[rcxdude]

4 years is a pretty good payback time, it's a pretty obvious investment if you can afford it, and it's pretty affordable (with the added bonus that if you're renting, you can take it with you). Solar panels tend to last a pretty long time, really the only worry is whether the manufacturer has cheaped out on the electronics (cleaning is literally going to be wiping it with a sponge once a year or so).

(Insulating your house or getting double glazing, for example, takes a lot longer to pay itself back, and these are pretty popular home improvements despite that and the higher outlay)

[varispeed]

Can you explain why it is "pretty obvious investment"?

[rcxdude]

What else can you put your money into that will give you 25% a year?

[lores]

It doesn't give you 25% a year, because you don't have your investment anymore (or most of it, if there is a second-hand market.) After the first year you'd have a -75% return, after the 5th you'd be at an effective annual 4.5%, after the 10th at an effective 9.5%.

It goes up from there, but it takes a while to become an investment better than alternatives. Inverters start failing after 10 years, too, and they're half the cost of a $400 setup, I believe.

[tialaramex]

Technically it doesn't give you 25% per year, but I'd argue what it does is - for this purpose - better. You get free electricity which is estimated to be worth 25% per year.

If the Buffoon manages to blow up fossil fuel prices to the same degree Putin did, your payback time might shrink to 12 months instead.

[toomuchtodo]

https://magnifina.com/articles/rooftop-solar-yield/