of return.(ROI) For instance a system that costs $10,000 and saves $100 per month will pay itself off in 8.33 years.

Now let's look at it this way. Say you decided to invest $100/month in an account for 8.33 years. You ROI would be just under 9%. This is based on the "rule of 72".

The rule is a calculation that tells you what amount of time at a certain rate of interest an investment will double or get your initial investment back.

Solar is after all an investment. When we buy a car do we look at how soon it will pay itself off? When we buy our house we look at equity which is a form of rate of return.

It is just a slight shift in how we look at Solar. By the way any system bought today will far outlast the "payback period". With 25-30 year life expectancies Solar is a wise investment.

There is a step-by-step video guide online right now that can show you how to reduce your power bill by making your own solar panels.

Take a look at it: http://tinyurl.com/Earth4EnergyRew

Why pay thousands of dollars for solar energy ($27,000 average cost) when you can build your own solar panel system for just a fraction of the retail cost. You can build a single solar panel or you can build an entire array of panels to power your whole house.

Some people are saving 50% on their power bill, some people are reducing their bill to nothing. But what’s most impressive is that just by following these instructions some are even making the power company pay them!

"and then the buy back price of the electricity onto the grid is 47c/kWh ... where electricity costs 20.8c/kWh." (Your words)

I find this very difficult to believe, unless your electricity supplier cannot add up.

There is not a grid in the world which would pay you more for your electricity than the price at which it sold it to you.

If this were true, you'd install a mammoth bank of batteries, charge them from the grid overnight and sell it back to the grid at an AUS 26.8c profit each kilowatt?

You could power an rotating alternator during the day and still make a vast profit.

Get real.

I have a small panel for my truck to run the radio when engine is shut off. Two months after buying it I left the lights on for half the day at work. It would have cost me $90 to get a tow truck to come and jump my battery. It cost nothing but two hours of waiting after I plugged the panel in for it to charge up the battery enough to start said vehicle. Payback time- two months.

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