The homeowner in our example will either need to pay cash or take out a solar loan for around that amount.
Solar panels do they pay for themselves.
Solar panels come with 25 year warranties but many systems will still produce well beyond the warranty period.
As of june 2020 the average cost of a 6 kw home solar system is about 3 20 per watt or 19 200 before incentives.
A pv panel system can pay for itself in as little as 4 years or less or it can be much longer depending on a number of variables.
Socal bob has a daily energy use of 30kwh.
The price of electricity is 0 13 kwh.
In this example let s say the price for solar panels is higher in his area 4 w or.
In addition to the federal tax credit of 30 his utility offers an incentive of 0 3 w for solar projects.
However the time it will take to reach the payback time or the earnings that can be obtained are deeply varied and site dependent.
Below are the main factors that influence this timescale.
Increased utility electricity rates and lower equipment costs are making it easier and less expensive to for homeowners to own rather than lease their solar panel systems.
The payback period will tell you how long your solar panels will take to pay for themselves but it doesn t consider the full lifetime value of the system.
Being at home during the day and timing your loads to make the most of your own power generation reduces the payback time but being out all day with minimal loads will increase it.
Solar incentives rebates and the federal tax credit.