I had a client call me recently to look into a potential sale of a home I sold him about 8 years ago. Since purchasing the home, he put on solar panels. The cost of these panels was about $45,000.
The pitch the salesperson gave him (per my client) when he came to the home was the savings he would get each month from a greatly reduced electric bill.
Here is a breakdown of the pitch:
Paid $45,000 (approx)
Average electric bill per month (my client has about 2000sqft and a pool) $300 a month.
Average electric bill after panels $15 month
Savings $285 a month ($3420 per year at the rates 8 years ago). With assumed inflation of 3% per year the payback time would be about 11 years as the monthly electric bill (as we all assume) will go higher.
All sounds great, right? Also, he told my client if you decide to buy an electric car the savings will be even greater because the Sun will replace your weekly trip to the gas station...WOW, right?
Over the eight years some issues have cropped up.
1. The minimum price for electric from the electric company has gone from $15 to $35 per month.
2. He never purchased an electric car.
3. The salesperson neglected to tell my client the panels did require some dollars to maintain.
4. The panels are designed to last around 15 years (a bit longer if well maintained).
Obviously, we are in the Sunshine State so solar panels should get plenty of sun, and if we have a hurricane or a blackout (assume the panels are not blown off the roof) he gets full electric service (although he had to purchase an additional power wall for storage - 8k extra).
This is quite a decision to make. The home is eight years old, so we can assume the panels have about half their life left in them. (I do not know if replacement cost is less than full installation)
I have pumped the price about 20k for the full solar system, based on that evaluation it seems he comes slightly ahead.
So, back to my question: Is it worth it?
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