Buying Solar Panels Vs Paying For Electricity

When you purchase solar panels you pay off the system immediately and then have no more monthly payments.

Buying solar panels vs paying for electricity.

Cash buying your solar electric system outright is best. Power purchase agreements ppas work much like solar leases but instead of renting the system you agree to pay a set price for the electricity the system produces. The higher your bill the more likely you ll benefit from switching. If you lease the system or sign a power purchase agreement ppa a third party owns the solar panel system.

An average sized residential solar system about 400 square feet of solar panels costs 18 000 according to the solar energy industries association an industry group. Clearly solar power is more cost effective than regular or standard electricity. In a lease you pay to rent the solar power system typically for about 20 percent less than you were paying for electricity explained freedom forever solar ceo brett bouchy. In some parts of the country you can pay as little as 8 cents per kwh.

Decide how you re going to pay for the system purchase lease or what s known as a solar power purchase agreement in which the consumer buys the power but doesn t own the system. How much do you pay for electricity. According to the world economic forum wef installing new solar panels is cheaper than a comparable investment in coal natural gas or other fossil fuel options. For example electricity from utility scale solar systems typically large arrays where panels slowly change tilt and orientation to face the sun all day usually costs less than electricity produced from solar panels fixed on someone s home.

Your current electricity bill is the largest factor in determining how much you ll save by installing solar. Solar panels generate their own power and can therefore greatly offset your monthly electricity bill if not eliminate it. You pay your utility company for every kilowatt hour kwh of electricity you use and your rate varies significantly depending on where you live. If you buy a solar panel system you own the system either outright if purchasing with cash or after repaying your solar loan.

The main practical distinction between buying and leasing a solar pv system is in ownership. The tax break reduces. In others you ll pay 20 cents or more. However when you buy the system outright your long term savings will be substantially larger.