What I Have Learned With Solar Panels On My Roof For Three Years

Elena and I have passed a milestone today. The solar power system on the roof of our house has been operational for three years. The system has produced 19.4 megawatts of power. It has kept 30,071.4 pounds of CO2 gas out of the atmosphere. In an operational sense, it has been an unqualified success. Economically it has been a huge challenge requiring a learning curve to get it right. Elena was skeptical of the whole project. She had one question as follows: "How long will it take to recover our investment?" I started an Excel spreadsheet with the old monthly PG &E bill and the new lower bill with solar power online. It would take 4-5 years to recover our initial investment. Our reader Dan Miller of BAY CPA came to our rescue. He carefully researched the IRS Solar Tax Credit. We recovered our whole investment in two years with the tax credit. The monthly electric bill savings was "a cherry on top of the cake." I got a rude shock economically. I assumed that with solar power I could relax all the careful things I had done to conserve energy. I got a shock electric bill. You must continue all your good habits in power conservation. I learned something else surprising. When the electric power fails, the solar panels stop producing power. Our generator is a lifesaver that keeps the power on. With solar batteries, you would probably get the same electricity in the house without interruption.