Are Solar Panels Worth It in Portland?
Author: Bill Hoelzer / Published: May 2022 / Read Time: Three and a Half Minutes
Are solar panels worth it in Portland? That’s a good question, but here’s a better question:
Are solar panels worth it for you?
To find out, give us a call at 541.330.8767. We’ll do a free, virtual feasibility assessment of your solar potential. If solar makes sense for your home, you’ll get a preliminary estimate of the costs and cash incentives. We’ll then come out to inspect your home in-person and get you a final proposal to power your home with the sun.
If you’re not ready for an assessment, that’s OK. You may want to get a sense for your solar potential with free online tools (see below), or check out our Portland solar for a case study and more.
PVWatts® Calculator
Are you numerically minded? You’ll love the PVWatts Calculator from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The calculator will give a preliminary estimate of the monthly and annual solar output at your address.
You can compare the estimated output with your past electric bills to get a sense for how much you’ll save with rooftop solar. The calculator does not estimate the costs or system size that makes the most sense for your home, but still, it's not a bad place to start.
Google’s Project Sunroof
For any visual learners out there, start with Google’s Project Sunroof.
You’ll find plenty of visuals and easy to understand headlines, but compared to PVWatts, it’s not as easy to access the data behind the headlines.
Either way, keep in mind that the estimates are preliminary. When you want to know the size, costs, payback, and incentives for a solar PV system at your home, give us a call: 541.330.8767.
So … are solar panels worth it in Portland?
The short answer: Yes!
The long answer: It depends on a few things, but there’s a reason that solar is the fastest growing source of electricity in Oregon. We currently produce enough solar energy in Oregon to power about 170,000 homes.
When our clients ask “Is solar worth it in Portland?” they usually want to know whether solar panels in Portland produce enough energy to justify the costs.
Portland has a reputation for rainy winters with plenty of cloud cover. It’s fair to wonder whether solar makes sense in Portland. We’ll walk through the main considerations below and provide links for you to learn more.
Solar Potential in Portland
It’s true that Portland doesn’t get as much sun as cities like Phoenix or Las Vegas, but we get more than enough sun to offset a significant portion of the electricity bills for average homeowners in Portland.
Portland gets a little more than four hours of peak sun per day. In the United States, places that get four hours or more of peak sun per day are considered good places to produce useful amounts of solar energy (learn more about peak sun hours).
According to Google’s Project Sunroof, 83% of the buildings in Portland are considered viable for solar. That’s about 160,000 roofs. If we could wave a wand and install solar on each of those roofs, we’d eliminate almost 800,000 metric tons of CO2.
Incentives for Solar in Portland
We’re not doing a deep dive in this article, but the bottom line is that we’re fortunate to benefit from strong incentives for rooftop solar in Portland.
The Energy Trust of Oregon estimates that Portland homeowners can cut the cost of installing solar by as much as 50% by taking advantage of local incentives and federal tax credits.
Here are links you can use to get the latest:
Portland Solar Panels
The most important consideration is whether solar panels make sense for your home in particular. Start by giving us a call at 541.330.8767, or get preliminary estimates online from PVWatts.
We get more than enough sun to make solar worth it for most homeowners in Portland. What’s more, we benefit from strong local cash incentives and federal tax credits that can cut the cost of solar in half. With smart financing, solar projects are a slam dunk in Portland.
Going beyond costs and savings, many of our clients choose to install solar because it feels like the right thing to do. They want to create a more resilient climate for future generations. That’s what we want too. Please let us know if we can help.
Learn More About Rooftop Solar
Start by visiting our solar resource page for homeowners in Portland, Oregon. You can also keep reading our latest blog articles about solar energy in Oregon.