© Mathalicious 2014

HERE COMES THE SUN lesson

Are solar panels worth the cost? guide

Americans are addicted to electricity. We need it to power everything from

our cell phones to our big-screen TVs. But all that juice doesn’t come for free,
and while many tout renewable energy as the future, it can be expensive. So,
are technologies like solar panels worth the cost?

In this lesson, students set up and solve systems of linear equations to

compare different electricity plans. They learn about the costs associated
with buying solar panels, leasing solar panels, and sticking with their local
utilities, and determine when each option is the least expensive. They also
make predictions about how these costs might change in the future.

Primary Objectives

• Use proportions to calculate the cost of an electricity bill over one, ten, and twenty years
• Construct linear models for the total cost of purchasing electricity from various sources
• Compare the cost of buying solar panels to the cost of buying electricity from the local utility
• Solve linear systems to determine the least expensive option between buying solar panels, leasing solar panels,
and buying electricity from the local utility
• Discuss how the cost of electricity (from renewable and non-renewable sources) may change in the future

Content Standards (CCSS) Mathematical Practices (CCMP) Materials

Grade 8 EE.8a, EE.8b, EE.8c MP.3, MP.4, MP.7 • Student handout

• LCD projector
• Computer speakers

Before Beginning…

Students should be able to write and graph a linear equation (e.g. if something costs $3000 to set up an $80 per
month to run, then over m months you will have spent $3000 + $80m in total). Some previous experience solving
systems of linear equations will also be helpful.
 Lesson Guide: HERE COMES THE SUN
2

Preview & Guiding Questions

Students watch a video from 60 Minutes about Duke Energy, America’s third-largest electric utility. In the video,
they learn that much of America’s electricity is produced via coal power plants. Coal is convenient because we have
so much of it; for instance, the largest coal reserve on Earth stretches between Montana and Wyoming.

However, there’s a downside to having so much coal easily accessible: namely, it’s dirty. Coal power plants pollute
the air with a significant amount of carbon dioxide. Ask your students about some alternatives to coal power; the
video mentions nuclear, wind, and solar power. Of these, wind and solar power are much cleaner ways to generate
electricity. But if that’s true, why do we use coal plants at all?

Well, one reason is cost. Since we have so much coal, it’s relatively inexpensive. Solar panels, on the other hand,
are more expensive. So even though they’re better for the planet, they may be terrible for your wallet. Once this
tension between environmental and financial costs has been established, it’s natural to ask: are solar panels worth
it? The main lesson will give students the tools they need to answer this question.

• Why do we use so much coal to generate our electricity?

• What’s the problem with coal power plants?
• What are some alternatives to coal power that are cleaner?
• What do you think has stopped us from relying more on clean energy sources, like solar power?
• Do you think solar panels are worth the cost? Why or why not?

Act One

Using estimates for average monthly electricity usage, students calculate how much they would expect to pay for
electricity in their home state over one, ten, and twenty years. Then, they learn about an alternative to paying for
electricity from a utility company: solar panels. Given the high price of solar panels ten years ago, students compare
costs and conclude that solar probably wasn’t worth the investment. However, they then learn that prices have
decreased and that the government will subsidize some of the cost, which makes the switch to solar more appealing.
Students also learn that homeowners can lease solar panels instead of buying them, and they use this information to
set up and compare three linear equations in order to figure out which option – buying solar, leasing solar, or
sticking with the utility company – is the least expensive option over time.

Act Two

Solar panels don’t provide an unlimited source of energy; if you need more power than they provide, you’ll need to
buy excess from the utility company. On the flip side, if you use less power than the panels provide, you can sell the
excess back to the utility company for a small profit. In Act Two, students take these factors into account and
explore how they affect the model from Act One. Finally, they listen to a clip from NPR’s All Things Considered about
the growing popularity of solar panels, and discuss what impact such an increase in popularity might have on the
price of electricity – generated both by renewable and non-renewable sources – in the future.
 Lesson Guide: HERE COMES THE SUN
3

Act One: You Are My Sunshine

1 The average American home uses 910 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity each month. For your state, find the
average price of a kilowatt-hour. At this rate, how much would you expect to pay the electricity company (aka
the electrical utility) over a year? Over ten years? Twenty?

