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darkrom t1_jdtqvz0 wrote

Reply to comment by Status_Silver_5114 in Rep. Boylan introduces bill requiring solar on new construction by GhostOpera406

How many more years until you break even on the panels and labor and total initial cost?

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DesignRemote t1_jdtyk41 wrote

The price of electricity doesn’t go down. It goes up every month.

Let’s say the system cost 20,000 total. After government rebates . Let’s use say the Current electric bill is $200 a month. That’s 2,400 a year. Plus the electric company pays me monthly for the power I create about $100 a month. So 1200 per year.

So it would take you about 5/6 years to break even. At todays electricity prices

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Status_Silver_5114 t1_jdurbfp wrote

We were already paying less than our Monthly bill has averaged out to since day 1 so were already saving money. Paid off in year 4. So yes we have free electricity. Not to mention the environmental impact. Healthy tax credits for installation and a state grant as well made paying it off even easier.

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Status_Silver_5114 t1_jdus66n wrote

Also we make so Much extra by the summer we have $100-200 in credits to work off of even before it gets super sunny so the price increase doesn’t impact negatively- our net metering credits take care of that. As I said we don’t lease. A lease says company x puts your system in for free and you pay a lower fixed amount (ie we have friends in Wakefield who leased and pay 70 a month which is still lower and they didn’t have install costs).

We’re getting a battery this month and RIE then sends us 1400 a year to have us run on battery when there’s stress on the grid on hot days.

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Status_Silver_5114 t1_jdurpcx wrote

We’ve been paid off since 2019. Before tax credit and grants I think it was 12k? Break even point was 2020 (we paid it off early) but we were already paying less per month to pay it off then we had been paying on pre solar elec. so it wasn’t costing us “more” to finance it. The money was going out to NG anyway even if we hadn’t bought a system so it’s not like skipping it was going to “save” money. And tax credit is now even higher than it was. When we installed it was only 22% now it’s 30%.

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SweatyCockroach8212 t1_jdv75rb wrote

For me, it's 6 1/2 years. Panels have a 20 year warranty.

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darkrom t1_jdv7krm wrote

That’s great that the breakeven is less than the warranty

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SweatyCockroach8212 t1_jdv7o6v wrote

Yep, so 13+ years of free electricity.

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Status_Silver_5114 t1_jdxih6j wrote

Also even at the twenty year mark the panels will still produce at roughly 95% so it’s not like on year 20 day 1 they stop working.

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Coincel_pro t1_jdv8c6d wrote

My current finance payment on my solar array is slightly less than my average NGrid bill was before the big rate hike. I have 6 years left to pay on that and another ~20 years after that of a functioning array.

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So, getting the array alone and switching a high monthly electric bill to a slightly lower finance bill it's already providing savings.

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Status_Silver_5114 t1_jdxkzxt wrote

This is the part that the vehemently anti solar by reflex folks miss. It’s saving you money from day 1 - it’s not like you are going to decide to not go solar AND then not have an electric bill.

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