Solar panels: Installation a lesson in patience

Carlos Pablo, of A-1 Solar Power, carries a photovoltaic panel onto a roof as he a two others install photovoltaic panels on the roof of a home in Concord, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 13, 2013. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group)

Eight years elapsed before installing solar panels at home moved from our wish list to reality.

It's a good thing I'd learned a thing or two about patience during that time, because the actual process of getting solar panels up and running involved another lengthy wait -- but one that was well worth it.

Solar panels first landed on my radar in 2005 while I was researching an article. They sounded like an incredible way to cut electric bills, but at too high an upfront cost.

Then last year a nearly $200 June electric bill got my husband and me thinking that solar panels -- also known as photovoltaic systems -- were an option worth exploring again. Here are a few things we learned along the way:

Lease or buy?

Homeowners can either buy or lease rooftop solar panels.

The latter costs less upfront, and maintenance and repairs are usually handled by the leasing company. Perhaps that explains why two-thirds of California's residential installations in 2012 and 2013 were leased, according to the California Solar Initiative.

Instead, we opted to buy, because of tax and home-value advantages. While it's hard to quantify the precise home value that solar panels add, a 2011 study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found they increased the average worth by $17,000, based on sale prices of 72,000 California homes.

For good measure, I consulted a friend who is a longtime real estate agent. "They can only make it easier to sell your home," he said. "The new owners get the benefit of savings without the hassle of installing."

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Solar panels: Installation a lesson in patience