Are You Looking at Solar Panels in San Antonio Upside Down and Backwards? 

If you talk to enough homeowners in San Antonio about Solar panels you are bound to run into someone that believes that they do not pay off soon enough. In fact, I once heard someone lament that they would love to see the payoff within their lifetime. 

However, I find it odd that nobody ever complains about having to pay their power bill forever and ever. That is why I love to ask people that have this upside-down and backward view, when will they pay off their power bill? 

Self-Inflected Wound 

I believe that this bizarre way of looking at solar panels is a self-inflicted wound because for many years this was the go-to strategy that salespeople used to pitch the solar opportunity. These old-school salespeople were too successful in convincing homeowners to believe that solar was a long-term investment! 

Times are changing, and the way San Antonio homeowners look at solar system opportunities should keep changing. When the go-to sales pitch for selling solar was about the payoff, the US (United States) government was fighting around the world to keep our resources like oil, coal, and natural gas cheap. 

Change is the only constant in life 

Now we live in strange times where the government is at war with fossil fuels. There are now bans on mining for coal on federal lands, coal production is being shut down, along with many other challenges facing cheap fossil fuels that power the grid. 

Another new reality we all were waking up to is that inflation is out of control and here to stay. The cost of labor, equipment, and fuel is making the production of electricity from the grid exponentially more expensive. In fact, the supply chain crisis is still impacting the maintenance of the grid as many of the critical components for the substations and power lines are back-ordered. 

Of course, I have left one that the biggest factors that have turned the solar equation upside down, and that is the war in Ukraine that led the western powers to ban Russian coal and natural gas. The two main ingredients that power the grid! Inflation, supply chain shortages & coal bans led the price of coal to go from $20 a ton to $400 dollars. 

As a result, many homeowners in San Antonio saw their electricity bills skyrocket over the last summer! 

New Math 

With so many threats facing the cost of the fossil fuels that power the grid, it demands that we aggressively re-evaluate how we look at solar. Homeowners should be more worried about locking in a flat-rate payment for electricity.  The idea is that we should be more focused on the short-term risk of spikes in the cost of electricity than the long-term benefit of solar payback.  

When I talk about the risk of spikes in the cost to power your home what I really mean is your lifestyle.  The possibility that out-of-control electric bills could make some homeowners start rationing electricity by lowering the thermostat in winter and raising it in summer, no more streaming, no more fortnight for the kiddos i.e., your lifestyle could be dramatically affected.  

If some of the worst-case scenarios come to fruition like NATO entering the War in Ukraine or China invading Tawain, then some homeowners may not even be able to afford to pay their power bills. (Except for those with the foresight to go Solar!) 

Change is the only constant in life 

The world is undergoing a transformation and it is time many homeowners re-evaluate the way they look at solar panels in San Antonio. We all need to take a hard look in the mirror and realize the current risk we are facing is to our immediate way of life! 

I personally have solar panels on my home in San Antonio and enjoy a zero electric bill and a flat monthly solar system payment.  

It’s important to keep in mind that you can pay off your solar panels one day and never pay anything at all to power your home. However, we all need to have a laser focus on the truth that the threat to our lifestyle is the here and now!