Adding Solar Panels on a House

[Pope Lake]

Is there anyone in the BP universe that has added solar panels to a house to decrease utility costs? 

I assume there would be potentially significant upfront costs, but that the panels would pay for themselves and more overtime.  

The other obvious benefit is clean living and sustainability :) Let me know your thoughts! 

[Andrew Smith]

Originally posted by @Bill B.:

It’s usually a relatively bad deal, you do it because to makes you feel good not because it’s a good financial decision. In 4 months the 30% tax break goes away and it gets even worse. So do it today if you want to feel good. (Permits and installation take at least 30-60 days in Vegas, so you have about 2 months to act in an area like mine.)

The tax break is not going away in 4 months, it is decreasing from 30% to 26%. Whether solar is a good financial decision depends on current usage and available roof or ground space to build a system that offsets the usage. There are reasons that people choose not to go solar, but financials are typically not one of those. Even if the bill is a wash with current utility spending, it is a fixed cost so savings increase with time. With zero down, that's a pretty good ROI in most people's eyes.

For the most part, a current bill of at least $100/month, a credit score of 650+ and enough unshaded roof will result in solar being a great financial decision notwithstanding the surveys such as Zillow's that shows a home value increase with solar. https://www.zillow.com/research/solar-panels-house-sell-more-23798/