Are solar panels worth it for a home?

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1. 1

   Cost-Benefit Analysis with Dashboard of Solar Panels for Residential Malaysia

   Research paper (Quan et al.)Published Feb 7, 2025Checked Oct 3, 2026

   “This study develops an investigation of the economic and practical feasibility of the installation of residential solar panels in Malaysia, with a developed web-based dashboard that could be of help for decision analysis. Given the abundant solar irradiance in Malaysia and its supportive energy policies, the research integrates local consumption data, government incentives, and the cost structure into a cost-benefit analysis framework. This study has presented a dashboard that calculates estimates of energy usage, optimal system sizes, and financial metrics like payback period and ROI, computed with respect to user-specified inputs. The result shows the payback period for the solar installations in the range of 5–7 years, whereas the return on investment is around 55% within a span of ten years. The dashboard bridges the gap between technical feasibility and actionable insight, thereby enabling the homeowners to make an informed choice while standing at par with Malaysia's sustainability and renewable energy goals.”

2. 2

   Cost Benefit Analysis of Solar Panel System in Residential Buildings in Sokoto State, Nigeria

   SPE Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (Stephen et al.)Published Aug 5, 2024Checked Oct 3, 2026

   “To assess the feasibility of solar energy, global solar radiation, clearness index, and sunshine hours based on analyses of weather conditions in Sokoto State were considered in the analyses. Notably, August exhibited the lowest solar radiation levels. Quantitative analysis was conducted to ascertain the viability of solar panel systems as an energy solution for residential buildings in Sokoto State. Over a projected 25-year lifespan of the solar panels, the cumulative output production is estimated at 54.54 terra-watt hours. The return on investment (ROI) is calculated at an impressive 209%, indicating a payback period of just 9-10 years. Additionally, compared to other renewable energy sources, solar energy in residential buildings in Sokoto State stands to save more money, with a revenue of $3.55 billion. These findings highlight the significant potential and economic benefits of adopting solar power in Sokoto State. By embracing renewable energy solutions, Nigeria can address its pressing power supply challenges while fostering a sustainable and environmentally friendly future.”

3. 3

   Exploring The Feasibility Of Residential Solar Panel Adoption In Algeria’s Arid And Hot Regions: A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of An On-Grid System

   Technium Social Sciences Journal (Tibermacine & Zemmouri)Published Feb 8, 2023Checked Oct 3, 2026

   “A case study of a residential building located in the city of Biskra is used as a representation of the potential for solar energy in these specific areas, along with real data of energy consumption over the last five years. A simulation of an on-grid system using Skelion plugin and PVsyst software was performed to evaluate the financial impact on energy bill savings. The study also evaluated the economic feasibility through the calculation of costs and benefits, including the payback period, net present value (NPV), and the internal rate of return (IRR). Results showed that solar energy has great potential in Algeria and that residential solar panel systems can provide a positive net present value and internal rate of return, indicating that they are economically viable. Additionally, the payback period for these systems was found to be reasonable. Homeowners who install solar panels on their roof can reduce their dependence on the traditional electricity grid by generating their own electricity, which can lead to significant savings on energy bills and reduce their carbon footprint.”

4. 4

   Cost and Benefit Analysis of Solar Panels at Home

   International Journal of Advanced engineering Management and Science (Constantino et al.)Published Jan 1, 2023Checked Oct 3, 2026

   “The researchers gathered some data from consumers to be utilized as the basis for the contractors' computations, where the adoption of a 3kw on-grid solar panel system was recommended to those respondents with power bills under ₱2,400. The project costs approximately ₱150,000 in total, including installation and permits, and can save approximately ₱2,300 monthly. This investment has a 5.4-year payback period and a total savings of ₱402,000 over a 20-year period. The consumption analysis revealed a sensitive effect on savings and investment payback periods. The study proved that the project's long-term savings can be more than double the initial investment. A SWOT analysis was also performed to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of having an on-grid solar panel, as well as the benefits of clean energy and gas reduction in our environment that future generations could benefit from. The project's cost-benefit is a win-win investment for everyone who wants to save money while also enjoying cleaner air in the long run.”

5. 5

   Readiness for a clean energy future: Prevalence, perceptions, and barriers to adoption of electric stoves and solar panels in New York City.

