- We have plenty of sunshine.
- Tons of green incentives.
- And the sheer number of installation companies helps to keep costs incredibly low.
How low?
They can be $0 if you explore solar leases. We don’t recommend this approach for the reasons listed here. But it’s possible to receive a new installation for absolutely zero money.
However, if you want to enjoy all the benefits that come with owning a photovoltaic (PV) system, solar installation costs in San Diego are still pretty low.
On average, the upfront cost of a new installation is about $10K (after all incentives and tax credits have been applied).
And of course, no discussion about solar costs would be complete without looking at the opportunity cost of NOT installing panels (discussed down below).
So with $10K as our starting point, let’s look at the Good, the Bad, and the Awesome of solar installation costs in San Diego.
The Good, the Bad, and the Awesome
Okay. Ready to dive in? We’ll start with the Bad first.
The Bad of Solar Energy
The worst thing you can say about solar power is that it isn’t 100% free. It uses free energy. And a well-installed system can last 40+ years with minimal maintenance. But the installation itself costs money.
How much? Well – on average about $10K for a residential system. This fact scares some prospective buyers away, but it shouldn’t.
Let’s explore why.
The Good of Solar Energy
Solar pays for itself. And it pays for itself very quickly.
When you install panels on your rooftop, your electricity bill goes down immediately. Imagine having an extra $100 or more in your pocket every month.
Now imagine that in order to finance your system, you took out a low interest loan (which is exactly what many people do). Every month, you have to pay back a portion of this loan until your debt is fully covered. But as long as your monthly loan payments are $99 or less, you’re sitting pretty with an extra $1 in your pocket.
This means that even with a loan, you’re still paying less money than if you hadn’t gone solar at all. That’s pretty good. But it gets better.
Once your loan is paid off (in about 4 to 6 years on average), you have no more expenses. Just free electricity for the remaining lifetime of your 40+ year solar PV installation.
But it gets even better than that. Let’s look at the Awesome.
The Awesome of Solar Energy
Earlier this week, we looked at an interesting concept called opportunity cost. In short, this is what you’d pay by NOT going solar.
Let’s say your current electricity bill is $100 a month. If prices don’t change, you’ll end up paying $48,000 in utility bills over the next 40 years. But prices will definitely change over that time – probably by a lot. $48,000 could easily become $100,000 in 4 decades.
With solar, however, it’s a very different story. Over those 40 years, you’ll have paid only $10,000 – almost exclusively with a loan that didn’t cost you anything extra. In fact, the loan helped you save money immediately (at least $1 a month).
Solar Installation Costs in San Diego Are Incredible
Ultimately, the choice is yours. But we think it’s an easy choice.
You have 2 options:
- Option 1 – Go solar, pay less money (for the next 5 years), and then pay no money (for the remaining 35 years). Oh – and you’re also helping the environment at the same time.
- Option 2 – Pay $100+ a month for the next 40 years for a grand total of $48,000 (or more). And destroy the planet in the meantime.
It’s a pretty easy decision. But we’re here to make it even simpler.
Contact us today for a 100% free consultation. You can explore your solar options (and run through the numbers) without paying a single dime.