Answers will vary. Sample response:

In Texas, the average price of a kWh is 12.00 cents. At this rate, if you use 910 kWh of electricity in a month, you
would expect to spend 910 × $0.12 ≈ $109.20. Over a year, this will bring the total cost to $109.20 × 12, or
$1,310.40. Over ten years, the total will grow to $13,104; over twenty, it will grow to $26,208.

Explanation & Guiding Questions

In the interactive materials provided, students will be able to select their home state and see the average cost of
electricity there. Once students have found their state, they then need to multiply the cost of one kilowatt-hour by
the average monthly usage – in this case, 910 kilowatt-hours – to come up with the an estimate for their monthly
electricity cost. Since the cost of a kilowatt-hour is given as a number of cents (e.g. 12 cents in the case of Texas),
you’ll need to pay special attention to be sure that students are converting units appropriately. In the example
above, for instance, students may forget to convert from cents to dollars, in which case they’ll come up with a
monthly electricity cost of 910 × $12, or a whopping $10,920!

Once students have correctly identified the monthly electricity cost, they need to recall that there are 12 months in
a year to convert to an annual cost. For instance, if electricity costs $109.20 each month, it will cost $109.20 × 12, or
$1,310.40, over the course of a year. Once they know the annual cost, students can carry out just a couple more
multiplications to find the cost over 10 or 20 years. (Note: you may want to ask students to find the cost over 10
years without writing anything down; since they know the cost over one year, they should be able to find the cost
over ten years without much difficulty.)

• How much does one kilowatt-hour cost in your state? How much will it cost to use 910 kilowatt-hours?
• How would you write 12.00 cents in dollars?
• If you know your electricity costs for one month, how can you find out the costs for a year?
• If you know your electricity costs for a year, how can you find out the costs for ten years?
• How can you easily multiply a number by 10?
• How much will you expect to spend on electricity over twenty years?

Deeper Understanding

• Do you think the cost of electricity will stay the same over a twenty-year period? (Probably not. It might
increase if fossil fuels become scarcer; similarly, it could decrease if alternative fuels become more popular
and less expensive.)
 Lesson Guide: HERE COMES THE SUN
4

2 Instead of buying electricity from the local utility company, some people install solar panels to power their
homes. Ten years ago, a system designed to generate 1000 kWh each month cost $100,000. Assuming monthly
electricity usage stayed the same, how long would someone need to own the panels to justify the cost?

Answers will vary. Sample response:

In Texas, electricity costs around $109.20 each month. If costs and usage stay the same, this means you’ll spend
$109.20m on electricity after m months. In order for solar panels to justify the cost, you’d need to use them until
the $100,000 you spend on them is less than what you would’ve spent on electricity, that is, until

$100,000 < $109.20m.

This happens when m > $100,000 ÷ $109.2, or after around 916 months. So you’d need to keep the solar panels
for around 916 months, or around 916 ÷ 12 ≈ 76.3 years!

Explanation & Guiding Questions

Students may be tempted to answer this question using guess-and-check, that is, by calculating the total cost for a
larger and larger number of months, until the total exceeds $100,000. While perfectly valid, this approach can be
time-consuming, and since students will need to come up with an equation for electricity cost in terms of the
number of months later on, you may want to encourage them to think in terms of variables here.

In Texas, for instance, an average household can expect to spend around $109.20 each month on electricity. Over m
months, then, the household can expect to spend $109.20m. Therefore, solar panels are only worth it once the
total spent on electricity is larger than the cost of the solar panels. This means that solar panels are only worth the
cost if you keep them until $100,000 < $109.20m.

