Technology

I got a 25 year 0% loan for my solar panels and installed them after replacing the roof so their lifespan is about the same. I put $0 downpayment. My monthly cost for the solar loan now is less than what I paid monthly for electricity before and I'm generating 3-4x what I used to consume (on average).

I see several benefits: more electricity for less money, cooler house since heat on that side where the panels are installed never touches the roof now, value of the home for resale is higher (and the solar loan is transferable), you get to pay a steady price for electricity every month so you don't have to overbudget in case of high-use months in summer, inflation works for you (the monthly payment is the same in Dollar amount but the dollar is devalued over time), and you don't have to worry about electricity companies raising your rates.

The caveats/downsides that I've become aware of: the solar installer salesmen like to push the fact that you'll get a huge tax rebate but don't tell you the details (more on this below), getting an unsecured "solar loan" comes with a huge security fee they add on top of the base price (around 30% in my case), repair costs for damages.

Tax credit details: this only applies to the federal rebate, and you'll need to check if your state has an additional one. For the federal rebate, it is true that you get a huge refund. I got about 26% of the install cost back as a tax credit. However, for those of you unfamiliar with tax credits... this does not necessarily mean you'll get it all back in your next tax filing. If you only had $5k withheld in taxes for the year but you are expecting to get back $7k as a refund because you have a $7k solar tax credit, you will be disappointed. You will only get back $5k. The government will not give you back more than was withheld for the year. However, the extra $2k will roll over to the next year so you will eventually get the full tax credit. Just be aware of this before you go crazy and spend $50k on a huge solar system expecting to recoup a bunch come tax season. It may not work out for you. Plan accordingly.

I highly recommend getting a traditional loan or paying fully up front instead of a solar loan because you will save a ton of money on it overall, but then you will be in the red for a few years before you begin to break even, as you mentioned. Solar loans are convenient because you get to see those savings start immediately in the first month, but in the long run you'll pay more.

My system came with a warranty on parts (make sure it covers the hub, microinverters, and panels). I had one panel and several microinverters go bad in the first couple months or were defective. These were all replaced for free. It's been about 2 years now and I had no further problems. Home insurance typically does not cover solar but you can get an additional policy to cover them. In my case, it was not worth the money. I live in Florida so the only risk to my panels is hurricanes and they don't really damage panels as I'm not in a high impact area. We have already been hit by a Cat 4 and Cat 5 hurricane since installing our panels and have not had any damage. For hail damage, that's something to consider and definitely research. I can't advise you on that.

Speaking of weather, another consideration is snow. Solar panels heat themselves enough to melt snow so that's not an issue, but the additional weight on the roof needs to be considered, and some places have laws that state that roofs with solar panels need additional guard rails installed to break up sheets of snow and ice that may slide in hige sheets off of the panels. This is thankfully something I didn't have to worry about.

Something else to consider is that you either need to fork out tons of money for batteries or you'll still need to be connected to the grid, which means you still won't have power to your home if the grid goes down. This is an important consideration if you're planning to get solar to protect from an unreliable grid (like in Texas). It also may not be worth being connected to the grid unless you have net metering available. I do, which made it an attractive option for me, and that's what I went with. I'm hoping that big battery costs decrease enough in the next decade to add a battery to my home to use for emergencies like during natural disasters.

Overall, I am very happy with my solar system, even moreso now that I have an EV as well. Electricity costs me nothing, and now I've cut out gas cost for 1 vehicle too. I hope this information helps you in your decisions.