The best time to get solar is when a house is built, or a roof is replaced, especially if you can combine the install with a financing event that's going to let you finance the system for 20-30 years with low interest rates. Not only is there a 26% federal tax credit for solar, but many states offer generous incentives/rebates as well. Capture them!
It's fiscally a no brainer. $20k over 30 years at 4% is $95/month. Mortgage rates will only continue to go down (and are already below 4%) due to macro issues, and residential solar install costs also will drop as the scale ramps. These mandates drive down costs, in the same way EV credits helped Tesla reach scale to offer the Model 3 at an affordable price.
Disclaimer: I review system quotes and advise on solar installs for friends, family, and internet strangers, but am not a solar professional (yet; if you're a utility scale developer in need of any role [system design, project management, finance], I'd be interested!).
[1] https://www.solarpowerrocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/s... (updated 10/23/2018)
There was actually a humorous episode when a guy from a solar installer came to our office to advertise how much economic sense their solar panels make. He gave all the exciting numbers and everything, and then someone asked him to show some numbers from an actual installation, at that particular time of day. So he brings up a web GUI for a 50KW commercial install, which at the moment was producing something like 2.5KW. Awkward.
Ultimately, though, that's not why I didn't go with solar. Our HOA doesn't allow it. I would actually welcome a law which would limit the HOA's say in such matters, or eliminate it entirely.
I'm not sure what state you're in, but several states prohibit an HOA by law from preventing you from installing rooftop solar. You should check if your state has such legislation, and if not, champion it. I'll even do it for you if you don't want to spend the time (until I can get federal legislation passed).
Top hit on Google: "Solar panels generally require very little maintenance. They are very durable and should last around 25-30 years with no maintenance. The only maintenance you should need to perform is to wash them clean of dirt and dust two to four times a year, which you can easily do with a garden hose."
Sounds expensive, if panels are installed on the roof. And you can't wash off pollen by just casually spraying it with a "garden hose".
HomeAdvisor quotes $100-350 a pop. As a homeowner I'd expect the actual cost to be closer to the upper end of the range. Tradesmen won't get out of bed in the morning for less than $200. To wash windows in my house from outside only is $300.
For example, ComEd in Illinois is offering incentives on top of state and federal incentives for rooftop solar due to a state renewables mix mandate, and their fleet of commercial nuclear reactors are reaching the end of their service life (and aren't cost competitive with wind and solar in the state, even accounting for the need for battery storage to meet capacity requirements).
(Oops, then edited it to double that estimate)
>Your investment is recouped in 8-13 years.
So, right when you recoup your investment, the 10 year warranty runs out. Great.
You're right. 4 on this list have 25 year warranties... but the rest.. ouch.
I pay ~$50/month and that would offset most of my bill (net metering resets at year end, so I'm likely to pay most of Jan+Feb), so it should pay for itself in 10-15 years, probably closer to 10 since my numbers are very conservative (low estimate for electricity, high estimate for installation & parts, low electricity cost). Panels are under warranty for 20 years, and they immediately add value to my house, so it's a net win as soon as they are installed.
I wonder if this was communicated to those responding to the poll. In SV and SF $20K might not seem like much, but not all of CA is that well off.