you only saw in fancy neighborhoods

只會出現在隔壁街區

or that one nice house down the street.

或是街上的豪宅，

But in the last 10 years,

但是近十年來，

the cost of solar

太陽能的價錢

has fallen by more than half.

已經下滑超過半成。

In 2019, installing solar is starting to look like a

2019 年，房屋裝設太陽能

really smart investment for millions of homeowners.

對上百萬家戶來說似乎是聰明的投資，

But that might be about to change.

然而現在你可能要改變這樣的想法。

As of a couple weeks ago,

兩週前，

I'm one of the couple million homeowners

跟其他數百萬屋主一樣，

who invested in solar.

我也投資太陽能。

When I dug into the research,

當時我深入研究太陽能，

there were some clear benefits.

發現太陽能有顯而易見的優點，

Not only would it be better for the planet,

不但對於地球有益處，

it turns out to be a good investment overall.

還是一筆好投資。

Installing solar was more affordable than I thought.

裝設太陽能比我所預想的還要便宜，

It would instantly increase the value of my home,

既可以立即提升房屋的價值，

and after crunching the numbers,

而且當我計算完所有的成本花費，

I realized I'd recoup the cost pretty quick, too.

我發現還可以很快回本，

But we'll save that math for later.

我們待會再談如何計算。

The real motivation behind my decision to do it now, though,

促使我做出決定的動機，

was knowing that the federal tax credit was expiring.

是因為我知道稅額減免的時效即將到期，

If you install solar before the end of the year,

假如你在今年底前裝設太陽能，

the US government will repay you 30 percent of your total cost.

美國政府便會回饋你 30% 的稅額，

Next year it'll be a little less,

隔年政府補助會降低，

and in 2022 this credit will be gone.

該回饋金將於 2022 年到期。

And that's not including state,

這不包括全國性、

city, and county-level incentives,

地方政府的激勵措施，

which in 43 states

總共有 43 州地方政府

let you deduct your sales tax,

可以讓你折抵營業稅，

reduce your property tax,

減免財產稅，

or even give you a tax credit after you've produced

甚至讓你扣除稅額，只要你生產

a certain amount of clean electricity.

一定產能的乾淨能源，

That's on top of the federal credit.

這是政府優先推出的稅額優惠。

So what's the actual cost of installing residential solar?

房屋裝設太陽能版的實際成本是多少？

With the federal credit, your average 6 kilowatt setup

有了政府補助，假設你平均設置 6 瓦特太陽能源，

can set you back about $16,000,

約莫只花費 16,000 美元，

which, yeah, is the cost of a cheap car.

大概是一台廉價汽車的價格。

And how long it takes to recoup that cost

回饋金發回的時間

really depends on the individual homeowner.

因每個家庭的狀況而不同。

For me, I average around $100 in electricity per month,

像我每個月電費平均花 100 美元，

plus gas to heat in winter.

加上冬季的暖爐電費，

But I just got AC and switched to electric heating,

不過家裡是空調設備，只是冬季轉換成發熱功能，

both of which can be huge energy hogs.

兩者都可能是潛在的巨大費用，

So let's double the number to account for all that.

所以把 100 美元乘以 2 倍以符合實際狀況，

When you do the basic math,

當你計算這些費用時，

it looks like I'll make my money back

必須要抱持著「我要在 5 年多內

in a little over five years.

賺回我失去的錢」的想法。

For me, that's a 5 kilowatt system at $18,200

我的計算方式：5 瓦特的設備需花費 18,200 美元

minus $5,460 in tax credit.

減掉 5,460 美元的稅額減免，

That's $12,740 divided by $200 estimated

總共是 12,740 美元，再除以 200 美元預估的月電費

monthly electric bill for 12 months,

乘以 12 個月，

gives you 5.31 years.

最後得到一年約 5.31 美元的費用，

But that's assuming electricity prices don't go up.

但這數字是假設電費不會上漲。

And an idea called time-of-use net metering

如果採用「使用時間」的淨計量電費算法，

might help me recoup costs even faster.

可以讓我更快賺回成本。

So here's the thing with solar,

太陽能的好處在於，

you're not always generating power

能源並非總是同時進行

and using power at the same time.

