Getting the facts on solar panel roofs

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Bill Spohn has been running his Allegheny County home on solar panels since it was built in 2020.

"In 2021, it cost us $154 all year for electric," he said.

Not bad, especially since a monthly electric bill can be that and then some.

"So that's heating cooling, cooking, computers, lighting, everything," Spohn said.

Spohn says he's still connected to the grid, but that's really a last resort. Usually, his solar panels generate more energy than he uses, so Duquesne Light actually pays him with a bill credit.

"We are going to add more solar and that really kicked us into action with the new tax credits that came into effect with the legislation last year," Spohn said.

Now with the Inflation Reduction Act, you can generally get a 30% tax credit on solar panels. But is it worth it? Let's look at the price to get them.

"Generally speaking, I would say, on average, $25,000 to $30,000 for the average homeowner in the Pittsburgh market," said Greg Winks.

Winks is the manager of solar business development in western Pennsylvania at Envinity. He says for a western Pennsylvania homeowner, it could take 10 to 12 years to break even, but solar panels should last you 30 to 40 years.

"With solar, you don't have to worry about the volatility of electricity rates," Winks said. "So if it comes into just managing a family budget or if it's a school district or corporation, I mean, you can look out and project budgets for years ahead."

Thinking about going solar? Try this "Project Sunroof" solar savings estimator

Here are some questions we asked, so you wouldn't have to:

What's the maintenance like on solar panels?

"Besides the one-time upfront investment, it's just this quiet power plant that sits on your rooftop," Winks said. "There's no moving parts, extremely low maintenance."

What happens if you have to get your roof fixed? Does it cost to remove the panels again?

"We strongly recommend that a roof be, let's say, seven years and newer for that exact purpose," Winks said. "Yes, it's going to cost you the labor to have a company come out. We would come out, disassemble the system, probably just store it onsite. A couple of days, you replace your roof, we'd come back out and we reinstall it."

How hard is it to get solar panels right now with supply chain issues?

"You're probably looking at four to six months range," Winks said.

Is there a group of people who should not get solar?

"People that live in homes that are nestled into a nice tree-shaded lot. Beautiful bucolic setting, but all the tree shading, just prohibitive for solar generation," Wink said. "And you know, there's a lot of older or high-end housing stock that have slate or tile roofs. Yes, you can technically put solar on those roofs, but it's extremely expensive. Therefore, it virtually never happens."

After going green, Spohn adds, "I think you need to again look at your overall energy picture. Solar is a place you can harvest energy, locally to use locally and that's great, but if you’re not using energy efficiently to begin with, you’re not doing as good of gesture."