Hidary said that solar energy in New Jersey had the fastest payback — 1.5 years — followed by New York and Delaware with paybacks of three and six years, respectively. California tied for fourth place with Maryland, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, all with payback hitting seven years.

Rankings changed when the center looked at commercial solar power systems.

For commercial projects, Colorado, Wisconsin, Hawaii, Ohio and Oregon all share the top spot, with a 1.5 year payback time, according to the survey.

However, when it came to solar hot water systems, it was southern Texas and Florida who came out on top with a 1 year payback.

“To put this all in context, five years ago you couldn’t find a state with less than a 10 or 15 year payback,” said Hidary.

He said the steep fall in solar panel prices and more government incentives have helped speed up the return on investing in a solar power system.

Government incentives turned out to be the biggest factor driving the cost of solar power systems for customers, Hidary said. Utility rates were the second biggest factor.

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