Cost of Solar Panel
The purpose of this article is to address some common questions about solar panel cost. There are two important things to take into consideration: the cost of one solar panel, and the cost of enough solar panels to power a house. Solar Panels are the part of the system that does the actual conversion of sunlight to current and are the most critical element in the systems ability to power your home. Residential Solar Panels.
What many people don’t realize is how simple it can be to build your own solar panels. If you decide to build a solar panel, you can reduce the cost to as little as 0. Is it possible to build a solar panel for under 200 dollars? You can get more info by reading this guide Homemade Solar Panel. In this guide, you will get specific instructions on what is best to build based on the size of your house and your location. You will also get step-by-step diagrams on how to build your own solar power system.
The cost can be lowered even further by making use of as many tax credits and rebates as you can. In some cases, homeowners have reduced the cost of their solar power systems by up to half in this way. You can find information about these incentives on government websites.
If you want to know how much power you need from your solar power system, you’ll need to know how much power your household uses. If you have some of your past electricity bills available, you can see how many kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity you’re using in a typical month. Multiply the kWh figure by 1000 to find the number of watt-hours you’re using per month. Divide this figure by 30 to get your average daily electricity usage in watt-hours. Now, just divide this number by the average number of hours per day of sunlight that you get in your location. It’s usually best to use the number of hours of sun for the shortest day of the year in order to determine this figure. This final figure represents the amount of electricity per hour that you’ll need your solar power system to provide.
Most installed systems cost an average of -9 per watt. Multiply the number from the previous step by . This will give you an idea of the cost for a number of solar panels sufficient to power your home.
I have a solar power calculator spreadsheet that can assist you with these calculations. Input the kWh usage number from your electric bill. The spreadsheet will then display how much it will cost for enough solar panels to completely power your home. It’s part of my 6 part mini course on solar and wind power for the home.
You now know how much it will cost to power your home entirely through solar power. Don’t be discouraged if it seems like a lot of money. Tax credits, rebates and incentives can make a big difference, though. You can make an even bigger dent in the cost by building your own solar panels.
What is solar power generation? To learn more about this interesting topic, you can go to Solar Power Generation.