As you can see from the sample answer above, this inequality isn’t valid until m is fairly large; you’d need to wait a
lifetime for the panels to justify the cost! Students will probably think that solar panels aren’t worth it after
answering this question. Fortunately, though, there’s more to this story than meets the eye, and in the following
questions students will learn about other factors to consider when deciding whether or not to go solar.

• If you spend $109.20 on electricity in one month, how much will you spend on electricity in m months?
• What will your total electricity cost need to be in order for solar panels to be worth the cost?
• When will your total electricity cost exceed $100,000? How many years is this?
• At these costs, would you buy solar panels? Why or why not?

Deeper Understanding

• If electricity costs increase over time, what would that do to the time you’d need to own solar panels for
them to be worth it? (The time you’d need to own solar panels would decrease.)
• If you wanted solar panels to be worth the cost within 10 years, what would your monthly electricity bill
need to be? (It would need to be greater than $100,000 ÷ 12 ≈ $833.33.)
 Lesson Guide: HERE COMES THE SUN
5

3 Today, a 1000-kWh system costs around $50,000, but the government pays 30% of this through its Residential
Efficiency Property Credit. How long would it take to pay this off now, and do you think it’s a smart investment?

Answers will vary. Sample response:

At this price, you’ll only need to pay 70% of the cost of the solar panels, or 0.70 × $50,000 = $35,000. This means
that in Texas, for instance, solar panels will be worth the investment once

$35,000 < $109.20m.

This happens when m > $35,000 ÷ $109.20, or around 321 months. In this case, you’d need to keep the panels for
around 321 ÷ 12 ≈ 26.75 years.

Explanation & Guiding Questions

Students have seen that solar panels are expensive. However, costs have decreased over time, and government
programs meant to encourage the adoption of alternative energies have helped drive the costs down even further.

In this case, the household only needs to pay for 70% of the system’s costs, or $35,000. Once students have
identified this cost, the problem is very similar to the previous one. As before, solar panels will be worth the cost
once the amount you spent on them exceeds what you would have spent on electricity from the utility company.
Since the cost of the panels has decreased from $100,000 to $35,000, students will need to solve the inequality
$35,000 < $109.20m (in the case of Texas). At this price, students will find that the solar panels pay for themselves
after around 26.75 years; still a significant investment, but much better than it would’ve been 10 years ago.

• How much will you have to pay for solar panels in this scenario?
• How is this scenario the same as before? How is it different?
• When will your total electricity cost exceed $35,000? How many years would that take?
• Would you buy solar panels in this scenario? Why or why not?

Deeper Understanding

• If you wanted solar panels to pay for themselves in 10 years, how much would they need to cost? (Answers
will vary. In Texas, they’d need to cost no more than $109.20 × 120 = $12,219.60.)
• How large would the government’s rebate need to be in order for you to consider buying solar panels, and do
you think this is reasonable? (Answers will vary.)
 Lesson Guide: HERE COMES THE SUN
6

4 If you want solar power but don’t want to invest $50,000, you have another option: lease solar panels. A
company will install them for around $3,000, and you pay a monthly $80 fee. However, you no longer get the
government rebate, and typically have to commit to a 20-year agreement. Write an equation for the total cost of
each option below, and graph them. For what number of months is each one the cheapest?

Answers will vary. Sample response for Texas:

Electric Utility Solar (Buy) Solar (Lease)

Total Cost ($) CE(m) ≈ 109.20m CB(m) = (0.7)50,000 = 35,000 CL(m) = 3,000 + 80m

Optimal Months m < 102.7 m ≥ 400 102.7 ≤ m < 400

$70,000
Total Cost

$60,000

$50,000

$40,000

$30,000

$20,000

$10,000

$0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Number of Months
 Lesson Guide: HERE COMES THE SUN
7

Explanation & Guiding Questions

By now, students have had a fair amount of practice working with the utility company’s pricing. For instance, in the
case of Texas, they’ll know that a typical electric bill is $109.20; if you focused on writing inequalities in the previous
two questions, figuring out that the total cost after m months is equal to $109.20m should be fairly straightforward.

