The most simple way of doing this is to evaluate your monthly utility bills, and for optimal accuracy, take a look at the previous 3-12 months.
A professional installer will size your system based on the peak-sun-hours in your specific location, and how many kilowatts per hour (kWh) of power you normally use as a general rule of calculation, you would multiply solar energy produced in kWhs by the cost of electricity in kWh.
Then divide the cost of the solar electric PV system by the price of electricity. The result is the time it will take for you to recoup your initial investment.
As an example, see the calculations below for a 13.14kW Solar System in Wellington, Florida…
- City: Wellington, Florida
- What solar system power: 13.14kW
- Cost of solar panels in Florida (2021) =$2.91/watt
- Solar installation capital cost = $38,237.4 – $9,941.72 federal tax credit = $28,295.68
- Year 1
- Wellington, FL residential electricity cost per kW = 11.65 cents/kWh
- 25 year value of electricity produced from Utility Company = $45,390
- Cost of same electricity produced from Solar: $28,295.68
- 25 year savings: $17,094.32
Note: This payback calculation doesn’t even take into account the rising cost of residential electricity (compounding interest), which is rising at around 3%-4% every year. So you see, switching to a lower – and more importantly a fixed – solar monthly payment is where the major savings in the tens of thousands of dollars comes into play. Of course, even after seeing this breakdown, you may still want to make sure that you have done all of your calculations correctly… Naturally, you may still have some other questions that need to be answered to help you make a confident and informed decision… Which is why our team at Solarize USA will be happy to educate you further on the process, and provide you with the most accurate estimate for power generation rates and payback time for your specific household to help you determine if changing to solar would be worth it for you. Your consultation and solar report will be 100% free!
