Go solar or invest the money

First, investing is not a need. It is discretionary. It is something you can do, not something you have to do. The phrasing of this question also assumes that the investment will always make money. With investing, there are no guarantees and a possibility of losing money. That loss could be a few percent of your initial or entire investment! Let’s say you decide to invest the money, get lucky, and make a 4% return. That’s great, but you still have a power bill to pay every month.

Unlike investing, you must buy power. You can’t call NV Energy in July or August and tell them to cut the power because it costs too much! It is not optional or discretionary. You either buy power from NV Energy or get it from the solar panels on your roof by purchasing the system or agreeing to buy the electricity generated by a solar lease or PPA. These are the only choices.

A purchased solar system can pay for itself in 6 to 9 years using the 30% federal tax credit and cumulative savings on your power bill. Buying solar can reduce your monthly power bill to the basic connection charge, taxes, and fees. Also, according to a recent study by Zillow.com, a return on investment on solar panels when you sell your home could be as much as 4% of the selling price.

If you choose a third-party owned system, the solar company pays all installation costs and sells you the power the system makes. You will reduce your energy costs by roughly 10% to 20% a year, depending on how their cost per kilowatt hour compares to what NV Energy is charging. That gap may shrink over time as the solar escalator increases the cost you pay the solar company for the electricity the panels make. Click here to learn if it is better to buy solar panels or lease them.

Remember, you must buy power, and NV Energy’s residential rate has increased from 10.133 cents in July of 2021 to 14.8 cents today, a 46% increase.

Ask for a quote today.