In an attempt to identify and address the misconceptions and hesitations that homeowners have before installing a solar system, Unbound Solar conducted a survey of 1,000 people, some who have had solar installed and others who have researched having it installed, and posed several questions around their experience.
Participants were polled on the hesitations they had before going solar, how long before they expected to see a return on investment (ROI) for their system, how their geography plays into system performance, estimated cleaning and maintenance requirements and a host of other common questions and concerns.
The survey turned up some provocative responses regarding system cost, ROI and maintenance needs.
Of the 1,000 people surveyed, the vast majority cited system cost as a moderate, if not high concern of theirs, prior to installing a system. More than 86% of respondents listed cost as being a moderate or higher concern, with more than half listing it as a high or the highest concern. Part of this concern level can be attributed to misinformation regarding when a homeowner will see ROI on their investment in the system, however price was not the only issue that gave homeowners considering solar pause.
While not as overwhelming as the amount of respondents dissuaded by price, more than half of all respondents listed a lack of information on solar systems as a moderate to high concern. And while Unbound suggests that a lack of information should stop potential customers from reaching their solar goals, these results lead to the conclusion that the average consumer is unfamiliar enough with solar to hesitate from purchasing or forego solar altogether, realities that could severely hamper the growth of residential solar.
Return on investment
If the initial results of the survey were troubling, responses regarding how long survey participants thought it would take them to see ROI on their system could provide some balance. Over half of all respondents (51%) shared that they expected it would take between two and five years to see ROI on a system, with Unbound putting the average payoff time at between three and six years. Just 30% of respondents expected the ROI period to take more than five years, while nearly 20% expected it to take a year or less.
When the issue of ROI is applied to different geographic regions of the country, however, respondents begin to diverge. 45% of people surveyed shared that they thought solar panels do not work in some climates within the United States, while an additional 33% of respondents were unsure.
Maintenance and value
Another misconception that caused hesitation among respondents came with regards to the difficulty and frequency of necessary panel maintenance. 31% of respondents thought that solar panels had to be cleaned at least every month, with 18% believing that they had to be cleaned weekly. Couple this with the 65% of respondents who shared that they believed panel maintenance to be moderately to extremely difficult and you start to get a larger picture of the common misconceptions that can turn a high volume of potential customers away from solar.
Despite any potential reservations, most of the respondents did recognize the value that solar installations bring to a home. 51% of respondents agreed that it would be easier to sell a home that had solar panels installed on it, while 59% shared their belief that installing solar on a home would increase its overall value.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
So, basically the average person is grossly ignorant and too lazy to actually be informed. And, these same people get to vote.
Yes John, they vote. High up front instlation costs, permitting fees, utility hook up fees and monthy utility connection fees also come into play and if this not your lifetime residance, why would you put the money there rather than in your retirement fund? The payback for switching to LED lighting, new LED Television, newer energy saving appliances and computers have an energy savings payback that you can also take with you to your next home. Now, if they made a 12 foot by 14 foot pop up gazibo, with flexable solar panels that you could just plug into your home’s Dryer outlet with clamp on current limiters, then you would have something you could take with you.
The survey identified key consumer concerns (cost, payback, maintenance, and local feasibility), and revealed mistaken understandings (prudently concerned about first cost, way too optimistic on payback, way too pessimistic on cleaning required, and confused on “feasibility”). Clearly, the industry could benefit by convincing the public that rainfall alone can adequately clean their panels. But with 70% of respondents believing ROI is within five years, their present ignorance is industry bliss. That the internal rate of return over a 25-year warranty period is twice that of the stock market is a vital pitch, even though most homeowners don’t have cash for an alternative investment.
Small point: ROI is not a period of time. You are thinking of payoff period. ROI for a solar system is savings/system cost. Example: my system cost $12000 and I save about $600/year in electric bills. So my ROI is 600/12000 = 5%. And it’s tax-free and very safe and likely to increase as the price of electricity rises, as it historically always has. In the ten years since I did my system the price has risen from 13¢/kWh to 16¢/kWh (an increase of 23%).
Hard to find an investment that yields 5% tax-free, is safe and will likely increase with time.
And I always know where my money is; it’s on my roof!
So if a system costs $12,000 and saves $600 per year in energy costs, the system will take 20 years to pay for itself.
$600 × 20 = $12,000.
I change homes about every 5 years.
I would rather put the $50 per month into my IRA.
Except there is a federal tax credit (26% the price), increasing electric prices from the utility so savings increase over time, still some local rebates exist, the value of adding batteries to have backup power and if there is time of use billing in your area then you can get even more of a return by load shifting with your batteries, and the potential increase of home sale value (or decrease in time to sell).
Then on top of that your IRA funds business-as-usual fueling climate change, where as this is an investment that actually makes progress on climate change.
Even if you don’t believe in climate change there is good reason to consider a $12k solar project. And $12k is not that much money and its got most of its return back in 5 years.
Lyman, this goes to customer education, seems you have more to research to get an accurate view of going solar. Getting a quote from a local solar installer is a good way to get educated.