For years, I’d debated whether residential solar would make sense for my home. The math never quite clicked, and I refused to go into debt by signing a $30,000 contract or leasing agreement with a door-to-door solar sales company. It wasn’t until the end of 2025 that the market finally forced my hand.
The combination of a steady, upcoming increase in electricity rates, the impending January 1, 2026, expiration of federal tax rebate incentives, and battery tech actually improving in recent years made a far-off “maybe one day” dream into an achievable DIY project. The announcement that a new hyper-scale data center was going in a few towns over made the decision to finally jump in a no-brainer.
Many of my tinkering projects are driven by curiosity. I like to see if I can accomplish a goal without paying as much as expected, and I’m admittedly motivated by the feeling of getting away with an unexpected hack. Channeling a little ingenuity and effort feels like an arrogant middle finger at being told what I have to buy, and nowhere was that feeling more satisfying than in this solar project. If you’ve been thinking similarly about making the leap to solar power, I know how intimidating it can be. But in my experience, the squeeze was well worth the juice I got in return.
Sounds like you paid 40k for a system that’s worth around 10k. That absolutely happens with some companies that do the full installation, but it is a total rip off.
The system was worth more than $10k (it was the largest allowed by law), but a good chunk of the cost was definitely the installation and 20 years full warranty. Luckily I was able to transfer that to the new owner. I have been specifically told that essentially all improvements you can do to a home won’t reflect the their cost in the sell value for the most part. You’re lucky to get 25% in most cases, solar is actually better than most things because it is fairly universally desired. Some things do better than other regionally, e.g. in ground pools can get most of their value in FL apparently as long as you don’t go overboard on costs.
Yeah that warranty…
Anyways, solar is a bit unique in that regard, as it isn’t just an general improvement, but actively pays for itself. Heatpumps also fall in that category. Most people realize that if they get such a system for cheap that is actually a discount on the home price and adjust their expectations accordingly. Of course I agree with you that it likely isn’t going to increase the value beyond what it cost to install.
I don’t think you do agree with me. I was saying it wouldn’t increase the value anywhere near what it cost to install unless you essentially did it yourself to keep the cost ultra-low (which wasn’t legally allowed in my area to begin with). Many of the laws regarding solar in much of the US have been made specifically to make solar less attractive, sometimes these laws were directly by the incumbent power companies (In our case it was Duke Energy).
The warranty was actually fine in my case, they came out and replaced/installed a bad panel and they had to replace the inverter when it died at no cost. The warranty was for 20 years when the panels should continue functioning longer, but that’s no longer my benefit. My power usage was really high, even at what I paid, after the rebate it was going to pay for itself in 8 years.