The Financial Benefits of Solar: Payback timeframes range from Immediately cash-flow-positive to over 15-years. The long term investment can be well over 1000%.

Investing in solar electricity / photovoltaics / PV can be very lucrative. Some of our customers are realizing a 10-year return on their investment of 50% or more, with 20-year payback of 500%, and 40-year payback of 1500% or more.Some of our customers have enjoyed instant an instant cash-flow-positive pro-forma. However a typical Arch Electric client has a payback timeframe between 6 and 12 years. This varies for many reasons, but the main factors are jobsite conditions (accessibility of roof or ground-mount area) and incentives.The Good News!!! Solar PV equipment, materials, and products have come down in price over the past year – significantly. Furthermore, Arch Electric has been very busy with Solar PV installs over the past 7-years (EXTREMELY Busy over the past 3-years) so we are becoming very efficient. Our Solar PV Team consists of 4 NABCEP Certified Installers and other Journeymen Electricians and Apprentices who install Solar PV 90% of the time.Don’t be afraid that Utility and Government Incentives & Grants are slowly going away. Two points to remember:

  • There are still very good grants and incentives in place – we are experts at maximizing your incentive levels.
  • The cost of components has come down so much, that investing in Solar PV has never looked better.
Financial incentives of nearly $53,000 provided by Focus on Energy.

Financial incentives of nearly $53,000 provided by Focus on Energy and Alliant Energy.

Between 2000 and 2009 the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory analyzed 72,000 homes sold in California. They discovered that installing a Solar PV Array increases a home’s value an average of $17,000 (or $5,500 per kilowatt). Homes with grid-tied Solar PV systems attracted higher offers from buyers who wanted to save money on utility bills and do the right thing for the environment.

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) determined that “on average, homeowners fully recover their costs of installing solar panels upon sale of the property”. They also reported that Solar PV homes typically sell for 4% more than comparable homes without solar. This same NBER study also confirmed the many environmental benefits of Solar PV – they documented noticeable reductions in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, among others.