From the previous question, students also know how much it costs to install solar panels. Mathematically, though,
they may struggle with the fact that the equation CB(m) = $35,000 doesn’t actually depend on m, so it may help to
first prompt them with some simple, concrete examples. For instance, after the panels are installed, you will have
spent $35,000; after one month, you will have spent $35,000; after two months, you will have spent $35,000, and so
on. From this, the pattern is easier to identify: m months after installation, you will have spent $35,000.

A similar technique works for the leasing option, though in this case the total amount spent does depend on the
number of months. After installation, you will have spent $3,000. One month after installation, you will have spent
$3,000 + $80 × 1 = $3,080. Two months after, you will have spent $3,000 + $80 × 2 = $3,160. Continuing the
pattern, after m months, the total cost of leasing solar panels will be 3,000 + 80m dollars.

Students may have difficulty figuring out when each option is the cheapest just by looking at the equations.
However, they should be able to say something about the equations. For instance, they are all linear, which means
that their graphs will be straight lines. Students can then graph these equations by identifying the y-intercept and
the slope: for example, the equation for leasing must intersect the y-axis at $3,000, and it has a slope of $80/month.

Once they’ve graphed the equations, students can identify the cheapest option at any point in time as lowest line on
the graph. For example, for Texas, initially sticking with the utility company is the cheapest option; then, leasing
becomes cheapest; and if you’re really in it for the long haul, buying is your best option. To identify those
intersection points precisely, students will need to use some algebra. For instance, leasing becomes a better option
at the point the graph of CE(m) intersects the graph of CL(m), that is, where:

109.20m = 3,000 + 80m

109.20m – 80m = 3,000
29.2m = 3,000
m = 3,000 ÷ 29.2 ≈ 102.7.

The other intersection point can be found in a similar way. (Note that if the cost per month with the utility is less
than $80/month, then leasing solar panels will never be the cheapest option, since in this case, both the setup and
monthly costs for leasing will be less than the cost of sticking with the utility!)

• If you stay with the utility company, how much will you have spent on electricity after m months?
• If you buy solar panels, how much will you have spent after 0 months? 1 month? 2 months? m months?
• If you lease solar panels, how much will you have spent after 0 months? 1 month? 2 months? m months?
• What types of equations are these? What will their graphs look like?
• What’s the intercept of each graph? What’s the slope?
• How can you use the graph to determine when each option is the best?
• When does sticking with the utility company stop being the best option?
• When does leasing solar panels stop being the best option?

Deeper Understanding

• What would it mean if the lines were parallel? (It would mean they had the same slope, that is, the cost per
month for each option is the same.)
• Should you ever lease solar panels if your electricity bill is less than $80/month?
 Lesson Guide: HERE COMES THE SUN
8

Act Two: House of the Rising Sun

5 Solar systems are designed to generate a certain amount of electricity each month. If you use more than your
capacity, you can buy additional electricity from the utility company at the regular rate. If you use less, you can
actually sell remaining electricity back to the utility at the wholesale rate (typically around $0.05 per kWh).

For each scenario below, calculate how much you’d expect to spend in total on electricity over m months, and
determine for what number of months each plan will be the cheapest now. (For simplicity, let’s assume that the
cost of installing solar panels is the same regardless of their capacity.)

