The acquisition of a Solar Power system is really an investment, not a purchase. Almost everything we buy is a consumable and depreciates over time; the exceptions to this are typically housing and monetary investments. Solar Power is an investment with immediate and long-term paybacks.

Think of your utility company as a landlord who, in return for regular payments allows you turn on the lights. There is no payback and after a number of years you are still paying and at an ever-increasing rate.

Investing in your own power generating solar system means that you own the power, instead of paying 'rent' to the utility you can use the same money to pay back a loan. After a few years, the loan is paid off and now you own the electricity 100%. It's inflation proof and you have free electricity. Even better, the money you were paying to the utility company was after-tax income; the loan payment can be tax deductible.

There are also financial incentive programs to make this even better, the California Solar Initiative (and other similar state schemes) provide for a rebate on the initial cost of the system. This rebate, which is performance based, can account for up to 30% of the total system cost. These rebates are on a sliding scale and decrease over time so to take maximum advantage of them, the earlier you invest in Solar the better.

The Federal Government also provides incentives in the form of tax credits, 30% of the total system cost, and this is currently capped at $2000 for residential systems but not commercial. Tax credits can be carried forward to future years if needed - consult a tax expert for specific details.

Finally, a study by Wells Fargo and the Appraisers Association indicated that adding solar electricity to a property can increase the property value by as much as $20 for every $1 saved in annual utility bills. A saving of $200 per month ($2400 per year) would therefore result in $48,000 added value to the home, probably more than the outright cost of the system.

San Diego also offers a rebate program for Solar Hot Water systems if the new system is replacing an existing electric hot water heating system - contact us for more details.