If solar panels pay for them selves in 5 years someone, somewhere is getting screwed brutally hard.
I went into this knowing that it would cost more to have solar.
I started with a bottom up approach, I asked different electrician companies who had done some solar installs who set them up. Quickly I accumulated a 2 lists, a definitely do not use list and a highly recommend list.
The top solar company for this area is green solar from California. They were one of the more expensive companies but the electricians said green solar used the best racking on the market and they have yet to get a call back for anything other than softball size hail.
Financing company is sunight financial, a 12 year loan for about 7% interest. Financing increases the overall sticker price by just about exactly 50%.
I could have gotten a 20 year loan.
I don't do leases. Leases are for people who failed math.
A 20 year loan on a depreciating asset also for people who failed math, that would make the payment cheaper than my power bill, with a slightly higher interest rate would just about double finance charges.
Financing charges would cost as much as the entire system.
The plan is pay it off in 4 to 6 years, because I really don't like renting money. Debt is the enemy. This is actually my first non realestate loan.
Pay it off in 6 years, financing charges only add about 25% to the sticker price.
If I did the 12 year loan there is a good chance the system would never pay for it's self unless rates when up a lot.
It's a little hard for solar to compete in a market that hasn't been turned upside down by good intentions.
You can look up my surcharge and kwh rate, it's public information. Not my fault solar can't compete with a $25 surcharge and 7.7 cents per kwh day or night.
If I had gone with a fly by night company they probably could have gotten me in right at or a little under my spring summer and fall power bill. But it would only be cheaper for as long as there isn't a problem.