I Got $20,000 Solar Panels To Save My Airbnb. Was It Worth It? 

We have solar with batteries and it's worth it not just for the lack of monthly expense, but we've had power (without a generator) when the power grid is off/down. Specifically our home in Maui, when the power was off for weeks in and around Lahaina, our solar and battery storage was enough to keep our home powered and provide shelter for several families.

The best way to get into Solar is to buy your own solar kit and have a certified electrician install it. Don’t go with a solar installer they’re going to bump up the prices knowing you get tax credits. I purchased an 18 kW solar panel system with an 18 KPV inverter and three solar batteries each with 14.3 kWh for a total of approximately 43 kWh of solar back up for less than $25,000. Then it cost me approximately $9000 to install. In total, I spent less than 35 grand on a completely off grid back up battery system. The batteries are EKG4 pro all weather. I couldn’t recommend them enough.

Can't wait for the one year retrospective with the full numbers to truly compare.

HERE FOR THE BEFORE AND AFTER COSTS!!! Need to look into them for our desert house!

Two recommendations that I learned when analyzing if purchasing a solar system made sense: 1. Solar cell output diminishes with time. Make sure that when you calculate the entire system amortization cost, the cells will last longer than your breakeven date. If there's a warrantee: read all of the fine print. And choose a company that will likely still be in business during the warrantee period. 2. If you're using a roof mounted system and your solar cells are going to be hard mounted to your roof, check if you're getting close to reaching the lifespan of your roof. It may make sense to preemptively replace your roof prior to the system installation. Also get in writing who pays for removing the solar cells if you do need a new roof (or roof repairs) during the solar cell lifetime. Also who pays to reinstall the system after the new roof is installed. The solar installation company and your insurance company may not cover this and the labor could be expensive.

Homeowner from Washington State here! We have a ~1200 sqft house and we bought a 10.4 kW system with 3 batteries for about $60K. We have in general low energy needs with a heat pump but a 1 Tesla Model 3 on the system. And we installed last November (off season for production). Even during the winter months with minimal sunny days, we have halved our electricity bill. On the rare sunny days (ie last week when we had 7 days of 65° and sun) we produced 200% of our energy needs and sold back the extra. We have a $0 energy bills in our future because when we sell back our excess energy we will get money back from our electricity provider as a credit and we will have enough of a credit in the summer months to offset the winter ones (Marques Brownlee’s video on solar panels explains this well). Plus, we won’t lose energy if there’s an outage because of the batteries. Whether or not solar is worth it is VERY dependent on WHERE you live and HOW the electricity system there is set up. It made sense for us especially with NEM 2.0 and when you factor in that we are planning on living in our house for another 20 years and the panels will pay for themselves in about 10. Plus we’re thinking of the need to transition to a greener source of energy and climate change as a whole. I would encourage anyone who wants to do solar think about your particular variables and interview 3-4 panel companies. All should offer at least a 25 year warranty. We’re excited to be a little bit more future proof. It’s still possible even in cloudy Washington!

Before adding solar hopefully you had an energy "sleuth" investigate your house. They can advise on how energy is being lost (or even stolen) and can advise on energy saving options to reduce the losses eg insulation issues, energy leaks, power hungry appliances, water heater, etc. By Lowering your energy losses you might not need to add more solar or can have a much smaller solar system added. I think a backup battery system is a must though if your utility is not reliable and or your area is known for "brown outs".

Been looking forward to this video Shelby!! Thank you for your incredible transparency! Love your content ❤

The absolute BEST solar installation explanation I've ever seen. You touched all the interesting topics of what needs to be reflected upon, and in a fast and understandable way too. LOVED THIS. I'm so happy you went this route because it really makes sense with what you described in an earlier video. Solar seems SO right for you particular AirBnb location.

Did my house in Vegas in November last year 11kw system. Cost about 32k. 9% interest, which I will pay off early, but its financed for 25 years. NV energy keeps on raising rates. Makes sense even at the rediculous interest rate. Used Sol-Up with Solar edge system. Everything working great so far. Proably add a battery or two when I get an EV

This was SO helpful! I'm only starting to look into buying a home but this was an amazing intro to a pretty nuanced topic. Thanks, Shelby!

