Solar why not

Economic incentives are rapidly aligning to encourage customers to trade their existing panels for newer, cheaper, more efficient models. In an industry where circularity solutions such as recycling remain woefully inadequate, the sheer volume of discarded panels will soon pose a risk of existentially damaging proportions.

To be sure, this is not the story one gets from official industry and government sources. But with so many years to prepare, it describes a billion-dollar opportunity for recapture of valuable materials rather than a dire threat. They do not account for the possibility of widespread early replacement.

Our research does. Using real U. We surmised that three variables were particularly salient in determining replacement decisions: installation price, compensation rate i.

If the cost of trading up is low enough, and the efficiency and compensation rate are high enough, we posit that rational consumers will make the switch, regardless of whether their existing panels have lived out a full 30 years. Theoretically, she could keep the panels in place for 30 years, i.

In , Ms. In each following year, the efficiency of her panel decreases by approximately one percent due to module degradation. Now imagine that in the year , halfway through the lifecycle of her equipment, Ms. Brown starts to look at her solar options again. Going by actual current projections, the Ms. If Ms. Brown is a rational actor, she will opt for early replacement.

And if she were especially shrewd in money matters, she would have come to that decision even sooner — our calculations for the Ms. Brown scenario show the replacement NPV overtaking that of panel retention starting in If early replacements occur as predicted by our statistical model , they can produce 50 times more waste in just four years than IRENA anticipates.

That figure translates to around , metric tonnes of waste, based on an estimate of 90 tonnes per MW weight-to-power ratio. Alarming as they are, these stats may not do full justice to the crisis, as our analysis is restricted to residential installations. With commercial and industrial panels added to the picture, the scale of replacements could be much, much larger. The financial incentive to invest in recycling has never been very strong in solar.

While panels contain small amounts of valuable materials such as silver, they are mostly made of glass, an extremely low-value material. The long lifespan of solar panels also serves to disincentivize innovation in this area. It seemed like an environmental no-brainer. For zero down, leading residential provider SolarCity would install panels on his roof. Save money, fight climate change. Sounds like a deal. But to Weissman, it was an unexpected letdown.

To understand his hang-up, you need a bit of Electricity If you have solar panels on your roof, the electrons they produce flow across the electric grid like water, following a path of least resistance. These areas often have higher electricity costs and better local incentives than other states, leading to greater savings down the line. Rebates and incentives significantly reduce your cost of solar and can actually put money into your pocket each month, translating to substantial long-term savings.

Depending on where you live, you may also qualify for other various incentives that help you save more: in addition to the ITC, local incentives like state tax credits, cash rebates, solar renewable energy certificates SRECs , and performance-based incentives PBIs can increase your solar savings up to 50 percent!

Net metering is one of the most important solar policies and incentives in the residential solar industry. Essentially, it allows you to store any excess energy produced by your solar system in the electrical grid for use at a later time.

Whether you choose to buy or lease your solar panels will have a major impact on your savings. While solar leases and power purchase agreements PPAs require no money down and promise a maintenance-free option, they come with a trade-off: your total savings will typically be just 10 to 30 percent of your utility electricity bill. How does this play out in the real world? Here are a few other questions people commonly want answers to about the worthiness of solar panels:. Most property owners who get solar quotes on the EnergySage Marketplace will break even on their solar investment in seven to eight years.

In some cases, a home may require extensive renovations to support the weight and needs of a solar energy system. The biggest cited drawback to solar energy is the upfront cost of installing a solar system, or the administrative tasks required to get a loan.

Other drawbacks that are frequently mentioned include the space needed for panels and that they depend on sunlight to power your home. Factors such as available incentives, the climate, home size, how much shade there is, and the amount of sun that a region gets all affect whether or not solar power is a good option for you.

Take a closer look at your options in our article on benefits of solar. The short answer is that it depends. There are many factors to take into consideration when investing in solar energy.

Every house and every household has different energy needs, so it really depends on the home, climate, and how much energy you need. We have a few tips to help you get the most out of your solar system:.

As with any big ticket purchase, shopping for solar requires a lot of research and consideration, including a thorough review of companies in your area. By comparing multiple solar quotes , you will get increased competition for your business and transparency, which will ultimately mean a higher quality installation at the right price.

A report by the U.