Interesting topic.
When I first bought this house last year I started looking a solar power options. Even with all the government subsidies (near or over 50% of the cost when I was looking) selling power back to the utility company the return on investment over 25 years estimating 5% increase in energy costs was only going to be 2.8%. My worst investment in the last 4 years earned just over 4%. And that’s not factoring in any costs of maintenance or repairs and with optimal placement. It would be a better investment if I could take out a home equity loan and deduct it but since I only have about 2k in equity so far that’s not happening.
I’m really trying to find a reason to go solar just to have some level of energy independence but for now I’m holding out that the new administration will push some sort of solar initiatives making the entry costs even more attractive. Or put more into solar research to help drive down the cost and increase efficiency.
Last edited by grunt; 05/01/10 05:41 AM.
