Is solar power actually worth it?
April 11, 2024
At the risk of sounding biased, YES, solar power is worth the financial investment – in most situations.
At Solartive, our most popular Grid Connected systems range in price from $13,500 to $54,500. The key difference in the price of our solar systems is the inclusion of a battery or batteries – our $13,500 system doesn’t include a battery, our $54,500 system includes 30kWh of battery storage.
For Off Grid systems, our most popular systems range in price from $22,500 to $56,200 – once again, the prices differ depending on the number of batteries, as well as the battery chemistry and installation plan (e.g. lead carbon/gel/lithium batteries or ground mount structures)
There are several factors to consider when determining if solar is a good investment for your home, business, school or marae, including:
The size, pitch and construction material of your roof and any shading issues,
The amount of electricity you consume (or need in the future),
When you use the majority of your electricity,
The types of electrical loads/appliances you have e.g. hot water cylinders, EV chargers
Real-life story
Instead of baffling you with words, we’d rather share a real-life example with you.
Here’s a snapshot of one of our Solartive customer’s power bills, before and after solar:
Before Solar, $447.64 
After Solar, -$11.51
The savings are incredible!
Whilst the billing periods are slightly different, there’s a difference of over $450 in these monthly power bills. Annually, this customer has saved at least $4,476.
With a total Solar system cost of $34,327 (which included 14.76kWh of battery storage), their payback period for their system is just under 8 years. However, it’s likely to be less than that if we consider the increase in the cost of power (kWh rate and lines charges which average from 5-7% per year) from their electricity retailer (e.g. Contact Energy, Electric Kiwi, Meridian etc) and the smart changes they make to their lifestyle to maximise on their solar system (using the solar when available, aggressive retail power shopping to achieve best deals)
With some of the best product/performance warranties in the market, they aren’t expected to have any additional system costs for at least 10 yrs:
- Inverter has a 10yr warranty
- Batteries have a 10yr performance warranty,
- Solar panels have a 25yr performance and product warranty.
So the question is – can you afford not to have solar?