Great video! I'm learning about net energy metering and solar install at my work. Glad to be a part of this space.

We installed solar panels on our Florida house. When we sold the house 5 years later the buyers were happy to be getting solar.

For me the self sufficiency it brings already adds a lot of value. I think I would upgrade as soon as possible to "zero" that electric bill to negligible levels. I hope you get the capacity doubled for the same price. I have also been thinking that would it be possible to be self sufficient with the water but that would likely be a lot more expensive and location dependent.

I'm in New Hampshire and our surplus generation just goes into an "energy bank" and it deducts when you need it. I saved up so much in my energy bank from 2015-2018 that when I got my Tesla Model 3, my first 20,000 miles were free! Since then it bounces around between bank and costing. Most months have been $13/mo minimums grid fee, highest I've seen is $250/mo, for charging 2 EVs and home AC. Solar system was $25k before tax credit, ended up being around $14k, split over 12 years at 1.99% so it's $113/mo. So basically I pay $126/mo and that usually would cover one EV charging too. Only a couple years left until payoff! Also being in NH we get tons of rain and plenty of snow but the good news is that the rain keeps them clean and the snow slides right off after the storm stops.

Hi Shelby! Loved the video. I'm getting my bachelor's degree in Power Systems Engineering and I can explain why getting the same amount of money on the energy you produce from PVs is not good for the grid power system. Basically PVs produce energy when the grid doesn't really need it and the amount of electic power generated needs to always be equal to the amount of electric power consumed. Because it's very tricky to store this energy from PVs and you can't store it for long time periods the power system people need to stop some of the generators so that the power from PVs will not be "lost". That sometimes costs more money than not stopping them. Another fact to consider is that the actual cables that they use to transport the electrical energy can only carry a certain amount and if many people choose to get PVs in a certain area they need to change them. Another aspect is that if you have a PV system you need energy from the grid during the evening and night and that's when producing it gets more difficult and it costs so much more. In spite of all this i do believe that people should get lots of money for the energy they insert into the grid from PV systems, I just wanted to explain why that may be difficult.

For most people, who are to-be homeowners the most important decision you will ever make is the home you buy. If you buy a bigger home, the more it will cost to run it. If you plan for the long term (10+ years), then it might be a wiser choice to choose a more modestly sized house that costs less to run versus choosing a bigger home, then reacting to the utility bill by spending more money to add solar. Just food for thought. :)

I left a comment but then you answered it. :). FYI: I design DIY solar kits with batteries for under $1.60/Watt. Oh! I just noticed they used the wrong kind of CMU blocks. They are supposed to be solid CMU blocks (33lbs ea.), not hollow blocks (24lbs ea.). Your system may be susceptible to high winds. I would have them replace the blocks with solid CMU blocks, per the engineering plans, or confirm that this difference was accounted for.

I love how your videos are simply informative, even when you could have have a bias on the subject. so well done!! Thanks for the info

We switched to EVs and switched off of our old oil heating system/central AC to geothermal and an air sourced heat pump. Our next step is to get solar. The things I've learned in my research so far is that * in many places, you have to tell your homeowner's insurance you're getting it. In some places, your premiums will go up. In others, you need extra coverage just for the panels. In some places, they straight up won't cover you. * if you're getting batteries, get those that if LFP (lithium, iron, phosphate). The benefit of these batteries is that they can go through many more charge/discharge cycles, which works well if you live in a place with time of use metering, meaning electricity is more expensive at certain points of the day than others. You can then, ever day, use the energy stored in your batteries when the sun it out (and you're not using too much) and use the battery energy when it's more expensive to use the grid. There's a lot of info you need to know. Do you get enough sunlight to make it worth it? Are there trees that will be blocking the sun that need to be cut down? Is your town even equipped to handle net metering? I read one story where someone got panels installed, only to find out after they weren't allowed to turn them on because the town wasn't equipped to handle them! You REALLY have to do your research to make sure you're not getting gurned.

