Are solar panels worth it in Los Angeles, CA?
Yes, solar panels are worth it! If you have good sun exposure on your homes roof. Many homes in California get good sun exposure and are therefore able to generate sufficient power to offset all of their consumption. Without solar, many of these same homes with lots of sun exposure in California have very high electric bills due to needing to run AC in much of the year. Combine the likelihood of a saving hundreds or thousands off the electricity bill with the federal tax credits and possibly rebates from local utilities and it is almost a no brained decision.
You’ll still want to do your do diligence, but for example in East of Sacramento in the foothills of the Sierra’s and supplied by PG&E, they pay for themselves in about 6yrs when spending $3/W for installation, after getting the 30% Tax Credit. Which is still in full effect through 2019. It gets cut down in 2020 and 2021, and goes away in 2022 for residential Solar Installs.
Where do I begin?
I spend a LOT of time talking to people about their spending habits. Here are the biggest mistakes people are making, in my eyes:
1. Not getting a financial advisor.
99% of people don’t have one, and it’s typically a huge mistake.
Sure, you can manage things on your own if you want to, but most people don’t have the time to actually do things right. There are huge benefits to having somebody pay attention to your money all the time.
- People with financial advisors tend to beat the market by ~3%/year (according to a 2019 Vanguard Study). That can make a huge difference over time.
- But more important: a good advisor will handle ALL of the annoying retirement stuff & bizarro tax implications you would have never thought of.
California is well-known for its sunny weather, particularly during the summer months. This means that solar panels can generate more energy in California than in other, less sunny areas. Also, many places in California are hot during summer, necessitating the use of air conditioning. In such areas, electric bills can be very high in summer as a result. Because temperatures tend to be high when solar power is very available, this makes solar even more attractive. So yes, solar panels are worth it in California. More so than in many other places.