Hey Clevelanders. Your roof is made of cash.

by Shannon, posted on August 31st, 2010.

We know it’s been a hard year Cleveland, but we just can’t bring ourselves to feel sorry for you about the whole LeBron thing. We just calculated how much money homeowners will make by going solar there and we’re totally jealous.

• For starters, you have one of the most kick-ass state solar rebates in the entire country. In fact combined with the Federal Solar Tax Credit and the One Block Off the Grid group discount, you get a whopping 70% to 80% of your costs for going solar covered by the government and other entities. The average sized system there ends up costing only about $7k.
  
• The second  your panels are turned on, your electric meter starts running backward and CEI or Ohio Edison or Cleveland Public Power has to start paying you for the energy you generate. Homeowners there will save an average of $825 a year in lower electricity costs.
• At that moment another unbelievably sweet Ohio-based deal kicks in: the SREC program, which means that a few times a year you’ll get a check in your mailbox simply for having panels on your roof. The average solar system will generate payments in the $1200 range. Only a couple of other states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania have SREC payments available. (Here’s a short video on how SRECs work.)
• Because of the SREC payments you’ll be getting and the electricity bills you won’t be paying, a mere four years after your panels have been turned on, they will have completely paid for themselves.
• Four years from now, your panels aren’t just saving you money, they’re actively making you money. You’re still getting checks in your mailbox (remember, it’s about about $1200 annually for the average system) and you no longer have a utility bill. It’s like giving yourself an instant, long-term raise.

Clevelanders, we’re officially jealous.  Once you go solar, you’ll be so busy spending all your extra cash that you won’t have time to watch the Cavs anyway. Sign up for One Block Off the Grid today, and we’ll help you figure out if you have a good roof for it. You’ll also get access to the Cleveland group discount on solar, which is available through the end of November.