Hello friends and neighbors, this is Kevin Huff, owner of Huff Construction and Roofing, LLC.
I wanted to take some time today to get some of y’all thinking about how something that affects many of us down here in our hot and humid climate.
How many of you have been solicited by any number of the local solar panel installation companies?
They all promise to lower or eliminate your electric bill, which in fact they do, but at what cost? Here are a few questions you should ask yourself before installing solar panels.
How much are you actually saving, if anything?
Your electric bills will go down, but any savings will probably be offset by the cost of the system.
Why do you have high electric bills, to begin with?
Is your home not insulated well or drafty?
Is your HVAC system not sized properly, or do you have leaking ducts?
What will the solar panels do to address any of these issues to increase the comfort in your home?
What happens when I need to replace the shingles on my roof?
How much will it cost to remove the panels and hardware, then reinstall the equipment after the shingles are replaced?
Remember the average useful life of a composition shingle in our RGV environment is about 13 to 15yrs.
What is the life expectancy of the panels 15, 20yrs at best?
Let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment. When you purchase a solar system whether you pay upfront or finance it, you are still paying for your electricity, you are just paying a lot more for it. The average 1500-2500 sqft house will use anywhere from 1200-2500kW per month. The average price per kWh of electricity is about .11 cents. This puts the average monthly electric bill at around $150.00- $275.00. The average solar system costs around $15-$25,000 dollars or more depending on the size of the system. Even factoring in the tax credits which as of today are 26%, this still puts a total system cost of between $11- $20,000. Even at $11,000.00 and current average usage of 1200kWh per month at .11 cents kWh, it would take a minimum of 7 years to recoup the cost of the installation. Remember it all depends on the amount of sunshine we get any given year.
GUESS WHAT? YOU STILL HAVE NOT ADDRESSED THE ROOT CAUSES OF YOUR HIGH ENERGY BILLS OR YOUR HOME COMFORT!! YOU ARE JUST MASKING THE ISSUES WITH A LOWER ENERGY BILL AND A MONTHLY PAYMENT TO THE SOLAR PANEL COMPANY THAT IS ABOUT THE SAME AS YOUR MONTHLY SAVINGS. IF YOU PAID FOR YOUR SYSTEM UPFRONT, ALL YOU HAVE DONE IS SUBSIDIZED PART OF YOUR ELECTRIC BILL FOR 7 OR MORE YEARS!!
Let’s change our perspectives on energy savings and focus on the root causes of high energy bills. For a fraction of the cost of solar panels you can cut your energy bill by 30% or more, just by properly air sealing and insulating your home, and fixing leaky and damaged air ducts. And guess what? If the sun ain’t shining, it’s still saving you money. These are passive efforts that require no environmental inputs to work. Day or night, rain or shine, these improvements to your home save you money and make your home a healthier and more comfortable environment to live in. Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this, and if you have friends or family that you think might find this informative, please take time to pass this along.
For a free consultation give me a call at 956-451-1993.
Have a great day,
Kevin Huff - Owner
Huff Construction and Roofing, LLC