This morning, we finally got permission to flip the switch and turn on our solar system. It was quite the undertaking, but I am thrilled we made it to this finish line and did so while it was still 2025.
It’s still early, and there’s frost on the panels, but all panels and inverters are showing as active and generating. In addition, the usage arrow on the digital electric meter is pointing to the left instead of the right.
Financially speaking, this should be a reasonable investment over time, but the up-front costs were tough to stomach. The best estimate is a roughly 6% ROI over the panels’ 30-year warrantied life, with an expected cash flow break even after 14 years (including the federal credit).
Our house faces east and west, and our state doesn’t offer incentives (other than net metering), both of which contribute to the modest return and slow payout. Still, the 6% ROI is roughly equivalent to investment grade bonds and comes with the added benefit of being a reduction in expenses rather than an increase in (taxable) income.
Also, if the AI boom keeps driving up electricity demand overall, rates may rise faster than the 3% annualized rate in that ROI estimate, which would improve the total return on the project.
The system is sized to cover 100% of the house’s current usage, plus the local travel for the two plug in hybrid cars that we drive and charge pretty much every day. The house is not energy independent, as we have gas appliances and no battery storage. Those things may come over time, but financial realities must be respected.
Regards,
-Chuck