My 9-year solar report card is in!
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@Lydie My biggest problem when shopping solar has been predatory lending. They'll quote a cash price if you prod about it long enough, but the financed price was well over double or even triple at one company.
They tried to pull the used car schtick where they "beat" your monthly payment and tell you it'll never rise for 20 years. That's great, but the financing wipes all your profits and shifts it straight to the solar company.
@LittlePolarBear Solar loan companies are basically loan sharks. Let me tell you an insider secret: solar loans usually come with "dealer fees". This can be a seriously fat chunk of change, and that is always passed to the customer. That's why the financed price is so high. You'll still "win" but it takes forever and you have a lien on your house.
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@Lydie what is your approximate latitude, btw?
@f4grx 39.644207
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@LittlePolarBear Solar loan companies are basically loan sharks. Let me tell you an insider secret: solar loans usually come with "dealer fees". This can be a seriously fat chunk of change, and that is always passed to the customer. That's why the financed price is so high. You'll still "win" but it takes forever and you have a lien on your house.
@Lydie Exactly. I plan to install it, but not until I can pay the cash price, or at least get a low-cost loan from a Credit Union. The dealer fee one quoted me was 20K.
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@Lydie Exactly. I plan to install it, but not until I can pay the cash price, or at least get a low-cost loan from a Credit Union. The dealer fee one quoted me was 20K.
@LittlePolarBear That's insane!!
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@jonah Thankfully, it doesn't snow that often here. This winter is being special though! I don't put much effort into clearing the ground panels (I'm physically weak bleh), the winter days are short and I'm not exactly losing a lot of production. Most of my energy is made March-November. That said, this evening I plan to give the snow a nudge and see if it slides down. If not, oh well!
@Lydie hm, sounds like it works for you, but could be bad news for me here in Minnesota
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@f4grx 39.644207
@Lydie oh wow thats like, Madrid in Europe. No wonder you get a ton of solar energy! I'm at 48.9 and thats a different story!
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@Lydie hm, sounds like it works for you, but could be bad news for me here in Minnesota
@jonah You'd be surprised!! They work in Canada after all.
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My 9-year solar report card is in!
in the spring of 2017, I installed my solar energy system. The price tag was $42,000 (I got slightly used panels and saved a lot). It was a significant upfront investment...and worth every penny.
Now that we are in 2026, I ran the numbers. I passed the break even point in 2022, and am roughly $21,000 in profit! The total value generated so far is over $63k.
The next five years look even better. With utility rates rising astronomically, the system will generate another $36k or so. By 2030, the total profit should exceed $100k !!
If you are still on the fence about whether the math works on a solar investment….well, it did, does and will accelerate as energy prices keep inflating. It's much safer than many other investments in the current economy - at least until this regime is gone.
#SolarEnergy #Investment #ROI #FinancialFreedom #Sustainability #CleanEnergy #Maryland #Solar
@Lydie million dollar questions:
Location: Maryland
Fed/state tax breaks:
Shade level of lot: Near 0?Looks like your lot is perfect for it.
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@Lydie million dollar questions:
Location: Maryland
Fed/state tax breaks:
Shade level of lot: Near 0?Looks like your lot is perfect for it.
@BigHeadMode Got Fed 30% tax credit. Shade near 0. I literally bought the property because of solar access
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L luettdeern@plasmatrap.com shared this topic
$42k seems a lot? Does that include batteries? For reference, installed a 4kW system with a grid linked inverter - no batteries - in the UK in 2011 for about £9.5k (~15k USD). it was an excellent investment.
