Consider a Solar System to Power your Home.

President, Rocky Point Home Builders 

Solar technology has come along and is now affordable given the high costs of electricity in Mexico. Anybody who lives here full time has probably been victim of outrageously high electric bills that must be paid on-time or they will simply cut off your electricity.

If you pay an electric bill every two months, you might be familiar with CFE’s infamous DAC tariff or commonly known locally as Tarifa DAC, that’s the surcharge the Comisión Federal de Electricidad or CFE applies to all households that consume more energy per month than they allow based on their national average. When you pass that limit your bill can be as much as 5-times more expensive than normal. For example, some of our clients who have passed the Tarifa DAC have received bills as high as $2000 for just a two-month period.

Electricity in Mexico, unlike in the states or any other western country is very expensive, this makes installing a solar panel system that feeds into the CFE grid well worth the investment given that the prices for solar have been dramatically decreasing while the price for electricity goes up each year at a rate of 6%.

By installing a solar power generating system you will freeze the cost of electricity by avoiding Tarifa DAC, you will pay the lowest price per kWh of energy available, you will produce and use your own energy instead of buying it from CFE and finally if you weren’t convinced enough yet you will become immune to the common energy rate increases that happen each year at an average of 6 percent.

Here in Puerto Peñasco, the recommended and most popular sized solar system to power your home and feed the CFE grid when you consume less than what you produce is a 10kW system. This sized system is typically enough to power the home during the day, supply energy back to CFE earning credits back and the payback period is only around 2 to 3 years.

In a typical household, power consumption can range between 9500 kWh to 11,500 kWh per year depending on the size of the home and its demand. A 10kW system can give you up to 12,500 kWh per year. When your home is not in use and/or your consumption is lower than what you are producing, you will feed back into the CFE grid receiving credit for what you supply to the energy company.

In the United States, an average 10kW solar system costs between $2.90 to $3.30 per watt of power. So that comes out to an initial price tag of $29-$33,000. But here in Mexico, the price per watt is dramatically less, around $1.90-$2.30 per watt of power or $19,000-$23,000 USD for the same quality equipment. Given the price per watt is so much less than in the US, your payback is much faster here, an average of 2 or 3 years less than payback in the US.

A 10kW solar system will consist of 31 solar panels each rated at 330 watts each, all the aluminum bases needed to support the panels and a 10kW inverter. The system shall be tied into your CFE meter and all necessary paperwork will be provided on your behalf to CFE to tie it into their system officially. All systems come with a 25-year warranty.

The benefits are numerous especially if you rent your properties out on the weekends because a solar system will add to your bottom line at the end of the year eliminating those high bills from renters who consume too much. For owners who live here full time on a fixed income, if you can afford the installation you will eliminate those surprise electric bills when you pass the Tarifa DAC level and pay five times more than usual. Now is the time to make the move so for more information about solar systems contact me at sales@rockypointhomebuilders.com.

About the author: Joseph Sanchez is president of Rocky Point Home Builders a design/build contractor specializing in custom home design, construction and renovations. He resides here in Puerto Peñasco with his wife and two children and is originally from Chicago. For more information email him at sales@rockypointhomebuilders.com 

Since the price per watt is so much less than in the US, your payback is much faster here, an average of 2 or 3 years less than payback in the US.

Here in Puerto Peñasco, the recommended and most popular sized solar system to power your home and feed the CFE grid when you consume less than what you produce is a 10kW system.