Payback Time For Solar Panels

How comparison shopping can improve your solar panel payback period.

Payback time for solar panels.

A home solar system in a state like virginia where the payback time of an investment in solar is around 12 years has an irr of about 8. If your cost of installing solar is 20 000 and your system is going to save you 2 500 a year on foregone energy bills your solar panel payback or break even point will be 8 years 20 000 2 500 8. The past decade the energy payback time for solar pv systems has been reduced drastically. Solar savings payback calculator.

Utility electricity offset by solar 1 296 80 percent offset solar payback period is 9 000 1 296 6 9 years. The energy payback time epbt of a power generating system is the time required to generate as much energy as is consumed during production and lifetime operation of the system. The calculator also allows you to compare a high quality photovoltaic pv system with a lower priced solar system and see the difference in payback time. A shorter payback period of 3 to 5 years is more common in parts of the country where utility electricity is higher like the north east and south west.

Payback times for a 5kw system in each capital city accurately predicting the time it takes for an investment in solar pv to pay off isn t straightforward so we asked the independent alternative technology association ata to calculate approximate payback times for a 5kw solar system in each capital city. The average payback period for a residential solar system in 2020 is about seven years. Because of this chasing a shorter payback time by reducing a system s size is often a false economy that can leave you wishing you installed a larger system from the start. They provided time frames for households with high daytime solar power usage 50.

How is the solar panel payback period calculated. Data from the energysage solar marketplace shows that in 2020 solar shoppers who compare their options in the marketplace can achieve payback on their solar investment in about 8 years. Is just above 8 years. A smaller solar power system can result in higher self consumption and a faster payback time but will result in smaller total savings on electricity bills.

On the other hand plenty of americans pay 9 to 13 cents per kilowatt hour. The typical solar payback period in the u s. Solar panels are at their cheapest price since 2010 so even though they re still a large investment the solar panel payback time could be shorter than ever. However with the feed in tariff a government scheme that entitles those generating energy from solar panels to 20 years of payments having closed in march 2019 it could be easy to.

The good news is there are many states with better irr and payback time than virginia especially in the northeast and california where electricity costs are very high. See how long it will take for a solar system to pay for itself.