Is Going Solar Worth it?

There seems to be more and more incentives from the state end federal to encourage homeowners install solar panels on their roofs: Tax credit 30%, Transition Renewable Energy Certificate (TREC), free roof replacement program?

Many utility companies even our JCP&L offers net-metering. Meaning if you produce more energy, the companies will buy it from you. Sort of a reverse electric billing, having your extra solar energy feeding back into the grid to the electricity company.

I am thinking more seriously about this starting this week because of the ads I responded to: SolarSesame on Facebook. Then recalling the youtuber BeatTheBush who installed such in California few years ago as DIY $300 experiment. The problem is, I think you need to apply for permit to do this so I don't see how I can do this myself for a few hundred dollars as an "experiment". However, it seems that Tesla maybe a good installer company to go with after much review: $11k - $23k.

Of course, I don't think $10k+ is incentive enough for me to consider this. Our electricity bill goes from $57 to $245 over the last 24 months, that's about $107/month on average, which means it will take at least 11-12 years to have the cost pay itself back. So it's not quite worth it unless I install it myself (or hire my own electrician for it), figuring that would cost less than $5k.

But I'll post all the videos and link below that are relevant:

https://www.firstenergycorp.com/feconnect/newjersey.html

This entry was posted in Home Improvement, Projects. Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to Is Going Solar Worth it?

  1. timlyg says:

    A good guide in looking into Solar Panels building code/regulations/benefits in Jersey is this site:
    https://ecogenamerica.com/free-solar-panels-nj/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.