   Energy policy (Lane et al.)Published Sep 5, 2024Checked Oct 3, 2026

   “This study assessed prevalence and perceptions of these clean-energy technologies to increase adoption in New York City (NYC). A representative survey of 1,950 NYC adults was conducted from February 28 to April 1, 2022. Fourteen percent of people had an electric stove; 86% had gas stoves. Black, Latino/a, and lower-income residents were more likely to have electric stoves than White and higher-income residents. Only 14% of residents were interested in switching from gas to electric stoves. Of the 71% with gas stoves uninterested in switching, nearly half (45%) preferred gas cooking, particularly among White and higher-income residents, indicating a large opportunity to shift preferences. About 5% used solar for their home or building; another 77% were interested in solar. Of the 18% uninterested in solar, reasons included lack of agency, confusion about operation, and costs. Education about health and cost benefits, induction technology, how to transition, available subsidies, and other efforts to reduce adoption barriers can support clean technology uptake. Residential clean energy metrics should be tracked regularly to ensure that technology adoption proceeds equitably.”

6. 6

   BERT based sentiment analysis of consumer hesitancy toward solar energy adoption.

   Scientific reports (Jabbar et al.)Published Feb 11, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “The model is applied to diverse consumer-generated content sourced from social media, review platforms, and public forums. Because the corpus is mixed-access, social-platform data were collected via official APIs and are not redistributed as raw text; instead, we share only permitted identifiers for rehydration (where allowed), preprocessing scripts, and non-reversible derived artifacts, while open corpora are shared in accordance with their licenses. Our approach achieves a validation F1-score of 0.85 and an overall test F1-score of 0.82, accurately capturing nuanced sentiments across domains. Quantitative analysis reveals that cost-related concerns account for over 41% of negative sentiment, followed by reliability (28%) and environmental skepticism (19%). The inclusion of cumulative gain analysis and high-confidence prediction filtering improves result interpretability and prioritization of insights. These findings provide valuable guidance for policymakers, solar energy firms, and sustainability advocates seeking to design targeted interventions and accelerate consumer acceptance of solar energy technologies.”

7. 7

   Public perception toward residential solar panels in Bahrain

   Energy Reports (Alsabbagh)Published Feb 25, 2019Checked Oct 3, 2026

   “In 2017, Bahrain’s Cabinet endorsed the country’s first national renewable energy action plan. The plan included the installation of residential solar photovoltaic cells as a means of using renewable energy in government-built housing units. This was followed by the establishment of the country’s first photovoltaic solar panel manufacturing company and the introduction of a net metering policy. However, public acceptance of residential solar panels has not been researched. This study aimed to address this gap through the distribution of an online survey. A total of 764 complete responses were received. The results showed a considerable number of respondents were interested in installing solar panels. However, the respondents recognized several challenges in both buying and installing them, including capital cost, lack of information, and maintenance requirements. This study’s findings offer insights on how the public perceives solar panels, along with issues the government needs to address to ensure successful public participation in the use of solar energy in the residential sector in Bahrain.”

8. 8

   Self-Determination Theory in the Social Acceptance of Sustainable Energies and Technologies: A Comprehensive Review.

   Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) (Xie et al.)Published Aug 4, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “Following PRISMA guidelines, studies published between January 2000 and April 2026 were identified through searches of Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, with 34 eligible studies included in the thematic analysis. The findings from many of the reviewed studies suggest that autonomous motivation, supported by the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs, is associated with greater technology acceptance, trust, engagement, and long-term behavioural support. In contrast, controlled motivation is more often associated with resistance, weak internalisation, or short-term compliance. The review further highlights the important moderating role of contextual factors, including policy design, communication strategies, trust, and socio-cultural environments. By integrating SDT into sustainable technology acceptance research, this review advances motivation-based perspectives on sustainability transitions and provides practical implications for policymakers, technology developers, and communication practitioners seeking to foster enduring public engagement with sustainable innovations.”

9. 9

   Uncertainty-aware electrification of university campuses: Matching demand with renewable generation for zero emissions.

   Engineering science and technology (Berna-Escriche et al.)Published Sep 1, 2026Checked Oct 4, 2026

   “This study proposes a structured and transferable methodology for campus decarbonization, integrating high-resolution hourly demand analysis, PV generation modeling, electrification measures, and uncertainty quantification within a Best Estimate Plus Uncertainty (BEPU) framework using Wilks' non-parametric tolerance intervals. The approach is applied to the ETSII buildings at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), within Valencia's climate-neutrality strategy. For a case study with ∼3 GWh annual demand and 1.3 MWp PV capacity, results indicate that solar PV alone can supply about 70% of annual demand, with self-consumption levels of 67-69% and overall self-sufficiency near 50%. Adding a 1 MW / 4 MWh battery increases self-consumption above 95% and self-sufficiency to ∼65%, despite storage losses. The BEPU/Wilks framework provides statistically robust performance bounds, supporting reliable PV-storage sizing. The methodology provides a robust and scalable framework for planning the decarbonization of urban areas and university campuses.”