Florida electricity prices average $0.12/kWh, below the national average of $0.14/kWh.
Despite being the second-largest electricity producer in the US (after Texas) Florida consumes almost eight times as much energy as it produces. In 2018 renewables accounted for roughly 3% of Florida's net power generation, with roughly one third of that coming from Solar.
Cost of a Solar Install
A graph of falling prices for a typical 10kW PV install in Florida from 2008-2018. Figures include design costs. Data from Berkeley Lab.
The average cost of a 10kW (equivalent to saving almost 200 trees a year) solar power system starts around $29,000. Before any incentives, in the first year you’d save about $1,600, compared to if you had been paying the normal rates for the energy you used. These savings can continue for well over 25 years, improving with inflation.
Just How Much Can I Save With Solar in Florida?
This depends on may factors such as your system size, power output, and financing. Here are the main ways you can finance your home solar power system, and the kinds of returns you may expect to see:
Out-of-Pocket
From our example above, the homeowner purchased a 10kW system to offset their energy bill. Overhead cost was $29,000, with a significant proportion returned in the first year through incentives, rebates, and savings, then paying itself in full over 11 years.
Most solar power systems have a warranty lifetime of 25 years.In that time, between incentives and paying lower rates you could make a profit of around $40,000. Even with occasional maintenance or part replacement, that is a massive savings. Solar panel power output falls on average 0.8% per year, so with a little TLC and load management you can extend the life of your system well beyond the warranty’s expiration date, continuing to save indefinitely.
Solar Loan
Whether or not you can afford the up-front cost of the install, you may want to consider a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). With equity in your home, or good credit, you may qualify for a 15-year solar HELOC with fixed rate of 4% or lower.
Starting with that same 10kW system costing $29,000 but with zero up-front cost, accounting for incentives, credits, rebates, and annual energy savings starting around $1,700, you could see a revenue surplus of about $6,500 at the end of the first year. Save that money though. Your loan payments will likely exceed your power savings by about $80/month for the 15-year term
Once the loan is paid off, you can expect to save about $1,700 a year. Over 25 years you could expect to make about $29,000.
