By Coby Cobankiat, CEO of Solviva Energy

A study center owner in Metro Manila used to have a rule for her teachers: turn on the air conditioning only when there are ten or more students in the room.

It was a small, practical concession to the electricity bill, one of many quiet adjustments Filipino households make without much thought.

After installing rooftop solar, they made a few changes.

"Now, as soon as they enter the center, even if there are no students yet, you can turn on the aircon," she said. "We have solar power."

Stories like this remind me that the impact of solar is not strictly financial.

I spent ten years in Canada after leaving the Philippines for university. One thing I noticed early on was that Canadians don’t really talk about electricity prices, or not to the same extent as we do back home. For many reasons, the cost of energy there is a fraction of what it is in the Philippines. It’s affordable enough to just be in the background, an afterthought, whereas back home, cost is perpetually top of mind.

Moving back three years ago, it didn't take long to readapt to that reality.

With the Philippines' exposure to the conflict in the Middle East, as well as the arrival of the summer season, elevated fuel costs and electricity bills are much more deeply felt.

It comes as no surprise, then, that interest in rooftop solar has been growing, especially among middle- to high-income Filipino households. Even prior to the current pressures, a 2024 study published by the Ateneo de Manila University found that 82% of 403 survey respondents from Metro Manila and neighboring provinces already expressed interest in adopting solar panel technology.

The appeal is in how solar manages exposure and lowers electricity bills — leading to the peace of mind of spending less time thinking about the cost. It is already a proven technology that has been getting more accessible, affordable, and efficient in recent years.

The study noted that both economic and environmental benefits are well-recognized drivers of adoption, with electricity bill savings cited as the most recognized private benefit. Other benefits (i.e. home value appreciation and roof protection) remain far less known.

By our estimates, customers on the smallest system save an average of 30 to 50 percent a month on their electricity bill. The system lasts around 25 years, with a projected return on investment of three to five years.

These likely explain the majority view in the Ateneo study that 75% of respondents consider rooftop solar a long-term investment. But they also sit alongside the prevailing concern: 67% still find rooftop solar very expensive, given the upfront cost. A lack of information and trust in suppliers and installers further deters actual adoption, even among those already interested.

Recognizing these as barriers, Solviva Energy offers rent-to-own rooftop solar systems at zero down payment, so customers can immediately manage their exposure to electricity bill volatility and start saving from day one.

To address the trust gap, we make sure we are accessible and reliable across the full customer journey, from home assessment and custom system design, to installation and energization, all the way to after-sales support. While installation is the typical conclusion for most solar projects, for us at Solviva, it’s just the beginning.

Eventually, this initial investment can also open doors to even more savings, by sending surplus energy back to the grid through net metering, or by upgrading your system capacity or installing batteries.

Every so often, someone on our team receives a message from a customer, which is almost always a photo of their latest electricity bill attached. The number is lower than what they’re used to. Sometimes significantly so. That reaction, shared across messaging apps or a quick chat, is a reminder of why this work matters.

Solar has a big role to play in the future of energy, and it starts from both ends, on an industrial scale and on small-scale adoption. In between, there are also the power networks, and the work of upgrading transmission and distribution lines to gradually accommodate greater decentralization.

We are glad to help our customers in making the transition. As some of them have recounted, they no longer have to sacrifice comfort just to minimize the cost of their electricity bill, especially now that it's summer season. That is what solar ultimately delivers: not just savings, but small, everyday comforts that Filipinos should never have had to give up in the first place.

For the study center owner, that change has already arrived. For a growing number of Filipino households, it is within reach.