Oregon City Solar Installation 101
At Sunbridge Solar, we are proud to provide high-quality solar equipment and stellar customer service to all of our neighbors and customers in the beautiful Oregon City area – so beautiful that even the pioneers on the Oregon Trail decided to stop here! Let’s take a look at some basics.
Is Solar Worth It in Oregon City?
Solar energy can certainly be worth it in Oregon City. On average, homeowners who install solar energy systems save more than $18,700 over the following 20 years. The average cost per watt in Oregon City is $2.46, which is on the lower half of the state average spectrum of $2.16 to $2.92 per watt. This puts the price of a typical 5 kilowatt system at an average of $12,300.
The average payback period is 10.79 years, which means that in just under 11 years you will have saved as much on your energy bills as you initially spent on the solar energy system. After you have recouped that investment, you can continue enjoying free or very low-cost energy for another 10-20 years depending on the longevity of your solar panels.
2024 Oregon City Solar Incentives
However, it’s also important to consider solar incentives when discussing the cost of solar energy, as they can drop the price quite significantly. Here are a few of the biggest incentives in Oregon City for 2021:
- Federal Investment Tax Credit for Solar – This nationwide incentive lets you deduct 30% of the cost of your solar energy system from your federal tax liability amount, and even roll over excess credit to subsequent years if necessary. For our average 5 kilowatt system, this can be a savings of almost $3,200!
- Local and Utility Company Rebates – If you are a customer of Portland General Electric or Pacific Power and install a new solar energy system at your home, you are eligible for an instant rebate of between $0.20-$0.25 per watt. Customers of Salem Electric can get a $600 rebate for the first 3 kilowatts and $300 for each additional kilowatt. These can offset $1,000 to $2,500 of your cost instantly.
- Net Metering – Net metering allows you to ‘bank’ extra solar energy with your utility company, which helps keep your energy costs low all year long.
How Much Solar Can I Produce?
Each solar panel has a wattage rating that indicates how many watts of energy it will produce under absolutely perfect conditions. Most residential solar panels are rated to produce between 250 and 400 watts, but since real-world environmental conditions are never going to be perfect, you can realistically expect that a panel will produce up to about 90% of its rating.
Speaking of environmental conditions, there are several that affect the performance of your panels, including shading, the weather, the daily number of sun hours, air pollution levels, the cleanliness of your panels, the angle they are mounted at, and so on.
There are several different environmental conditions that can impact power production, like shading, the weather, how many hours of sun the panel gets each day, the angle at which the panel is mounted, the length of cable runs, and the cleanliness of the panels, among other things.
Example
To put this into practical terms, let’s look at a sample situation. The average American household uses about 890 kilowatt-hours per month and the average residential solar energy system is rated at 5 kilowatts (which is equal to 5,000 watts). A 5 kilowatt system can produce between 350 and 850 kilowatt-hours per month which means that in the summer months you can essentially offset all of your energy consumption with solar energy, while in the winter you may need to rely more heavily on grid electricity.
An average solar energy system contains between 12 and 20 panels depending on their wattage rating and takes up an average of 400 square feet of roof space – ideally on a sloped, south-facing part of the roof.
Your Local Oregon City Solar Company
At Sunbridge Solar, we strive to provide the pinnacle of solar products and customer service in every single customer interaction. Our customers are often our neighbors, and we treat them accordingly with respect and friendliness. Additionally, since we are a local Oregon City-area company, we are intimately familiar with area solar regulations, laws, and permit processes.
There are several different environmental conditions that can impact power production, like shading, the weather, how many hours of sun the panel gets each day, the angle at which the panel is mounted, the length of cable runs, and the cleanliness of the panels, among other things.
Request Your Free Solar Consultation
Investing in solar energy is a big decision, and we know that you want to be informed and educated before making a confident investment. This is why we offer a free solar energy audit to anyone considering solar energy – we’ll provide all the details and facts pertinent to your specific situation. Contact us at Sunbridge Solar today to get started!
There are several different environmental conditions that can impact power production, like shading, the weather, how many hours of sun the panel gets each day, the angle at which the panel is mounted, the length of cable runs, and the cleanliness of the panels, among other things.