PV Gap

Jessie Said:

how much money does solar panels save?

We Answered:

I can tell you for a fact you can save money with solar panels. I have a system. I have a 3.74 kw dc system which cost $26K, I got a $10K rebate from my utility and a $2K fed tax credit. I will break even or get ROI in 6-7 years. My system generates about $2K of energy per year.

The benefit of a school is most of the energy will be produced during the time that the students are using the facility so you may see a better return. I still use much of my energy when the sun goes down. All businesses get a 30% fed tax credit when they install a system, and many states offer larger rebates to businesses.

There are many factors that will determine the efficiency of the panels, my orientation isn't ideal so that drops my production a little. Shade can reduce the number of hours a panel can produce. The number of hours of sunlight and the number of days it is cloudy can affect production as well. Your utility policies can have an economic impact, not all utilities allow the meter to run backwards or buy back the excess energy you produce, most schools are out of session during the longest most productive days.

The biggest problem for solar is the large initial payment, without grants or loans it is unlikely a school would have the money to put up a large system. There is no need to zero out the bill, even a partial system can save money.