Is Solar Worth It? My experience after two years owning Solar Panels

NEW VIDEO: Analysis after 4 years https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02omWscSwSA

Your spreadsheet reminds me of myself trying to justify a brand new truck purchase to my wife 😂

Wow! They saw you coming mate! I built my own 6kw system with 17kw of battery power for less than £7000 recently. I have a manual switch over at consumer unit and I haven't been on grid for ages. I have no debts, more than enough power and I live in North Wales with my son. We use about 10kwh a day on average. A great learning experience at my age of 67. I wish you well however I feel that you were ripped off.

Another thing to consider is as your panels get older they become less efficient. And technology of solar panels will also become more efficient and cost less. So you can choose to upgrade your panels BUT there is a cost for that. In other words cost and savings will always fluctuate. Homeowners just need to decide for themselves. Of course NO ONE who gets into these solar contracts will ever openly admit they made a mistake. My point is if you really want to save on solar learn as much as you can about it, purchase, install and maintain it yourself. That's where the real savings is.

As others have pointed out, depreciation has to be factored in, typically a 20-yr lifetime. Also, over time the panels wear, generating less electricity (typically dropping by about 20% in 20 yrs). Inverter failure cost should also be estimated. Lastly, and potentially the biggest issue of all, is if the government and/or the electric company change the rules. Our local electric company is trying that right now, sticking users with monthly surcharges which undermine much of the potential savings. Right now, for me at least, it only makes financial sense if the system is owner-installed in order to keep the installation costs down.

despite all the criticism in the comments, I appreciate you sharing your honest experience for those of us trying to research this topic. 😀👍

The second you have 6% interest its a no go for me.

I worked installing solar panels and I felt the panels were equivalent to an 8 track. I was told brand new off the pallet they would be at 80% efficiency declining over the life cycle (25 years) down to 50%. Also, for half the time in the dead of winter there is no light. If you’re not storing power (which adds thousands to the cost) you are not getting the maximum output. The problem I see is they are selling old and inefficient technology for a premium price. Technology will far exceed these panels and will essentially make them not only outdated but less efficient. Even now the have a new technology that comes in a liquid form that will change the game. Essentially turning, for example, a window into a panel. You spray it or or apply it and it creates a thin film of solar cells that can be hooked up to the grid. Some other issues, as, mentioned, is when a new Governor gets elected and changes or eliminates the tax credit. Putting on your roof is always a bit risky, meaning that you are not only adding weight but putting more holes in your roof. I used to install roofs as well. And the fewer holes you have in your roof the better you are. They are best kept on the ground. Point blank, they really aren’t worth it. When you need a subsidy to almost break even it tells me, the ones who benefit the most are the finance company, the solar company, and the power company. I wish we were at the place where they were worth the cost and maintenance but we are just not there.

Things may be different in the US, but here in the UK I think they are difficult to justify unless you have a good feed in tariff. We have a 4Kw system and benefit hugely from the very generous FiT the UK govt offered around 2011. But now its hard to justify the up-front cost, and it would seem solar panels only give you a warm fuzzy feeling about the environment !

What’s so tough is trusting everyone to do everything for you… All the financial research takes nearly as much time and effort as studying solar technologies and procurement of your own equipment and DIY installation.

Great video and very well explained. I really appreciate your honesty and give viewers the pros and cons.

Thank you for the video. It certainly was enough to discourage me from ever going solar. Thanks again!

I think he went into very good detail. I like the enphase system. I'm 46 and my house is paid off now. But at the time of install, it was cost effective to do cash. But if I had to finance, it's not worth it to me. Glad you get srec

Everything he said is why I didn't go with solar, the way I figured it, I would be just trading one bill for another.

If I had some extra cash, I'd start by investing in better insulation, and I'd look for hidden power wasters in my home. After that, I might do solar--not to save on power, but to lower the risk of exposure should the power grid go down. I live in an isolated area high in the mountains; and, when we lose power, our water well shuts off, we lose fans for the central heating and space heaters, and in the winters our pipes would freeze. It's dangerous to lose power in the winter. And there is always the danger of a zombie apocalypse, of course.

In Florida, home insurance companies now want a new roof at about the 15 year mark, some won't insure a home with a roof over 10 years. So, solar is no longer an option due to the cost of removing them, put up a new roof and then reinstall them. I would like to see some more efficent solar panel system that is not mounted on the roof but could be used to power part of a home's electric requirements. Nice review of your system.

Thank you for the breakdown. It can be complicated, I filled out a survey and was bombarded with offers from all over the U.S.

Thank you for the video. It was very interesting to see the thought process that went into your decisions. It really helps out a young person like me who’s going to have to start doing this stuff soon one day. God bless you!

A very good outline of how solar works for you and us! While I'm no expert, a variable that concerns me regarding making an investment in solar is panel/equipment life. If they don't last and need replaced say for example in 7-12 years , well you see my question. Great job in any event and thanks!

Thanks for this video. It definitely helps out in me trying to understand how the financial aspect of going solar works. It's been a year since you made this video, how do you feel about it today? Has anything changed since this video? Also, do you have a battery pack for your panels or is it all going back into the grid?