Changed my mind about solar panels after talking to a neighbor

I used to think residential solar was mostly for rich folks who wanted to feel good, but then my neighbor Dave in Portland showed me his electric bills from the last 3 years. He installed a 6kW system in 2021 and his monthly average went from $140 to about $15, plus he gets credits in summer that carry over. Now I'm actually looking into quotes for my own roof, even though I live in a cloudier area. Anyone here have luck with solar in a place like Oregon or Washington that doesn't get tons of sun?

2 comments

2 Comments

cameron_craig7h agoMost Upvoted

That line about "$140 down to $15" really got my attention. I had the same mindset as you at first, thought solar was just a status thing for people with cash to burn. But seeing hard numbers like that changes everything, especially the credits that carry over through winter. I'm in a pretty cloudy part of the PNW myself and my buddy has a setup that still saves him around $80 a month even in the gray months. Definitely worth getting a few quotes, the math works better than I expected in our weather.

ray2105h ago

Funny how we do that with a lot of things though, not just solar. I remember thinking my neighbor's electric mower was just a gimmick until I borrowed it and realized I wasn't breathing in gas fumes for an hour every weekend. People get stuck thinking something's only for rich folks or tech nerds when really the numbers just take a minute to add up. That winter credit thing is the real game changer for cloudy areas, my buddy in Portland stacks them up from June to September and basically runs free from November to February.