After going solar, you’ll start saving on monthly electricity off the bat. But when will your savings actually cover the upfront costs of solar power installation? Online searches show estimates you’ll break even on going solar anywhere from three to fifteen years, or more, after installation. That’s a big range! So let’s make an educated estimate based on the facts of your own situation.

According to our math, savings from the average home solar power will start paying for itself five to ten years after installation. Let’s take a look at how we found these numbers so you can figure out which side of the 5-10 year range you may land on. We’ll also consider maintenance costs and how to monetize your solar so you can break even quicker.

• When Will Savings on Monthly Bills Cover Going Solar?
• Monetizing Your Home Solar
• Smart Maintenance to Keep Solar Power Costs Low

When Will Savings on Monthly Bills Cover Going Solar?

As you save on your monthly energy bills, the expense of solar will pay for itself over time. With a solar installation of the right size, your bills can be close to nothing. Your energy bill could even hit zero if you use solar net metering.

How much time will it take? First, find your current annual electricity expenses. Next, estimate your home solar panel cost to learn the average cost of installation is in your region. After you have those two numbers, you’ll need to do some simple math: Divide the estimated installation costs but your annual electricity expenses. This will give you an immediate ballpark estimate of how many years it might take to break even.

But if your annual electricity expense isn’t handy, we can start by working with some average numbers. As an example, let’s consider a household located in Hawaii. For a relatively large home solar system producing 6kWh of power, which is a little more than the national average, solar power costs around $13,142 U.S. dollars. (That’s after tax credits have already been applied.) In Hawaii, the average annual energy bill was $2,018.52 ($168.21 per month) in 2019. ^[1]U.S. Energy Information Administration With these numbers, we can see that it would take 6 1/2 years for this household’s energy savings to completely pay for solar power costs.

If your home solar is correctly installed, it could have a life of over 25 years. Depending on your energy bill, installation costs in your region, and the size of your solar installation, you could be looking over 18 years of free solar energy after breaking even on solar power costs. These savings really justify the upfront price tag of going solar.

Monetizing Your Home Solar

Want to speed up your pathway to savings? Well, there’s a way your solar could actually be making you passive income. This becomes possible if you can certify and then sell rights to your solar power. That practice is called selling SRECs, and it takes place in the SREC marketplace. Some people can make thousands per year in SREC profits, and it’s one way of getting your solar to pay for itself more quickly. 

Smart Maintenance to Keep Solar Power Costs Low

Solar panels are surprisingly easy to maintain. They don’t even require cleaning! ^[2]UC San Diego But what about other, large-scale maintenance needs? Most home solar systems come with long-lasting warranties. A good solar warranty will cover your panels far beyond the the point you’ll break even on installation costs. And that means the cost of maintenance won’t stop you from reaching your goal of enjoying years of free solar power. But of course, that all rests on getting a good warranty on the solar equipment you’ve had installed.

Before going solar, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with industry standards. That will help you make an educated choice about the warranty your solar installer provides you with. Some kinds of solar panels are only expected to last about ten years. Other kinds of panels could serve you as long as 35 years. Accepting the right warranty begins with knowing your panels and how long they should last. What’s your first step? Learn about typical types of solar panels.