Is it worth it to put Solar Panels on your roof?

[Anonymous]

Like is it more costly in the long run or can help save money in electricity?

[horatiohornblower]

It depends on a range of factors.

- Hours of sunlight per day where you live

- Type of system you set up

- How optimal the angle and orientation is of your roof to the sun

- DIY installation, partial DIY, full professional install

- Do you want it to work during a blackout (this involves huge batteries and other additional equipment and greatly increases cost)

- Cost of energy in your area and expected increases over the useful life

- Will you stay in the same house all your life

- Can you install it on the ground

- Are there surrounding structures which will cast shade? Do neighbors have young trees which may start casting shade on the panels as they grow?

Anyways, you can have a system which can pay for itself and save money long term. If all the factors which go into it are in your favor. Like where I live. I can do a ground mount system. I can also do a lot of the work myself.

Based on my energy usage and current energy prices. It would take 12 years to break even. This would probably take 20-25 years if I had to roof mount and pay someone to do everything. Which would be about the time you'd need to replace the system. These time frames go down if energy prices increase.

[docster]

It depends on several factors.

How long do you plan to own the house? It may take quite a few years to break even.

How old you are. If the owners are over 50, it might not break even in their lifetime.

How old the roofing is. You don't want to install a bunch of modules and then five or ten years later have to take them down to reroof the house.

Do you want to have battery backup or just a grid-intertied, batteryless system? A batteryless system breaks even in a reasonable amount of years. A system with battery backup might not ever break even.

How much sunshine does your area get per day on average and are there trees on the south side of the property (assuming you're in the northern hemisphere)?

After going over the above questions, you might want to check the website of your electric company and see if they offer financial incentives to add solar. They may have a list of approved solar installers.

[Asker]

I like in South East Asia So

[jshm2]

Yes.

Unless you are an absolute fuckwit, there is little chance you will lose money on a solar setup.

Most causes of failure are down to the individual picking the wrong options. Sort of like buying a shit car, because of what you wanted, rather than needed.

[Asker]

Well some solar panels have battery and battery only last for like 3 years you need to replace it. The battery itself is very expensive

[BCA6010]

There's a lot of factors to take into consideration that will more than likely require a consultation for accuracy, but generally no, or at least not as much as you may think.

It takes an average of about 5 years for solar panels to pay for themselves even in ideal conditions, but the solar panels typically need replacement not long after that, if they don't get damaged for some reason sooner.

[Astarlessnightsky]

Depends on your region, how many sunny days you got per year and wether or not they get damaged or covered up with hail or dust...

And also look into how shitty laws are regarding restrictions and permits and how much you actually save in electricity.

But i guess in the long run its definetly worth it, also energy prices are more likely to go up, so every bit extra helps.

[Massageman]

I'd agree with Horatio below. There are spreadsheets on the web that can be used to calculate your breakeven points, etc. We have a "perfect" set-up- no trees blocking a lovely south-facing slab of roof. But at over 70 YOA, I don't think we'd live to see the BE point, even after the govt "allowances" for said installation.

[exitseven]

I have had people tell me having solar panels have saved them money and others have said not really. There have been many that have had their roof damaged by the process. It does not increase your property values either.

[NotTacocaT6969]

It’s only worth it if the roof of your house gets a whole lot of sunlight.

[gorydetails]

It would take decades to recoup your investment

[Guy13]

No it is not if you care about your Green.