Tesla told us our house was not a good fit for solar because of the way our house was situated and because we live in an area that gets more cloudy days than sunny days. We appreciated that honesty. Others told us we were perfect for solar so...be careful who you call. Another thing I should mention is a lot of HOA's won't approve solar systems and there are good and bad reasons for that so make sure if you live in an HOA that you know the bylaws.

When you buy a house that already has solar panels, you have to find out if the owner has paid it off or you the new owner ends up paying the rest off.

I used Tesla Solar and service has been amazing. My team was Tesla employees, not contractors like some states have.

Your solar installation looks perfect. Very good choice in company that you picked. Bravo, and bravo to your provider who was professional and not toxic. So a very good overall experience, I hope everyone has the same when they choose to “go solar” ❤

Such an informative video Shelby! Thank you

Can you use solar to heat your pool now? That would make sense, because most people swim during the afternoon, and that's when you get your most sun.

Thank you for sharing this! I’m not in the housing market but this is good to know. The power companies are SO expensive now any way to save will help.

This was a really interesting and informative vlog Shelby. You’re killing it lately with your content!

so much good info in this. Thanks Shelby! ☀☀☀

Loooooved this video. Thanks for sharing!

Regarding permitting: "...it's like the sloth from Zootopia." BAH-HA-HA-HAAA!! I love it! So true. But seriously, I learn so much from your vids these days Shelby-san. So much digestable info and in an easy to understand way.

I've been waiting for this video since you teased it a while back!

Excellent information, well done.

Unless I missed it the biggest thing I think you should add to this is how long do you plan to live in that home. For you I would assume a good 40 years or longer so you should get as big a system as you can. In 10 years you would have a $50 or so monthly bill while others are at $600. I am on 5 years with my LG panels and pay about $15-17 a month. A much smaller system then you have. I think leasing overall is not worth it in most cases, but if you cannot buy them then it might be a good option.

Such a great detailed video, well done as per usual! 🙌🙌 From personal experience as a realtor, one of the reasons homes sometimes have a hard time selling with solar panels is when they are financed/leased. Even if a buyer would be happy to assume the lease to receive the benefits, this monthly charge is now added to their debt-to-income ratio which might push them over the limit where they no longer qualify for the mortgage on the home. That's at least what I've experienced multiple times down here in Florida. Either way, congrats on the solar. Looks like you made the right move! 🔆

One thing many people don't realize is that the marginal cost of putting in solar at the time of house construction is much cheaper than adding it later, perhaps about half as expensive. There is also an opportunity cost of the money that you would have to invest in solar initially, that could be invested in somethng else to earn interest, etc. ... Anyway hi from Palm, Desert, CA !

Nest upgrade is a smart electrical panel that identifies the appliances plugged into each outlet and how much energy they're using.

Super insightful video! I've been thinking about using solar for my rental properties, but wasn't sure if it was worth it based on where I lived. Also, love how information-packed all of your videos are! 💡

Not just engery is expensive in CA. Almost everything is. 😂

Great video, Shelby 👏🏼 so informative!

I work with installers (including OWE) just a note to you personally you might know already, CA just said ANY changes to your PV system including adding a battery will lose you your net metering and put you on 3.0. With the way battery prices are falling that might be ok but thought I'd mention it.

Me with my $70-$130 per month electric bill 😮. As much as I would love to go solar, the upfront investment/lease price/monthly loan costs make it unfeasible since i can't guarantee the amount i sell back will offset the higher cost.

In the UK I got a 14 panel system 400w each and solaredge inverter for £5500

Forgot to say, what an informative video. Great work!

Thanks Shelby, that was a great, informative video.

Dang. I'm "next door" to you in Phoenix, where the weather is ten times more harsh. My power bill for the last 30 days: $67. And I'm in a house built in the 1960s, back when they didn't put much insulation in the walls.

