Solar power in Agoura Hills, California

As a resident of Agoura Hills you are probably purchasing power from Southern California Edison (SCE). The utility company that you buy power from is important when considering installing solar panels for your home because that defines how much you pay for power and therefor how much installing solar panels will save you. 

What solar incentives, tax credits or rebates can I get to install solar panels on my home in Agoura Hills?

Neither SCE, the city or the state government offers up front rebates for solar anyomore as the cost of solar in California has fallen to the point where you can make a great return on investment without them doing so.

However, 30% of the cost of solar panel installation is covered by the federal solar tax credit.

With solar now available from local solar companies servicing Agoura Hills at around $3 per watt, and the tax credit covering 30% of this amount, most homeowners in Agoura Hills can make a profit of $30,000 or more by installing a solar power system and get a payback of less than 6 years.

Given a solar system will last 25 years or longer. Thats at least 19 years of living with free power... and a whopping profit.

Are solar panels worth it in Agoura Hills ?

The attractiveness of installing solar power on your home is further improved by an SCE  program called net metering.

When your solar system is producing more energy than what your home is using the excess power is sent to the SCE grid.

The net metering law entended by the PUC in 2016 requires SCE to pay you the full retail value for each kWh of power your solar system sends them during the day when you solar is generating a lot of power but you are not using much.

So, for example if you export 300 kwh's of power to the SCE grid during the day but consume 400 kwh from the grid at night then they will bill you only for 100 kwh for that month.

The story gets a little more confused because of time of use billing because the rate you are credited for the excess power you export to the gird during the day is different to the rate you pay for power used from the grid during the peak hours in the evening. This means you need a system that produces more than the amount of power you use to get close to a zero power bill.

There are also non-bypassable charges of around 2 cents per kwh under NEM 2 legilsation and this also makes it harder to get to a zero bill. But all in all solar is still an amazing financial investment in Agoura Hills out performing the long term average returns from shares or property.

If at the end of the yearly billing cycle you have remaining credit, SCE will pay you directly at the avoided-cost rate per kWh (3¢-4¢).

Recent changes to net metering (NEM-2)

Since SCE is an Investor Owned Utility(IOU) new solar customers must switch to time-of-use billing in order to use net metering. This change in 2016 reduced the reurns form isntall solar by around 10% but falls in the price of solar systems since then has meant that solar is still a better investment than ever for SCE customers.

How the 30% federal solar tax credit works

Assuming you have a taxable income 30% of your solar installation costs can be claimed as a deduction to federal taxes. This incentive isn't always upfront since it is claimed whenever you do your taxes, for example if you installed a system in January this year and don't do your taxes to midway through 2019 you aren't receiving the credit until 1 and a half years later.

What if my tax liability is lower than 30% of my solar system cost?

The 30% federal solar tax credit can be used in increments over multiple tax periods.

Even if you are not convinced about solar we recommend that at the very least you use the solar panel calculator for Agoura Hills to find out:

• How many solar panels you need to cover your power bill;
• How suitable your house is for solar;
• What incentives your house may be eligible for;
• The cost of solar panel installation in Agoura Hills and whether you are eligible for zero down solar deals; and
• Your likely payback period and return on investment from installing solar