Making Cents

I Put Solar On My House. Was It Worth It? (Numbers Breakdown)

July 15, 2026·42 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Free Power Forever? The Real Cost, Payback Time, and Battery Truth on Solar in NZ18 months ago, I spent $89,000 on home solar and an electric car. I told you about it, and was flooded with questions on how this could work for other people.(You can listen to the previous episode from 1 April, titled "I Spent $89,000 on Solar And Electric Car In NZ… Was It Worth It?")This episode is the follow-up, answering every question from the practical (does my roof even work?) to the financial (do I actually need a $10,000 battery?).I’ll break down:Would solar work on your house, and what it takes to make solar power workHow to run the numbers to find out how long solar would take to pay itself off. I’ve got a three-figure back-of-envelope calculation anyone can do with last year's power billsDo you need a battery to make solar power worthwhile?What to do if money's tight, or you rentWhere solar power is heading next, including balcony solar and virtual power plantsFollow me everywhere!Facebook / https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookNZInstagram / https://www.instagram.com/francescooknzTikTok / https://www.tiktok.com/@francescooknzJoin the Money Memo newsletter for a free weekly money tip in your inbox each week https://www.francescook.co.nz/subscribeBecome a confident sharemarket investor by signing up to the Market Memo newsletter https://www.francescook.co.nz/invest#MakingCents #FrancesCook #MakingCentsPodcast #InvestingPodcast #MoneyPodcast #FinancialFreedomProduction and video editing by Lana ByrneAudio engineering by Tash ChittockFilmed by Fanaticals

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