The most underpaid worker you have is your roof. It might make a lot of money on the side while faithfully keeping the rain out. That vacant rooftop becomes a revenue-generating engine that never takes a sick day thanks to solar for home. The financial figures are astounding. With electricity savings, a typical residential system pays for itself in five to eight years. Then? For decades, it was all about profit. While you binge-watch your favorite series, we’re talking about returns that would make Wall Street envious.

The hidden weapon is net metering. Produce additional energy on sunny afternoons? Your meter becomes a reverse ATM when the utility provider buys it back. Try paying less for power than you do for coffee every month. Some homeowners see their rates decrease to single digits.

The installation process has become absurdly easy:

• Day 1: Panels are installed after the crew arrives at dawn.
• Day 2: Electrical and wiring tasks
• Day 3: Last check and turning on

You are generating clean power by the weekend. You’ll regret not doing this sooner by the time you receive your statement next month.

Upkeep is absurd. As needy as a pet rock, these systems are. Cleaning tasks are automatically handled by Rain. If you are ambitious, you may remove some pollen. Most modern panels have warranties that last longer than your mortgage and are made to withstand anything from hurricane-force winds to baseball-sized hail.

Add batteries for maximum energy independence. Save sunshine for use during blackouts or at night. You’ll be the only house on the block with WiFi, lights, and cold beer when the grid fails—which it will. Priceless.

Let’s dispel a few myths:

• “But clouds!” Even in cloudy conditions, panels continue to generate, albeit less. Similar to how you still work on Monday mornings, but more slowly.
• “Too expensive!” Since 2010, prices have fallen by 82%. Payments for financing alternatives may be less than your present electricity bill.

The best part is that solar increases a home’s value. Properties with panels sell for three to four percent more and more quickly. It’s a wise financial decision that continues to pay off, not just an energy boost.

Real talk: last summer, a suburban family erected a 6kW system. Their electricity costs plummeted from

$250 per month until 22. Until they discovered that their meter was running backward on bright days, they believed the utility had made a mistake. They now take family holidays with the money they save.

The math is indisputable, with panel efficiency at all-time highs and installation prices at all-time lows. Whether you can afford to keep lighting money on fire each month is more important than whether you can afford solar. Like an unused asset, your roof is just lying there, frying in the sun. It’s time to get to work.

The solar revolution has already arrived; it is not coming. In addition to protecting the environment, early adopters are also making a lot of money. Tell me, then, when your roof begins to pay for itself.