生產和使用。

Your panels pump out energy during the day when

當你白天出門去工作時，

you might be off at work,

太陽能板進行生產能源，

but you've got to buy electricity from the grid at night.

然後你晚上回家時則必須向電力網買電。

With net metering,

透過淨計量的計算方式，

your utility gives you credit for the energy you contribute

你向電力網所貢獻的電力決定

to the grid.

你可以使用的電量。

You spend those credits on the energy you need

你只使用家中需要的電力，

and it mostly balances out.

大多時候是可以收支平衡。

But many utilities also charge you more for electricity

不過許多供電設備也可能要求你支付更多電費，

during peak hours when there's more demand for power —

來滿足巔峰時期對能源的需求量，

usually in the afternoon or evening

通常在下午或傍晚時的需求量最高，

when people get home from work.

也就是民眾下班回家後的時間，

But because my solar panels are still producing electricity

但因為整個下午，我的太陽能板

in the afternoon,

仍持續生產電力，

I don't need to buy as much pricey peak power

我不用像以前沒有太陽能板時，

as I would without solar.

需要購買昂貴的電力。

Now you might ask,

你可能會問，

why don't I just buy batteries to store

為何我不乾脆買電池，

all that extra energy my panels produce during the day?

這樣就可以貯備太陽能板白天生產的多餘能源？

I wondered that, too.

我其實跟你有相同疑問。

Tesla has a very Tesla-looking battery

特斯拉有製造電池，非常具有特斯拉特色的外觀，

that costs $7,800 and there are other options as well.

價格是 7,800 美元，也有其他價位，

But several installers I spoke to say the storage tech

不過我和幾位安裝員談過後，他們都說電池儲備技術

isn't worth the cost

不值得花這麼多錢，

unless you live in a blackout-prone area.

除非你居住的地方是斷電區。

That's partly because the batteries are expensive,

為何電池昂貴的原因，

partly because they're expected to become much better

有部分是因為製造商預期接下來的五年內，

and far cheaper in the next five years,

改進電池的功能並且降低價格，

and partly because even with batteries

另外一個原因是就算你買電池，

you can't easily ditch the grid.

你也無法輕易拋下電力網。

Right now batteries are an upsell

電池現在僅作為加購品，

that help your local utility more than anything.

可以優化你的電力設備。

When Google surveyed 60 million US buildings in 2017,

2017 年谷歌做了一份問卷調查，以 6 千萬美國建築物為樣本，

they found out that 79 percent of our rooftops

發現 79% 的屋頂

have enough sun hitting them to generate power.

有足夠的陽光來生產能源。

It depends on the size of the roof,

根據屋頂的尺寸大小，

how steep it is,

傾斜的角度，

which direction it's facing,

面對的方向而有不同的能源生產能力，

but Google found that even less

但谷歌調查指出，就算有些州

stereotypically sunny states like Minnesota

不像明尼蘇達州那樣陽光普照，

have 60 percent of rooftops viable.

也有 60% 的屋頂可以生產足夠太陽能。

For me, solar made a lot of sense.

太陽能對我來說是合理的供電方式。

It's sustainable,

它很適合現在的房屋，

readily available,

也有足夠的技術可以裝設，

it took them a day to install on my roof,

在屋頂裝設太陽能板大約花一整天，

and I'm contributing to the grid,

我向電力網所貢獻的電力，

which puts more money in my pocket.

讓我的口袋有更多收入。

Should you get solar for your home?

你的房子應該裝設太陽能板嗎？

Well, that's a loaded question.

這問題牽涉層面廣泛。

For me, the math worked out.

對我來說，計算的結果符合我的需求，

As for you, break out the calculator.

對你來說，我的建議是趕快使用計算機，

And if it's something you want to do,

如果你認為這花費值得，

maybe think quick,

趕快下決定，

because some of the perks of installing residential solar

因為住屋太陽能板的熱潮

are starting to sunset.

已經逐漸消退。

So my question is,

我的問題來了，

how is climate change going to affect all of this?

氣候變遷如何影響世界？

Also, Verge Science is back,

還有 Verge Science 回來了，

they've got a whole slate of new videos

他們最近上傳了許多新影片，

you're going to want to check out.

你可能會想去點閱瞧瞧。