Sun Power in the Sunshine State: Worth it?

Today’s thin solar panels hug this modern home’s roof, unseen from ground level.

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“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.”

Who do you think said that? If you don’t already know, you’ll never guess.

It was Thomas Edison. In 1931.

Well, Mr. Edison, we didn’t have to wait for oil and coal to run out. Scientists and engineers have tackled solar power -- the natural energy of the sun to produce electricity -- and dramatically improved the technology it involves over the past two or three decades. Today, the prospect of running our homes on the power we generate from our own, stylistically unobtrusive solar energy system is not “futuristic” or “weird” but pretty much mainstream.

Here's a statement from the National Council for Solar Growth (NCSG) that will amaze and, we hope, delight you -- unless you're the CEO of a coal or oil producer:

"Recent renewable energy reports suggest that by 2050, solar energy will be the most widely used source of electricity across the globe."

The solar energy industry has also created two new professions: solar installers and solar engineers. If you’re considering a solar energy system for your renovation or new home, you will meet both pros as you work together to answer three key questions:

1.     What kind of system will I need?

2.     What’s it going to cost up front?

3.     What’s my return on investment?

Many factors will determine what type of solar system you need, from your house’s form and orientation on your property to whether you want to generate part of your energy needs from your solar system or an abundance.

If you produce more energy than your house needs, you can use it to power an electric car, for example. Or you can feed it back into the grid for credit from the utility company. This is called Net Metering. For example, both Duke Energy in North Carolina and Florida Power & Light have Net Metering programs. A solar aggregator will have to handle this for you for a small fee, but you’ll still come out on top. Imagine the utility companying owing you money instead of the other way around. To see the average cost of a system and its installation in Florida city by city, check out EnergySage.com.

Obviously, the type of system you choose will determine the up-front costs. But here’s where the up-front savings, via rebates and tax credits, kick in. Solar rebates, paid by the State, can be as much $2,000 right off the top. Also in Florida, residents don’t have to pay sales tax on their systems. That’s a seven percent savings right there. Here’s another perk from the Sunshine State: Adding value to your home via a solar energy system will not increase your property tax.

Now add the Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) to those perks and incentives. The ITC allows you to deduct 30 percent of the entire cost of purchasing and installing a rooftop solar energy system from your federal taxes. (Unfortunately, under the current policy that percentage will start to drop as of January 1, 2020, but not to the point of discouraging the process.)  

These are a few ways to offset the up-front costs of a solar energy system. What about long term costs and ROI?

According to the NCSG, five years is the average time it takes for a solar system to pay for itself. After that, the more energy you generate from your system, the less money you pay to a utility company. The solar engineer who will come to assess your home and energy needs will help you make sure free or nearly free energy is in your future. 

But don’t forget another reason for choosing solar: the environmental impact. Unlike fossil fuel power, solar is clean, renewable, and sustainable, relying upon one of the most natural resources in the world: the sun. It has no negative impact on the planet whatsoever. Even the energy used to produce photovoltaic cells is paid back soon after. And as this billboard asserts: