Jesse, a reader of ours, wrote in discussing the key to getting solar panels on his house. He called it WAF, or the Wife Acceptance Factor. We think Jesse was on to something.

So how do you get a reluctant wife to jump on board with you and some new solar panels?

How to lock in solar WAF factor

The important thing for husbands to remember is that you are going to have to do your homework. Women, and even more so wives, are complex. Any one thing is unlikely to get you the WAF all by itself.

And you’ll have to know details…she might say something like this: “Sure it saves energy, but are we going to have a landfill’s worth of dead solar panels in 10 years?” And fellas, “ummm” will not be a good answer. So come prepared.

Yes solar panels save energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and pay for themselves in ever-decreasing amounts of time. But do you know how and why?

Affordability will be another issue of great concern.

The up-front costs of solar can be very intimidating, especially for some of our pragmatic wives. In order to sell the wife on a solar system you may need to take some initial steps before bringing your case forward. Payback periods vary depending several factors. You can find some general estimates but to really lock in the WAF, you’ll want selling points that are specific to your situation.

What to do?

Have a site evaluation done, which several solar companies now offer for free. There are also plenty of online tools to help you figure out your ideal solar system, based on your energy usage, location, available space, etc. and help figure out other specifics such as how many solar panels or batteries you’ll need (if you have an off-the-grid wife).

Also check into solar financing options offered by states, municipalities, utilities, and solar companies themselves. These will often factor rebates and incentives right into the loan, lowering principals and interest paid, not to mention a substantial increase in home value. And then calculate how much the system will save you each month, be it solar electric or solar thermal.

As you can see there are a lot of variables here, which can make for a tough sales pitch. But look at it this way: One, solar power tends to sell itself, and two, at least you know your wife and can adjust your angle accordingly.

Essentially, the easiest way to obtain the wife acceptance factor is to have it all laid out on the table before she steps into the room. You want to be able to say, “This is what we want, this is how we get it, and this is what it will do for us…starting now.”

Oh, and good luck!

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Posted on February 2nd in Going Solar by Dan.