Cost of solar panels for Discovery Bay, CA homes
Discovery Bay utility companies are constantly raising the prices on their services causing more and more homeowners to switch to solar power. And when you consider that the cost of solar panels falls each year, the 30% solar tax credit, and net metering - now is the best time to install solar on your home or condo. And with net metering, you get credits and money for producing more solar power than you use.
All of this combines to make solar panels one of the most sound investments in 2019.
Right now, the government is offering these incentives (specifically the 30% tax credit) to encourage more homeowners and businesses to make the switch to solar. However, the tax credit is rapidly decreasing each year until 2021 which is the final year it's available.
The goal with the tax breaks was to incentivize homeowners to begin using clean energy but only until it fully caught on and reached its tipping point. Well, it's caught on and it's rapidly approaching the tipping point where people no longer need a tax break because they know they save so much on monthly utilities.
Don’t be one of the late adopters. It's the early ones who are already reaping the largest savings and you can too for a short while longer. If you wait, you’ll still save on your utility bills each month and get fixed billing so your rates never go up. But, why wait when you can get that AND save 30% more?!
The average cost of solar panels in Discovery Bay for a 5kW system ranges between $3.50 - $4.69 per Watt. This equals an average cost between just over $17,000 - $23,000 for a 5kW solar panels installation. After the federal tax credit, this would cost between $11,900 and $16,100. It would take that system about 6-7 years to pay for itself if you purchased it up-front and you’ll save almost $60,000 over the following 20 years!
Change in the cost of solar panels in Discovery Bay over the last three years
Over the past 3 years solar panel prices have slowly declined in cost from well over $4 kW to under $4 kW. This isn’t a drastic decrease in price but it is going down while PG&E prices have risen just over 6% each year. Compounded, this equates to extremely high utility prices over the next few decades for homeowners using PG&E or other Discovery Bay utility companies.
How much is the average monthly payment on residential solar systems in Discovery Bay?
The average home solar panel installation in Discovery Bay is just over 7kW which equals a home solar payment of around $140 and utility bill of around $29 dollars per month. This system would replace a utility bill that is around $300 per month which means you would save about $131 per month from month one. The solar payment of $140 a month assumes that you’re leasing your solar system and making a monthly payment. However, if you’ve purchased your solar system, then you’ll simply have the utility bill of $29 per month.
How much can solar save you on electricity in Discovery Bay?
To get an exact savings for your home we would need to give you a quote. A quote allows us to look at your home size, average power usage and then calculate the size of your solar system and lease payments. With that, we can tell you exactly how much you’ll save.
However, we can give a rough estimate here. If you’re using a 7kW system and saving $131/month, then you would save approximately $100,000 over the 25 year life span of the system. This assumes you’re paying 4% interest rate, 20 year lease, and have a utility inflation of 4.5%. And that number will grow if you’re using a larger system. As you can see, the savings are so large that it's crazy not to go solar! That’s an extra $100,000 you could have in retirement in 25 years or use for whatever else - all for spending a few minutes to get a quote. How hard do you work for $100,000? Take one minute right now to get a free quote and we’ll help you save that money - it's that easy.
How many solar panels do you need?
We can’t give you an exact answer without knowing your power usage for the year. But we can give you some average numbers. For a 5kW system with SunPower solar panels producing around 327W, you would need approximately 15 panels. For a 10kW system, you would need around 30 panels. With lesser quality panels, this number jumps to about 20-40 panels since they’re not as efficient with converting sunlight into power.
How long do solar panels last?
Since you live in Discovery Bay where there are not extreme temperature variations, your panels will last longer than average. The average time for SunPower panels is between 25-40 years.
You’re fully covered with the SunPower warranty for 25 years from end to end (meaning your mounting gear, panels, etc). After the warranty period, we don’t directly monitor the panels anymore. However, many of our clients have continued using their systems for as long as 40 years. But the panels are going to be less efficient after their 25 year period so we recommend either replacing your panels or adding a few more to offset the minor degradation in efficiency.
What are the two types of solar panels?
There are two primary types of solar panels: Monocrystalline and Polycrystalline. Monocrystalline panels are made from one large crystalline structure, more efficient and generally last longer than polycrystalline. They’re also more expensive to produce and therefore they’re usually more expensive to purchase.
SunPower uses monocrystalline panels and our technology is the highest efficiency in the solar panel industry. We also offer the industry leading warranty of 25 years. As a master SunPower dealer, The Solar Quote gets the best pricing on SunPower panels which means you won’t find a better price anywhere in Discovery Bay or surrounding areas.
How long does it take to get solar installed in Discovery Bay?
Getting solar panels installed on your home is actually a pretty easy process. The longest part of the process is securing the proper permitting which allows our professional team to then get to work installing your panels. On average, it's taking around 6 weeks to have a solar panel installation fully installed. The actual installation process (having a crew installing the panels) is about 2-3 days. But permitting moves at it's own pace and we’re finding it takes about 4-5 weeks for the permits to go through.
Here’s how the whole installation process works:
-
Week one consists of getting your quote, financing, and designing your system.
-
Weeks 2-5 consists of waiting on permit approval.
-
Week 6 consists of installation, connecting your system to the power grid and testing.
-
Week 7 and on - you’re saving money every month!