Are We Getting Scammed with Solar?

If you have solar, do you feel like you’ve gotten your value or do you feel ripped off? Use code UNDECIDED50 to get 50% OFF your first Factor box plus 20% off your next box at bit.ly/3TiVmO8! If you liked this, check out Top 5 Batteries for Home (And One You Might Not Expect) https://youtu.be/Dr1VTc-io1k?list=PLnTSM-ORSgi6ObB8Ao0IpRhOgYO27wbSd

So far it seems these people are saying "solar is a scam because its not worth it to me" Thats not how scams work....

I'm fortunate to reside in Australia, where the setup cost for a 9.62kW SunPower panel system combined with a 10kWh SENEC v3 battery is significantly lower, at US$11K installed. And because I’m in Western Australia, known for its high sun exposure, allows me to generate close to 15,000 kWh annually! This ample solar energy not only powers my entire household, including the swimming pool, but also charges my EV during the daytime, as I work from home. Consequently, I haven't incurred any charging costs for the past 7 months. In 2023, my total electricity bills amounted to less than US$175, despite including the charging costs for my EV, which has covered 30,000km (18.6k miles) annually. Suffice it to say, the system has more than paid for itself!

Florida resident and solar home owner here. I used to pay around $350 to $400/month for my electric consumption but that was 4 years ago when electricity was 10 cents/kWh. I told septics costs typically go up significantly each year, something people tend to scoff at as hype for solar. In fact I was skeptical. But here we are today at $16 cents/kWh. I calculated my break even at 10 to 12 years based on the 10 cent rate. Another thing people overlook was best expressed by Ben Franklin, “a penny saved is a penny earned”. My solar investment is returning close to 8% in “savings” or earnings depending on how you look at it. Had you invested that money in a bond, for example, the 8% return would be taxable. The return on your solar investment is tax free. Not only that, because of the 25% federal tax credit I was able use IRA money that would have not only been taxed as income but would have counted to increase the amount of SS income taxable effectively tax free. Plus in FL there is no sales tax on solar equipment or labor. Add to that the increase in the value of your home attributed to solar is not assessable by property taxes. Critics can say what they want but often it’s politically motivated. My feeing is criticize all you want while I laugh all the way to the bank.

As an Australian I can confirm - my 7kw solar system cost $8k installed before subsidies, which reduced it to $4k. My solar system has already paid for itself after 4 years.

I did a DIY install. When getting the paperwork ready for the permit application, I did a lot of homework. I researched county and city codes to see what I could and could not do. I created very detailed drawings on how and where I was going to install everything including specs for all the parts. When I turned in my application, I was told they would let me know when it was approved. They called ten minutes later (on my way home) to let me know the permit has been issued. I turned around, picked it up and started installing the next day. I had everything installed in two days. The county inspector came out on the third day and approved everything. The electric company came out on the fourth day, did their tests then installed the bidirectional meter and I was online. The county inspector told me my detailed application made it easy for them to approve the permit.

As an engineer, I really apricate your breakdown of different renewable energy sources. There is a quote from one of your videos that sums it up "its not about getting a silver bullet, it is choosing the bullet appropriate for the situation" These videos have helped me learn and understand more about the world of renewables. Keep up the great work!

We built a house in Vermont. Occupied it in October 2019. Had a total of 20 PV panels on 3 sections of roof. 10 face south, 5 east and 5 west. Max generation is 400 watts per panel. Cost was $23000. In 2023 we finished a separate 3 car garage. Last fall we added 22 440 watt panels on the south facing roof and 2 Tesla Powerwalls. The Tesla control panel is awesome and can full control from the Tesla app. Before tax credit the was $46,000. An unplanned expense was $7500 for the electric company to furnish and install a 25 kW transformer to replace the existing 10 kW one. We got a 30% federal tax credit on the whole cost. Up here we don’t get as much sun as we would want, but we still get power even on some rainy days. On those good days we charge the batteries and run the house on solar during the day and batteries at night. Excess goes to the grid. Chargers our cars the same way. We don’t dare about payback. It’s an investment in preserving our planet, which is payback enough.

The fact that solar installation is mired in so many details related permits, installation, configurations and cost, makes your channel and others more valuable.

I dislike video titles like this. Or do I?

