My wife had been urging us to go solar for years.

She saw it as a way to send a message to our community and ourselves that we care about the environment and the future of our planet. We live in sunny San Diego, so it made total sense.

Looking back, I can’t exactly say why I was reluctant to agree. We had the money. I don’t believe that global warming is some giant hoax. I was just … apathetic.

When panels started to pop up everywhere, I decided to run the numbers. As you can see below, I paid an average of 20 cents an hour per kilowatt/hour of electricity.

To put this in perspective, 20 cents per kilowatt hour is about as expensive as it gets for electricity in the United States.

How did this compare to solar?

First off, I wanted to buy my solar panels outright. We had the money to do this and it was a far better investment than leasing. Most people in California choose to lease, which is the most expensive way to go solar. Buying panels outright locks in electricity at a low price, while leasing panels leaves you vulnerable to rising rates, just like with your utility.

I was budgeting about $21,000 for my 4.73kw solar system (including a new electric panel). The U.S. government’s 30 percent tax credit brought the total cost down to around $14,700.

That’s a lot of money but buying a solar system is essentially paying for power up front.

Over 20 years at 20 cents/kWh I will hand over $24,820 to my utility, San Diego Gas & Electric. Running my solar system for 20 years would save me $10,000.

And that’s assuming that rates don’t change (unlikely) and my electric use remains the same (also unlikely).

Solar was starting to make sense.