How affordable is a solar system?

Now is an excellent time to install solar in San Antonio. Using a rebate from CPS Energy and a federal tax credit, the majority of your solar system is paid for. Our Bring Solar Home program has worked closely with lending institutions to make installing solar even more affordable by creating solar home improvement loans. Below is an example of a loan for a 5 kilowatt solar system costing $5.50 per kilowatt to install:

Using your CPS Energy rebate and the federal tax credit, you can have a reasonable size solar system on your home and end up with payments as low as $71 per month on a solar loan. The reduction in your energy bill will contribute substantially to making your loan payments.

The example above assumes that there would be one payment on the initial loan before the CPS rebate is received. The loan would then be reduced by the amount of the rebate.

The federal tax credit could be paid to the bank at any time during the tax year. The example assumes that the federal tax credit amount would be paid to the bank one year after the rebate, so the payments on the rebate-reduced loan would continue for 12 months. At the end of the 13 month process, the payments for the remaining life of the reduced loan would begin. If the federal tax credit amount is paid on the loan earlier, the reduced payments would begin earlier.

At today’s rates, your generated solar energy replaces energy purchased from CPS Energy for approximately $.09 per kilowatt hour. In the loan example above, a five kilowatt system will generate about 6900 kilowatt hours per year worth $621 or approximately $52 per month at today’s rates. In the loan example above, your net costs per month would range from approximately $1 per month to $35 per month. CPS Energy rates will almost certainly go up in the years ahead. When those rates do go up, your solar generated electricity is more valuable and your net costs will be even less.

If you would like more information on how you can install solar, please visit our website:

Christine Chapa