Seeks advice on installing solar panels

An area homeowner asks for input on his plan to install solar panels on his home.

Who has solar panels? I need some advice … is it worth it or not? — Jonathan Gall

Great deal

So worth it for me! We have a 3,300-square-foot house and our bill is always less than $60. — Nicole Bernard

We own our solar panels as well. Our APS bill last month was $40 and of that only $4 was actual electric. The rest were fees and taxes. — Tara Muldner

Very cool

We pay $120 to solar every month, around $30 to APS. Have a 2,000-square-foot, two-story. We run the air at 73 degree all summer and it’s totally worth it. — Allie Eleanor

We purchased and got huge rebate. Last month, solar bill was $37. — Sheila Redding Hoefer

Lease it

We leased from APS when they were offering it and save $30 a month for 20 years. They paid 100% for the installation and all maintenance on them for the 20 years. So, after the 20 years we will have saved $7,200. — Rich Smejkal

Worth it

We bought our house in 2015. It came with solar panels. They are owned, so no monthly lease fee. Definitely worth it for us. The previous owner had already paid for them. Electric bills are much lower than we paid in Illinois. On average, for a 4,068-square-foot two-story home, pool, spa, two ACs, refrigerators (two large and two small) it’s approximately $130 a month. That’s averaged over 12 months. Good luck. —Sandi Taylor Ibbotson

So affordable

We got solar panels six or seven years ago. We don’t pay for any electricity other than a couple dollars per month that APS requires to have the solar. We have our air where we are comfortable. Our solar payment is less than $100 a month. Definitely less than we were paying for electric even on the averaged rate. It was definitely worth it for us! — Genie Sheesley Donohoe

We bought our house because it has solar panels and it was a smart decision. Even with the payment to Solar City, we never have an electric bill like we did without solar. So worth it. — Pam Osterhaus

New A/C

For us, retired, we just installed new high energy-saving air conditioning units, the best they had, instead of going solar. Just installed last week. Program where you have up to a year to pay off, no money down. Should cut our bill in half. Most people never replace their units until they break. — Pamela Grosjean

Bad deal

No. You will never recoup the amount when you sell that you have to pay for them. I was a real estate broker for 34 years and some homeowners were so in debt for their solar panels it literally made their house unsellable. Buyer beware. — Cheryal Hertling