Answers will vary. Sample response for Texas:

Electric Utility Solar (Buy) Solar (Lease)

cap. = 1000 kWh Cost ($) CE(m) = 168m CB(m) = 35,000 + 48m CL(m) = 3,000 + 128m
usage = 1400 kWh Months m < 75 m ≥ 400 75 ≤ m < 400
cap. = 1300 kWh Cost ($) CE(m) = 109.20m CB(m) = 35,000 – 19.50m CL(m) = 3,000 + 60.50m
usage = 910 kWh Months m < 72.6 m ≥ 400 72.6 ≤ m < 400

Explanation & Guiding Questions

This question throws a couple of new wrinkles into the model students developed in Act One. Thankfully, the costs
of sticking with the utility still follow the same rules. If you use 1400 kWh per month in Texas, for instance, it’ll cost
you $0.12 × 1400 = $168 each month, or $168m in total over m months. As before, you can help students come up
with the right expression by asking them about the total cost over some small number of months first.

With solar panels, things are a little trickier. If you buy, you’ll still have to pay a flat fee of $35,000, but now there’s
a monthly adjustment to consider as well. In the first scenario, for instance, you use 400 kWh more than the system
can handle each month. That means you’ll have to pay an extra $0.12 × 400 = $48 on your monthly bill, and so your
total cost will be $35,000 + $48m after m months. Similarly, if you lease the panels, you’ll still be paying an extra
$48 each month, for a total of $3000 + $80m + $48m, or $3000 + $128m after m months.

As before, students can graph the equations or use algebra to determine when each option is the cheapest. By
applying the same technique as in the previous question, students can find the intersection points in their
equations, to obtain the answers given in the table above.

The second scenario is similar to the first. The biggest difference is that you are able to sell electricity back to the
utility in this case, since you use less than your capacity. Now the expressions students come up with will be
109.20m, 35,000 – 19.5m, and 3,000 + 60.5m. Students can analyze these expressions in the same way as in the
previous scenario to come up with the answers given in the table above.

• In the first scenario, how much will you have paid the utility after one month? Two months? m months?
• Compared to before, how much more would you be paying each month if you bought solar panels?
• How much will you have paid after one month if you buy solar panels? After two months? m months?
• Compared to before, how much more would you be paying each month if you leased solar panels?
• How much will you have paid after one month if you lease solar panels? After two months? m months?
• When is each option the cheapest in the first scenario?
• How is the second scenario similar to the first? How is it different?
• What’s the cost equation for buying solar in the second scenario? For leasing solar?
• When is each option the cheapest in the second scenario?
 Lesson Guide: HERE COMES THE SUN
9

6 When you opt for solar power, you decide how large of a system to install. You also decide how much electricity
to use each month. For each electricity option, write an expression for the total cost as a function of months; let
u represent your month electrical usage, and let s represent the solar system’s capacity.

Answers will vary. Sample response for Texas:

Electric Utility Solar (Buy) Solar (Lease)

Usage > Cap. (0.12)um 35000 + 0.12(u – s)m 3000 + 80m + 0.12(u – s)m
Total Cost

Usage = Cap. (0.12)um 35000 3000 + 80m

Usage < Cap. (0.12)um 35000 – 0.05(s – u)m 3000 + 80m – 0.05(s – u)m

Explanation & Guiding Questions

The point of this question is to get students thinking more generally about how the cost of each option depends not
just on how long you stick with it, but also on your monthly electricity usage and (in the case of solar panels) how
much electricity the system can supply. The case of sticking with the utility should be the most straightforward: if
you use u kWh of electricity each month, then in Texas, for instance, you’ll pay $0.12u each month, for a total of
$0.12um over m months. This is true in every scenario, since the electric company can supply you with as much
electricity as you want.

With solar panels, though, things get a little more complicated. To help students develop the equations, focus first
on simpler components. For example, if your usage (u) is greater than the capacity (s), then you’ll need to pay the
utility for u – s kWh; in Texas, this adds a fee of $0.12(u – s) each month, regardless of whether you’re buying or
leasing. Over m months, this means you’re paying an additional $0.12(u – s)m for electricity, so your total cost if
you buy will be $35,000 + $0.12(u – s)m, or $3,000 + $80m + $0.12(u – s)m if you lease. Notice that when usage
equals capacity, these simplify to $35,000 and $3,000 + $80m, the expressions from Act One.

