So, I would love to convert to solar power and help the environment. I’m on an incredibly tight budget and can’t afford for my electric bill to go up, and when I look at comparable prices for electric and natural gas I see that natural gas is much cheaper. My stove runs on natural gas. Same with my washer and dryer and hot water baseboard heat.

When one looks at going solar, it says very clearly that it will lower your electric bill, but if I were to get a solar system right now (I couldn’t buy it - I’d have to lease it) I would not be saving money.

Even if the PECO electric bill was zero, the monthly payment for the lease plus the natural gas would be more than I’m paying now, so first I would have to convert to all electric heat / appliances (money I don’t have) and then put up solar panels while paying more per month than I am now until I could find solar I could afford.

So, my question is this: If solar power can be used to replace electric power, why can’t it be used to replace natural gas?