In South Africa it easily makes sense, as we get rolling power cuts daily, between 2 - 12 hours

Its not just the USA that has issues on solar installation costs. Here in Atlantic Canada, electric installation of any sort are subject to an inspection of, get this, LABOUR costs, and if the installer does not charge the IBEW rates they can lose their LICENSE to operate in the area. Its simply ridiculous, especially when the power utility inspectors enforce IBEW rules.....They are employed by the POWER utility, not the IBEW, and should therefore be required to simply inspect the quality of the job that it conforms to local and national codes, NOT IBEW rules. Sorry for the rant, here. Love your videos, Matt!

Great job on breaking down the comments Matt. Your viewing of this from a broader view is what makes this channel so good. No bias.

My DIY 5.2 kw microinverter system paid for itself in less than 4 years. The key is not using scam companies.

I look at my solar panels I installed in August of 2018 as being free. From the beginning, I spend less on the monthly payoff of the loan than I have in power generation. Now, I spent years researching and took advantage of federal rebates and I live in west central Florida. I also get to sell my overage back to the power company at a 1:1 rebate. In fact, I added additional panels a couple of years later when our household got its first plugin hybrid which then added a Tesla Model 3. In the first few years, my cost for electricity dropped to about $200 per year. After doing some other cost savings (upgrading attic insulation, getting more efficient in house electricity usage, etc.). I haven’t paid for electricity since summer of 2022. As Matt stated, it depends on your situation, which is how virtually any major investment you do has to be viewed.

I've had solar panels on my house since 2019. The company that installed them also sold me on better insulation, which cost a lot and didn't make much difference in heat/cooling losses. As an Oregon resident, any extra annual solar energy that is generated is given away once a year, and residents are not allowed to build systems that would generate more than your average annual usage. We also still have to pay a flat $12+ monthly fee to be connected to the grid--a fact no one told me before I had the panels installed. All that said, I wish I could have more solar panels, and I plan to install a battery wall eventually (but not from Tesla and not while it costs $20k).

A huge factor of solar "being a scam" is how these resellers rip you off charging at least 4x on the panels so you're better off buying your own materials. Even the batteries. They're basically adult legos. Tesla powerwall is $13,000 and stores 13.5kWh. You can pickup the cells to make a 14.3 (I'm discharge testing 16.1kWh) for $1,640 +tax&ship

I got an offer to install solar panels for $50k and a loan offer at 7% with $4000 in fees. $54k at 7% the interest is a bit over $3500 per year. I paid $2121 for electricity last year. Electricity is around $0.14 per KWH here in Texas. Under those circumstances it doesn't make sense to do solar ATM. We will focus on paying off debt. We can be debt free in 2-3 years and then revisit the topic. BTW Nice liquid cooling setup!

I'm not speaking to solar, but to being ripped off and DIY in general. A week ago, I added ductless mini split heat pumps to the duplex I own / live in. [One system for each flat.] I got my estimates, and started researching. I found out that the exact equipment quoted in the bids cost less than 40% of the total bid. Did I feel the HVAC companies were ripping me off? No, because ... - First, I may be a tech geek, and might have been researching this stuff since I was a teen in the early 1970s ... yes, I'm a little old Boomer Lady. - Because I'm old, also in declining health and living alone, there's no way I could physically handle this d-i-y. - The duplex was built in 1900, with old electrical, lath and plaster walls, and fiber-cement siding. I don't have experience dealing with any of that. - I learn well from written instructions, but not nearly as well as if I had training courses from the manufacturer I could go on ... on the install day, I had 5 installers show up, all highly trained with those certifications. 6 hours later, both systems were up and running ... except the smart home controller on my unit. That's where my d-i-y skills took over ... while the installer was reading the 56 page PDF I started playing around on the app on my iPad, got everything connected, then taught him how I did it. [I'm a professional web developer and "help guru". Setting up a smart home controller is easy for me.] Conclusion: before saying "if you don't d-i-y, you're being ripped off" check all the confounding factors. I would never install my own solar or heat pumps ... I would also never pay anyone to paint my home interiors.

Thank you for your tactful approach to criticism. I personally appreciate the structured, informative design of your videos, drawn from your personal experiences and research. Even if you have additional motive for compensations through promotions and ad revenue, you still provide favorable information in unbiased ways that can be incredibly valuable for your viewers. Plus, you meticulously cite your resources.