Electric Solar Panels Cost and Benefit
Counting the Cost!
When folk look to creating their own solar panel home, even the committed environmentalist wants to know how much solar panels cost to install and will they pay for themselves. We may care a lot about our planet, but few of us can make this sort of investment in our solar panel home without being assured of the economic viability. This is also an area where some suppliers seem rather cagey and one suspects, are more than a little economical with the truth.
So let’s have a look at what electric solar panels cost and the expected payback. Rather than talk about vague averages, likely costs and possible savings, this article refers to real life examples presented by ReadySolar in September 2007.
Sizing and Selecting an Electric Solar Panels System
Before looking at what solar panels cost, let us go through the steps for selecting electric solar panels and creating your solar panel home:
1. Find out if your home is a good candidate for installing electric solar panels. General guidelines are:
- your electric bill needs to be at least $75 a month – the higher the better. You will get the biggest benefit if you are on a tiered electricity tariff.
- the location of the electric solar panels should be south facing or between SE and SW. They can be sited in your yard if your roof is unsuitable.
- the electric solar panels need to be un-shaded for at least 4 hours a day, the longer the better. If there is a lot of shade, it is better to have a smaller panel that avoids the shade, rather than a bigger one that is partly in the shade.
2. Set your budget and calculate the space available for your electric solar panels. These factors really determine how big your system can be.
3. Evaluate the various solar ppower companies. Get quotes, visit their previous installations, talk to the home owners they have worked for. Be clear what your solar panels will cost and find out if there are any hidden extras. Finally select the company that will carry out the work for you.
4. Once you have chosen your contractor, arrange finance (if required).
5. Get the whole electric solar panels system installed and working. This should take from 1 to 2 weeks.
6. Once your solar panel home is working, submit your paperwork to get the financial rebate and tax credits. These can reduce what your solar panels cost by a 1/3 or more, depending on where you live.
Solar Panels Cost and Benefits
Based upon real life examples (2007 prices) from California
| Solar Panels Cost and Benefits |
Homeowner A |
Homeowner B
|
Homeowner C |
| Average electricity bill |
$120 per month. Tiered tariff |
$40 per month. Flat rate tariff 7 cents per kWh |
$194 per month. Tiered tariff |
| Average electricity consumption per month |
567kWh |
567kWh |
781kWh |
| Capacity of the electric solar panels installed |
2.5kW, producing 300kWh |
1.25kW, producing 150kWh |
3.5kW, producing 450kWh |
| Cost of installation after rebate and tax credits |
$15, 430 |
$6,813 |
$19,500 |
| Average monthly saving |
$86, equals 72% saving |
$10.50, equals 26% saving |
$154, equals 79% saving |
| Annual Savings |
$1,032 |
$126 |
$1,848 |
| Payback Period, at current electricity prices |
15 years |
54 years |
11 years |
| If financed, monthly profit |
N/A |
N/A |
Monthly Finance pymnt $140, giving $14 profit per month |
These real life examples give a good indication of what solar panels cost and the expected return on investment. You can see from these real world examples that homes that are on a tiered tariff and are high monthly consumers of electricity, can really benefit from electric solar panels. Homeowner C even makes a $14 a month profit after making the finance payment, pretty cool!
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