I keep hearing solar panels are a no-brainer, but my neighbor's setup tells a different story

My neighbor across the street put solar panels on his roof back in March. He was all excited about cutting his electric bill and helping the planet. But 6 months later, he's telling me his monthly savings are only about $15, and the panels cost him $12,000 after the tax credit. Plus he had to pay $400 extra to fix a leak in his roof that the installers supposedly caused. I'm not saying solar is bad, but I think people skip talking about the hidden costs and the long payoff time. Has anyone else seen numbers that don't add up once you look closer?

3 comments

3 Comments

rubyk261mo ago

Did your neighbor get multiple quotes before picking that installer? Because that $12,000 price tag for a system that saves $15 a month sounds like he got ripped off on the equipment itself. I'd be curious to know what size system he actually got and what his electric rates are.

jamie9401mo ago

Yeah that $15/month savings is brutal. Even if his electric rates are dirt cheap, a 12k system should still be saving way more than that. Sounds like he either got a tiny system or paid way too much per watt.

tessa_murray1mo ago

Wait, shouldn't the savings be based on what he would have paid his utility company, not just the $15 he sees now? Maybe he got net metering credits that roll over month to month, so the real savings come when his bill is zero in the sunny months. It's hard to judge a system's worth without knowing his full yearly electric usage and rates.