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    • 1. Whether Solar Makes Sense for You
    • 2. What Solar Equipment to Get
    • 3. Who to Get It From
    • 4. How to Acquire It & Pay for It
  • Solar Info
    • 1. Are Solar Panels Worth their Cost? >
      • Is Your House Suitable for Solar
      • Introduction to Solar Loans
      • Environmental Benefits of Solar
    • 2. Solar Equipment >
      • Is 5kW the Right Size System for You?
      • Panel Efficiency, Output, & Price
      • Solar Roof Tiles
      • Solar Panel Inverters
      • Solar Panel Monitors
      • Solar Batteries
      • Solar Warranties, Guarantees, & Insurance
    • 3. Solar Installers >
      • Solar Panel Installer Qualifications
      • PV Watts Instructions
    • 4. Solar Financial Issues >
      • Current & Future SCE Rates
      • Inflation
      • Solar Rebates & Financial Aid
      • Solar Tax Credits & Deductions
      • Solar Increases Home Value
      • Solar Panel Risks
      • Solar Lease, Buy, or PPA
      • Solar Financing Options
  • SCE's Website
    • Net Metering
    • SCE Bill Help for Solar Owners
    • Your Average Bill & Yearly Usage
    • SCE phone numbers | Contact info for solar owners
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10/12/2016

 

Secondary Concerns You May Have About Solar

In considering solar, people often have questions or concerns of secondary importance: installation, appearance, use, maintenance, payback period, selling a house with solar, and environmental benefits.

These are in addition to the 4 main questions to consider when deciding whether to shop for a solar-PV (photo-voltaic) system: (1) Will solar pay, how much, and when? (2) Is your house suitable for solar? (3) Can you afford it? and (4) When is the best time to acquire it, now or later? The 
Solar Buying Guide - Step 1: Whether Solar Makes Sense for You is exactly what people need to answer these questions correctly for themselves.

This article gives brief answers to these secondary questions.
Doubts Questions Concerns about Solar Panels

Read More

 

10/11/2016

 

Solar Now or Later? Does it Pay to Wait?

Does it pay for SCE Homeowners to wait to get solar? ​Since solar technology is still improving each year, and since prices continue to fall, maybe it makes sense to wait for a few years to get a better system for less money. Here is a cost comparison for a typical SCE homeowner between getting it now or waiting for a year.

Actually, it doesn't make sense. Quality and efficiency of PV systems is likely to improve only gradually from now on. Prices have already fallen by 73% in the last nine years (about 7% per year), but are likely to fall slowly from now on, partly due to the phasing out of state tax incentives and utility rebates.

But suppose prices do continue to fall by 7%/year. For the SCE-customer homeowners we use throughout the site as an example, paying an average of $200 per month to SCE, assuming all the best choices for everything and taking all factors into account as before, what difference would this make?

If they postponed getting solar for one year, their net PV system costs over 20 years would decline by $540 to $1,760, depending on type of financing. But they'd lose about $1,900 in 1st-year savings. So waiting doesn't pay.

The ITC is scheduled to remain 30% through 2019 but will go down to 26% in 2020, 22% in 2021, and disappear in 2023. It represents a discount of about $7,000 on our homeowners' system, so it would be a shame to wait until that is reduced or no longer available. There are no California state income tax credits for solar.

Another reason to get solar sooner rather than later is possible future changes to electricity rate structures, such as changing the time of use periods for on-peak, off-peak, and super-off peak rates to reduce savings for new solar customers.

Solar is a great deal right now. Who knows how this might change as adoption rates soar in the future, as they are widely predicted to do? The only reason to wait would be if there's no way to afford it now.​

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    Solar Consumer Advisor, LLC

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