Just wondering what your payback/breakeven was like. I was told 6-8 years and I think it was just over 6 years.
Anyone here with a microFIT install?
- Thread starter timtune
- Start date
I can put you in contact with people that can give you real numbers. My understanding is those at the beginning (15 years ago?) were showered with gold, those doing it now are not doing it for financial reasons as you barely break even over the life. It gets you bumped to flat rate billing from TOU for hydro so that may be a positive or negative depending on your usage pattern.
Gov't keeps updating the program which dramatically affects the financial viability. A friend owns a large solar distributor and rode the initial microfit wave to success. The vast majority of his projects now are commercial (eg. huge) installations, with some off grid residences and the occasional person that cares about the environment so they want panels on their house.
He just put 10 kW of bifacial black panels on his house instead of shingles partly for marketing. Even when he gets to pay wholesale, the margins are thin and as a straight financial endeavor, there are better uses of his money. I think his plan is to ditch natural gas and switch to heat pump hot water and furnace driven off solar and a battery bank.
Yes, pretty sure it's barely viable now. Typical government screw up. At the start they wanted people in so they dreamed up a crazy high price per Kw. Now they're doing it more like a regular business and putting out RFQs the way they should have at the start. It's so easy to spend (squander) other peoples money.
But as I said elsewhere if the government is handing out money you can either complain or start filling out the paperwork.
But as I said elsewhere if the government is handing out money you can either complain or start filling out the paperwork.
Sounds like we have the same setup ours was on the house when we bought. Cost 5g to have it removed reinstalled a couple of years ago when the roof needed done no idea why the previous owner put a new solar system over a old roof but nothing he did makes sense. The thousand dollar a month payments are nice in the summer.
Sent from my couch using my thumbs
Didn't really change the price at all there were 23 years left when we bought.
Sent from my couch using my thumbs
I was thinking it was a 25 year but maybe your right and it is 20 year I know it almost cover my property tax which is nice. Biggest drawback is it is taxable income so half hose to government at the end of the year.
Sent from my couch using my thumbs
Sent from my couch using my thumbs
Good luck with that. While it sounds reasonable, buyers have no idea. Some people actively avoid solar houses either through ignorance or disliking the look. At best you can hope for zero impact to your house price (or give them a discount and you hold the solar contract?).
Mad Mike
Well-known member
Probably better investments available today.
BIL put in a 10kw sun follower that cost him $60k. He gets 12000 kWh/yr at .80/kWh or about $9500/yr till 2032. Killer deal.
Do it today and you would get $3500/yr. Still ok, but consider it doesn’t add value to your property so you need to stay put for almost 20 years before getting a return.
best to invest into energy efficient stuff for your house, better returns.
BIL put in a 10kw sun follower that cost him $60k. He gets 12000 kWh/yr at .80/kWh or about $9500/yr till 2032. Killer deal.
Do it today and you would get $3500/yr. Still ok, but consider it doesn’t add value to your property so you need to stay put for almost 20 years before getting a return.
best to invest into energy efficient stuff for your house, better returns.
20 years to break even isn't an investment, that's a hobby or statement. Put that money in the market and you will be way way ahead.
I'm quickly running out of cost-effective energy efficiency stuff for the house. A/C will probably happen this hear (10 SEER with low charge to something better). Windows would help but will never pay back economically (Vinyl double-pane no coating now). I may do the south face to improve comfort.
Gravity fed irrigation or boost pump? I normally let the lawn die but kept it alive last year to make it nicer for the kids to play on while I worked. Water here is expensive but buying/running a boost pump to run sprinklers using my "free" water hurts the viability. There is a drywell that doesn't work nearly as well as I would like (under interlock with no exposed cleanout of course) so I could add tanks if I ever get annoyed enough to dig that up.
the google spies and data miners all wanted me to pass along their thanks for your business.
Bottom line I invested 35K for ~100K return. That's alot of energy I would have to conserve to make up 65K in energy savings. Besides we already had a programable thermostat with low winter settings (if you're cold put on a SECOND sweater), no AC and a bunch of LED lights.
I got mine at the same time. 7 years and a bit for me. SO 13 years left before I install a hot tub! for now it all goes into the RESP for the kids.
