Retirement is both an exciting and daunting new chapter of life. The exciting part comprises finding new travel destinations and giving more time to hobbies, while the daunting part is trying to find the perfect way to make your savings last, or possibly grow.
For Kiwis, despite the availability of some great provisions like the NZ Super and KiwiSaver, most people need to go beyond them to invest their savings. While there is an abundance of investment options available today, the term “subject to market risks” often causes retiring people to stir in their seats.
This is why low-risk investments are preferred by so many retirees. And let us confess something - we may not be investment experts, but we know one thing for sure. Solar power is not only a no-risk investment, but it is also not subject to any market risks whatsoever.
Let’s take a look at the benefits of solar power as a retirement investment option.
Benefits of Solar Power as a Retirement Investment
1. Guaranteed Savings
Once your solar panels are installed on your house, they do not care about inflation, recession, or any of those terms. They keep pumping clean energy into your home for decades to come. This makes solar one of the few investments whose returns are guaranteed.
There are no unpleasant surprises once you go solar - unless you want to count the unlikely possibility of the sun not rising one day.
Despite the risk-free nature of it, the savings from solar are not meagre - they are often comparable to savings from investments like stocks and bonds. In other words, it combines the best of both worlds.
2. Income Generation
Solar power can not only ‘save’ money, but also ‘earn’ it. In many markets, owners of solar power systems can sell power from their panels back into the grid, and get paid for it.
The price of the sold electricity depends on the buy-back rate at your location and your utility company. It is important to note that not all electricity providers offer this feature. It is therefore important to check if your existing provider offers it, or if you can switch to another one that does in your location.
It also helps to check that you can install enough solar panels (have enough space) so that you are regularly generating more power than you need.
3. Lowered Electricity Bills
The primary, and guaranteed way solar power saves money is through the reduction of electric bills. A properly designed solar power system can supply up to 100% of the energy required by your household appliances, offsetting the power consumption from the grid.
How much you save on your power bills depends on a few factors. But most importantly, you should have sufficient roof space to install a system large enough to offset most or all of your grid power consumption.
If you are using an electric vehicle, and you charge it using your solar panels, you are also saving on hefty and ever increasing fuel costs, thus cutting down your monthly expenses ever further.
Not just that, take into consideration the ever-rising grid power costs, and you will realize that the savings from solar are larger than you thought.
As per data from NZ’s Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment; on average, grid prices increase by a notable 2% every year. Over multiple decades, this is a staggering increase in power prices.
4. Increase in Property Value
“What happens to the money invested in the solar system if we sell the house?” - A lot of customers ask this question, worried if they might just have to give up the investment when moving somewhere else.
Thankfully, multiple studies worldwide have shown that a house with solar panels sells for a higher price, compared to other houses of similar size. The increase in price depends on the location, but could easily be anywhere between 2-5%.
5. Increased Resilience
There’s no denying that solar is good for your wallet in the long term, but the technology’s benefits go beyond just that. A noteworthy advantage of going solar is that you can have less reliance on conventional grid power.
If you pair your system with a battery bank, your home can have power even through blackouts and terrifying storms. Unfortunately, increasing instances of extreme weather events, fuelled by climate change, threaten the resilience of communities and homes in New Zealand and worldwide.
A combination of solar panels and batteries can keep your home going through power outages for multiple days.
Summing It Up
Whether you are retiring, or still have twenty years before that, there is no debate that solar power is an excellent, risk-free investment that secures your family’s future as well as energy independence.
Particularly for retirees, the reliability of solar as a financial investment is astounding. Despite its substantial returns, there are no nasty surprises with it - just pleasant ones. Putting solar panels on your roof will reduce your power bills, bring possible income generation opportunities, and can even secure your home against blackouts in extreme weather events.
Another great thing about going solar is that it is usually a piece of cake - simply start by getting three free quotes. Finally, you can have peace of mind while browsing airline tickets to exotic destinations, while your solar panels work hard to save more money for you.