Great video! We have solar on our building headquarters - which happens to be in the desert too. It’s been entirely worth it.

Great job as always! Thanks for sharing. Super interesting topic but being a Western Washington resident love our less expensive power!

Top notch video Shelby!! ❤

Thank you so much for sharing your solar experience

Wow, that's pretty expensive but i guess that's USA pricing. Over this side of the pond, a system of this size without any batteries would cost you less than 10k$ (and until this year, we had yearly netmetering; meaning if you produced 10MWh last year, you could use 10MWh this year, so no waste and almost zero utility cost). Because of said incentives have run out, like every 5th home has solar now. It's crazy. If you go DIY route (you lose netmetering) you can build this sort of sized system for even half that, but would have to use DIY battery packs to make finacial sense. Also, solar panels have gotten DIRT cheap over the years. I've seen deals by the pallet for as low as 160$/kWh for new panels. Crazy. Almost cheaper per square feet than roofing...

We live in the desert. Energy and water are a premium here yes. Most houses in Tucson 1200 sq foot or larger pay $500 a month for electric and $300 for water/sewer including up to 1,000 if you are off the city grid with a dry well.

Elastomeric roof coatings last maybe 10 years, then pull the PV system to re-coat.

Love this video! I am in a sunny, pocket desert in Canada and lots of solar panels on houses here and vineyards have them too.

Get batteries if you want the most ROI and most efficient use of the panels. Not only that, during power outages, if you set it up right, you will still have power and a/c while the neighbors are in the dark and sweating. The more you can make the home self-sufficient the better.

Interesting stuff, can’t wait to see the updates 👍

Amazing information Shelby. That tax credit alone; is worth the savings! Thanks for keeping us informed.😊

Well put together Video Shelby!

We've had our solar panel system for 12 years now and we did a lease. It was $0 down and they did everything, along with full support for the 20 years of the lease. Additionally it's a lease to own so we retain the option to buy out the entire system anytime we want, there is a purchase schedule in our contract which shows how much it would cost to buy it out at the end of each year. With terms like that to me it's better to lease because then you can take all that money you would have spent buying out the system and instead invest it, while retaining the option to buy it all out at any time. This was with Sunrun.

In Arizona, many of the homes with solar leases didn't make sense to buy. The costs went up every year and after 5 or 10 years, some of the monthly costs were up 30 to 50%. I ended up finding a local company and financed. Panels came with 30 years parts, labor and production warranty for half the cost of some of the "national" companies.

had solar for years, love it, it's been paid off. we don't pay any utilities, I don't even have my gas turned on, I have all electric appliances, highly recommend! also our power never goes out like the rest of our block! we have batteries. that's so wild to me, so helpful & a huge incentive you don't hear much about

Great video. I have solar panels on my San Francisco house and have had similar results as you reported in this video.

well, a home battery is a great thing.. in case if you have a temporal no grid situation, you still can run basic stuff like you're Refrigerator..

I have solar panels on my primary home 🏡. I use to pay $600/ month. Now I pay at most $200 or sometimes -150 I would need a battery 🪫 or a power wall down the road. Thank you Shelby!

Wow! the practical insights into the process of installing and using solar panels, helping me evaluate whether such an investment would be worth it.

Thank you, Shelbs!!!!!!! I really enjoyed the information about solar systems today. You better contact my assistant to schedule a time to speak about collabs in the near future.

OMG 😱 solar guys from California, you are totally crazy! 2.95USD per W, it's that for real?)) We are buying solar panels for 0.12-0.13 USD per W and selling it to our customers for 0.19-0.21. So we're normally selling 100kW on-grid solar system for 35-45k USD. Turnkey, including work and mounting system. And that is the fair price for top-quality equipment. P.S. I'm the owner and CEO of solar energy company since 2005.

Been waiting for this 🎉

Great video on Solar power! Well done!