If usage is less than the capacity, the reasoning is similar. This time, you’ll be able to cell c – u kWh of electricity
back to the electric company, earning $0.05(s – u) each month. This means that your total cost after m months will
be $35,000 – $0.05(u – s)m if you buy, and $3,000 + $80m – $0.05(u – s)m if you lease.

• If you stick with the utility, and use u kWh a month, what will your total cost be after 1 month? m months?
• Does the total cost with the utility depend on s? Why not?
• If you buy or lease solar panels and use more electricity than you can, how much electricity will you be
charged for? How much will you pay for that electricity each month?
• If you buy panels and use more than the capacity, what will your total cost be after 1 month? m months?
• If you lease panels and use more than the capacity, what will your total cost be after 1 month? m months?
• What if u = s in your equations? How does this simplify your expressions?
• If you buy or lease solar panels and use less than the capacity, how much electricity will you be able to sell?
How much will you earn from the sale each month?
• If you buy panels and use less than the capacity, what will your total cost be after 1 month? m months?
• If you lease panels and use less than the capacity, what will your total cost be after 1 month? m months?

Deeper Understanding

• Does it ever make sense to buy solar panels instead of leasing them if you plan on staying in your house
fewer than 400 months? (No. Whether your usage is over, under, or equal to the capacity, the total cost of
buying will be larger than the cost of leasing before 400 months. That’s because in each case, the
intersection between the two lines occurs at 32,000 = 80m, or m = 400.)
 Lesson Guide: HERE COMES THE SUN
1

7 More people are turning to renewable energies like solar, and the technology is getting cheaper and more
efficient. What effect do you expect this will have on factors such as installation and rental costs, capacity,
electricity rates, etc., and how do you think this will influence people’s electricity decisions in the coming years?

Answers will vary. Sample response:

As solar technology becomes more popular, the cost of buying panels will probably decrease; leasing costs will
probably decrease too. The cost of using non-renewable energy sources may go up over time, although if fewer
people are getting their electricity from the local utility, those costs may fall. Then again, if too many people try
to sell back electricity to the grid (or abuse the system altogether), the utility may pay much less for that
electricity, which would make solar panels less appealing.

Explanation & Guiding Questions

As students have seen, there are a lot of things to consider when trying to determine whether or not to switch to
solar. When it comes to predicting how these different factors will change in the future, some predictions will be
less controversial than others. It’s probably best to start with some of the more straightforward predictions. For
instance, the cost of solar panels will likely continue to decrease (both for buying and leasing), and they will
probably get more efficient as well (i.e. the capacity will increase). Of course, a decrease in cost depends on
demand for solar continuing to grow: for costs to decrease, people need to buy solar, but people may not want to
buy solar unless costs decrease!

The change to other parameters, though, will be harder to predict. Will the cost of using fossil fuels increase
because of decreased supply, or decrease because of decreased demand? Will people be able to profit as much by
selling electricity back to the grid, or will increased solar supply make it less profitable? Most importantly, if any of
your students ever buy a house, do they think they’ll want to invest in solar panels? This should all make for a great
conversation, both in and outside of the classroom.

• In the future, do you think the cost of buying solar panels will increase or decrease? Why?
• Do you think the cost of leasing solar panels will increase or decrease? Why?
• Do you think the capacity of solar panels will increase or decrease? Why?
• Do you think the cost of electricity from the utility will increase or decrease? Why?
• How do you think the amount you can earn from solar panels by selling electricity to the grid will change?
• If you buy a house one day, do you think you’ll want to invest in solar panels? Why or why not?

Deeper Understanding

• Do you think the cost of solar panels could increase in the future? Why or why not? (Answers will vary. If
the materials needed to create more sophisticated solar panels are rare, or if people stop investing in solar
power because they hope it will get cheaper if they wait, then perhaps the cost of solar would increase.)