Posted: 4/3/2026 7:57:29 PM EDT
| Doing my every couple year due diligence. Prices have fallen some. Still pretty spendy though. Any positive setup experiences? |
Joined:
Jun 2025
Posts:
4
EE: 0% (0)
WA, USA
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I've had my solar system since late 2019. SolarEdge, 9.85kWp, 27 panels. Installed in 2 daysphysical on day 1, electrician on day 2. 6 1/2 years later, its still running like a clock and has been worth every penny of the cost from the savings on my electric bill. The big question is are the batteries worth it for you. When I had mine installed, the company that installed it talked me out if the battery backup. They said the price of the batteries, with the history of rare power blackouts in the area would be a big waste of money. They were right. We've had 3 blackouts in the 6 1/2 years since the install, longest was 3 hours. |
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My personal opinion for MOST folks is -probably not worth it. Energy is too cheap, solar hours are too little, better off sticking that money in investments. Down here in Phoenix where we have endless hours of sun year round, a good chunk of demand is during peak solar hours (AC), and rates are quite a bit higher, makes a lot more sense. HOWEVER, if you're doing work yourself and can deal with the annoying permitting or get a deal on a system somehow and you get the system you want for a decent price OR if it serves maybe some other purpose like maybe battery backup (costs are higher) or grid independence it can be worth it. But, requirement number 1: You have a property that works for solar, good unobstructed area with solar visibility (usually south facing) which many don't have. Requirement number 2: it needs to offset a substantial power bill relative to purchase cost. The cheapest and thus usually quickest to pay back systems are as said above, grid tie. WA has legislated fair strong net metering requirements for utilities which also helps as inevitably a good chunk of your generation is going to flow back to the grid when you cannot use it all and that helps you use it to offset your usage outside generating hours. People that are paying higher rates and have higher bills to offset are more favorable, solar costs dont usually scale linearly, sizing the system and adding panels is only part of the buy costs, so in general bigger bills with bigger systems have more potential. You gotta run the numbers, estimate initial costs, estimate the energy cost offset, and compare that to expected investment performance. As more places creep rates up and start pushing ToU schemes they make more sense, but I wouldn't buy on a maybe rates go up more mentality. Rates are still pretty cheap in most parts of WA and in most places flat rate (no ToU), PSE and SCL are getting there though. |