Utahns are proud stewards of their children. Today, we’re writing checks our kids can’t cash.

Environmental ROI

Nothing is free, and there’s a lot of gunk that goes into solar panels, batteries and other components. One study, puts the environmental ROI of solar + battery at 14 times the environmental cost. The energy you get from a battery-tied system is also around 60% cleaner than a panels-only system. This is because, with a panels-only system, you self-consume around 30% of your own power (the rest is bought from the grid, which at night especially, is powered with brown energy). On the other hand, a solar + battery home self-consumes 85-95% of its own power — so while the battery itself has an impact, its presence means that you’re able to self-consume your own clean energy, versus selling it off to the grid during the middle of the day (when the grid doesn’t need it), and buying brown power in the evening and for surge capacity throughout the day.

It’s worth noting that the study cited (and written up by Stanford University) measures only the standard warranty life of all equipment, and discounts entirely the fact that a modern solar + battery system will last decades beyond its manufacturers’ warranties.

All else being equal on a 15-year monetary payback, most Utahns think critically enough about their environmental legacy, and the habitat that they’re leaving behind for their children.