How Many Years To Break Even On Solar Panels

If your cost of installing solar is 20 000 and your system is going to save you 2 500 a year on foregone energy bills your solar panel payback or break even point will be 8 years 20 000 2 500 8.

How many years to break even on solar panels.

Interpreting the solar nerd payback graph. Increased utility electricity rates and lower equipment costs are making it easier and less expensive to for homeowners to own rather than lease their solar panel systems. Example of the break even graph from the solar nerd calculator. Given that many solar panels and inverters come with 25 year product warranties you can expect more than two decades of trouble free operation from your solar array.

The graph above is a screenshot from the solar nerd calculator. The solar panel payback period is a calculation that estimates how long it will take for you to break even on your solar energy investment. For example if you spend 16 000 on a solar panel system then get a tax break of 4 000 the cost after incentives is 12 000. Solar panels are typically under warranty for 25 years so that s the standard figure used for the lifetime of a system although it s often much longer.