Like you I am on NM2 except w Central Cali. PGE. Have had solar since 2002 when the county did not know what permit to use. Have a 12 Kw system with 2 Inverters that when I am not charging my Tesla it puts out excess to the grid as a credit if needed. Your pool pump, and AC uses the most. Always add extra if you can for and EV, PV degradation, cloudy days. They have some great 500 watt+ panels that are bifacial, and would take efficiency advantage of the white reflective roof you have there. Great choice.

Good video. My solar is worth it in LA. I definitely have to clean them at least 1-2x year due to the amount of dirt and grime that builds up with no rain for months on end. I can always see a jump in daily KWH production after cleaning them when super dirty so I do try and keep them reasonably clean.

Another winner from Shelby. Right up there with her initial Tesla video. Another video people would like are new changes in seller's fees in real estate. Will that deter you from pursuing your license?? What does Monica think about this?? Again, good job!! 👍Will reference for future use. 😊

it looks like you already have the metal racks ready for the entire roof. I believe you are planning to add more panels and generate more energy. I hope you will cover that soon and let us know the results. Thanks for sharing!

Excellent video. I had similar concerns going in and I tell the damn solar sales people to get off my lawn.

Not sure if I missed this in the video but it’s important to note with leasing you don’t get the federal tax credit.

i would get a digital locking thermostat and set the temp to lke 77. only lower it if the guest asks porblem solced. When its unbooked crank it up to 82-84

Thank you for sharing your experience. Do you know if your solar panels will work during a power outage, or do you need battery packs for that?

It usually makes sense to try and improve a houses energy efficiency as much as possible before going solar. Improving efficiency is usually cheaper than a bigger solar system.

You're the BEST! Love You!

Would love to see Shelby and Monica talk about solar impacts on real estate prices. People in Seattle have net metering so those long summer days pile up statement credits for the winter.

I’m in Massachusetts. I DIY’ed my whole system (had an electrician do the tie in). I sourced my own materials, most new some second hand. I installed a 14.8kW system for $17,000 out of pocket. I got quoted $64,000 from SunRun for pretty much an identical system. If you have the know how, it’s definitely worth doing it on your own. I also get 1 to 1 net metering from my power company. With some of the highest rates in the nation ($0.33 kWh) I have completely eliminated my bill, and am in the process of getting out of fossil fuels and switching to heat pump heating and cooling. I sized my system to hopefully be able to cover my heating and cooling.

I tried but grid company didn't allow reasonable capacity. So only way out is to do off-grid with grid backup. 🇱🇻

I had Solar City which then became Tesla Solar for ~8years. Never had a problem and always had excellent support when I called them. It cost me zero to install and saved me approximately 50% of my monthly bill each month.

Watched your vids when you were doing and post-op - you look super in what's now the long-term. Hope you're happy with the results :) On power, since you're not in it all the time I hope you have a system you can remotely monitor power from to minimize unoccupied times power drains. Not using power is like nega-watts, you're not paying for what you don't use.... it's a net gain $$$ Might be worth metering what's consuming the most power around the clock and seeing if there's less power draw replacements etc next. Look for "vampire" drains of various sorts... and having remote temp control can be HUGE savings for unoccupied times... heat pump/ac out there probably your largest draw. Good luck with it :)

A smart move, and the right thing to do.

Really enjoyed this video!

Absolutely! Investing in solar panels not only enhances the sustainability of your Airbnb but also offers long-term cost savings and demonstrates your commitment to eco-friendly practices.

We moved into a house last year that had panels and luckily as part of the deal, the previous owners paid off the solar unit, otherwise we were against taking over that portion. Even with us living in Arizona, we were not open to taking on additional payments/fees. We use the same app but I’m so confused on reading it lol.

Nice video! Very informative!

