A Massachusetts homeowner shared three years’ worth of solar panel data on Reddit — and the results might surprise people who think that going solar only makes sense in sunnier climates.
“Our net savings for three years is $11k, and 52% of our investment has been paid off in these three years. Our risk-free IRR is 19%, and our total projected payoff period is 5.7 years,” they noted in the r/solar community. “… Oddly enough, my savings went down year on year because electric rates were lower in 2025 and we used less electricity this year.”
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The OP’s system powered two electric vehicles alongside their standard household needs, with Year 3 production hitting 9.2 megawatt-hours and grid purchases staying minimal at 2.1 MWh.
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As for the Reddit community, users were fully onboard with the OP and their savings.
“I now can see what my bill would look like without solar. Wow — that hurts. Makes the solar decision seem that much more correct,” one commenter shared.
“I just calculated a very similar result for my setup in NH. Under 6 years payback period. Cheers,” someone else shared.
“I bet your installer would love to get this note. Congrats,” another person added.
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