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    I went solar in Switzerland – I now know why many people don’t
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    I went solar in Switzerland – I now know why many people don’t

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    15 Comments

    1. Kooky_Eye5475 on

      > Based on current rates and our consumption, it will likely take around ten years for our system to have paid for itself

      That’s really not too bad. And he doesn’t even talk about electric cars. If you use your solar to charge your car it might take even less than ten years

    3. Consistent_Bit_3974 on

      We’re about to install some, and have calculated an ROI of ~7-8y. This is acceptable to us.

    4. Batmanbacon on

      I mean, I’m very sorry, but it all came down to this:

      1. It’s expensive to set up (known in advance)
      2. The excess electricity is hard to sell (known in advance)
      3. In winter, the sun doesn’t shine much (known in advance)

      I would still get solar panels, if I owned a roof. It cost him 30k to put 50k worth of solar panels on his house, and I bet his house is now worth at least 20k more when he decides to sell it.

      Sure, there could be more subsidies, but Switzerland already produces way more electricity than it needs in summer, and it’s not exactly cost effective for most of the country in winter.

    5. RoastedRhino on

      Why?

      High gap between sell and buy energy price, high installation costs, cheap electricity, low home ownership rates, high opportunity cost (tax free capital gains).

    6. ThinkPraline7015 on

      Payback in 10 years is not even bad for a PV system. Ours is rather in the 20 years range.

      It’s not a good investment. It’s a hobby. Now for comparison, having a car isn’t a good investment either. So, I’m good. So when I have fun driving and when I see my lower electricity bills, I’m happy.

    7. Admirable_Sun_5468 on

      I can’t because the Genossenschaft said I can’t. That’s what happens when you buy a house that they want to preserve the image of.

    8. puzzlemindZH on

      Not economically justified, similar to heat pumps.
      However, I’m considering it only if the price for energy storing batteries will fall down so I can use it myself

    9. Infinite_Purpose9750 on

      Solar on your own roof makes financial sense if you have an electric car that you can use as a smart battery for the household & heat pump in winter.

    10. b00nish on

      > Based on current rates and our consumption, it will likely take around ten years for our system to have paid for itself

      An production infrastructure investment that pays for itself within 10 years and afterwards yields a “free” profit for probably another 20+ years sounds like a pretty good investment…

      Try to buy a flat to rent out as invextment and calculate how long it will take for it to have paid for itself… I can tell you, that number won’t be 10 years 😉

    11. ipokestuff on

      What a bullshit article. Did you know that washing your own boat is generally cheaper than having it detailed?

      19% of people in Swtizerland own their own house. So you have to first be in this lucky 19% to then ask yourself the question “do i have 30k to throw away?”. Based on historical figures, if you dump the 30k in the SP500 you will have ~78k in 10 years. I think that’s a smarter use of 30k.

    13. Mission_Listen_56 on

      Independence has no price. But again depends on what is relevant for each individual. But looking at the future one should reallllly not put a price tag (ie ROI) on having your own energy and your own water.

    15. Nameless_101 on

      We have solar. But it is still unclear, if we can get it payed off in a useful time. It depends a lot on the prices of the electicity.

      It probably does not make sense to add a PV that is larger than what you use, except that addon is very cheap. Otherwise you have too much energy to use and will get only very little payed.