I have a 9.9kw system and live in Australia. I'd guess it's similar to LA where we get lots of sunshine throughout the year. The pricing here is very different. When I originally got solar panels (about 12 years ago), I only had a 2kw system, and I would get 56 cents per kw back into the system and was only paying 19 cents per kw to use (plus the connection fees). Then that scheme ended (went down to 9 cents per kw back into the system) and my solar panels also died (less than 10 years into having them despite being told they would last 20+ years) and was unable to get this fixed as the company that installed them went bust. My State was offering great incentives to get solar so I upgraded and got a new system which is the 9.9kw system and it was $7000 (mind you, this was 3 years ago so not sure of the price now and what the rebate is now). The initial scheme was 19 cents per kw back into the system and it was 26 cents per kw to use (plus connection fees). Within the first quarter, I had no electricity bill to pay and the electric company owed me about 50 (and yes, that includes the connection fee as the kw in can cover those fees as well). Now a few years later, the scheme has ended again and I get 7 cents per kw back into the grid and pay about 30 cents per kw to use (plus connection fee) however my solar system generates more than we use (especially when it's not summer as we don't use heaters in our house) so the electricity company owes us about $850. That said, we do have a gas bill for our gas hot water and cooking but most of that cost is connection fees. Definitely worth it, have been putting off getting a battery hoping prices would come down but they haven't come down that much in the last 5 years. The 9.9kw system isn't big enough to go off grid completely if you are using air-conditioning but is a great investment.

Great video. I think you're one of the best making presentation videos. Do you visualize what a video will look like before you make it?

7:49 Energy Effivient tax credits are amazing, especially when you purchase solar. I’ve had so many clients going solar and I love it! I’m a CPA, by the way, not a solar salesman or marketer.

Please do a follow up video in the fall.

Solar installer and troubleshooting contractor here in northern California. I immediately noticed the solar edge app and have to say, please, please, please, keep all of your paperwork. Idk why contractors anywhere continue to install Solar edge. We used to buy stopped as soon as the failure rate within 1 year became unacceptable (greater than 1 part per 250 in two years). Just last week I had multiple calls (6 different sites) for failed optimizers and 1 for a failed inverter. 4 of which were installed in the last year and not by us. Our first question is did you call your original installer, they all said yes and none of them could get a hold of them so please keep a hold of your paperwork

Bought a house with a lot of solar panels on them here in socal, totally worth it even with a lease. Most months I get credit back from SoCal Edison

If you’re planning on adding batteries later on I hope you told that to your installers to kinda future proof your install so you can easily add the extra conduit to the ATS and battery system. Same goes for doubling your system size as the feeders and conduit will need to be bigger Definitely hope you make a follow up after a year as a years worth of use gives a better picture of your true savings

As a teacher, I had my students review the costs of switching to solar panels. The cost of panels are close to $4k, the rest of the costs are coming from the tools needed to install the solar panels and the labor involved.

In the Pacific Northwest where I live it has been hard to justify solar since my total monthly bill is $215 per month utilizing comfort billing.

Good info and production Shelby, thanks. I bet you will wish you had installed a little bigger system eventually. I have experience with 3 homes. Our Seattle home (solar is 15 y payback in WA and has good NEM), my son’s home in San Diego (has 3 year pay back) will NEM 2.0 contract, and we have a rental property also in San Diego. At all 3 homes we eventually wished our systems were bigger. In Seattle we got an EV (we planned for that) but we also got rid of our gas furnace and installed an electric heat pump. In San Diego we hope to have an EV eventually and then in our rental we now have work from home tenants who use more electricity than before. Also if you try to add to your system later, you have to go through permits all over again and may lose the favorable contract you started with. For example if we add to our San Diego system when we get an EV we will lose our NEM 2.0 contract. My advice is to install the biggest system you can and have the consultant go over possible future increases in electricity use that you might not anticipate (like EV’s, heat pumps). Buy it, get a subsidized solar loan if available, and consider batteries only if the current NEM permits make you. In Seattle NEM is still ok for another year or 2, in CA I’m hoping the NEM 3.0 gets overturned by the lawsuit. The “payback time” companies quote you usually includes the 30% tax credit and the expected rate increases for electricity. A WA 15 year payback is a guaranteed investment return of 5%, a San Diego 5 year payback is even better. Thanks for you interesting channel

What camera and mic do you use to film? Its stellar!