A homeowner pays $18,000 for a 3.0 kWpeak solar photovoltaic system. They get a one-time upfront $2 per Wpeak utility rebate immediately. After the first year, they get a 30% federal tax credit on their after-rebate net cost. After 10 years they have to replace the inverter, costing $1200 in year 10 dollars. Inflation averages 3% throughout the life of the PV system.
Find:
a. The net present worth, P, of the homeowner's net capital investment
b. The annual savings, A, if their local utility electric rates are 10.66 ¢/kWh for the 4 summer months and 7.53 ¢/kWh the rest of the year. And the NREL PV Watts tool estimates their PV system will produce 1528kWh in the 4 summer months, and a total of 4041 kWh annually.
c. The number of years, N, for the homeowner to breakeven.
d. A flat utility rate, R, required to breakeven in 20 years, if instead there were neither rebates nor tax credits.
e. The PV system capacity factor, CF