Do you find yourself looking at your monthly electric bill will intense hatred? Electrical power rates never go down, and with the steadily increasing cost of fossil fuels, they never will. If you want to contain the increases in your electric utility costs, you're going to take action at a personal level to free yourself as much as possible from dependency upon the local electric company. Generating some of your home's electrical energy needs using solar power may be part of the solution. The cost of solar energy is much less costly that the power purchased from the grid.
Only two decades ago the previous statement would have seemed ridiculous. The cost of solar energy home production would have easily cost more that six times a much as it will today. The technological breakthroughs made during the last twenty years have driven prices down. Increased demand and the parallel increase in production and competition has also worked to make solar power affordable to most middle class homeowners. This trend continues to all of our benefit.
Governments also have jumped on the band wagon. They are concerned about dependence upon foreign sources for fulfilling their energy needs, and also concerned about the effects of fossil fuels on the environment. Excellent incentives and tax credits are available from federal, state, and in some cases local government to aid the homeowner in purchasing any products that save energy or use alternative technologies to generate it. There is no time like the present to take advantage of these money saving opportunities.
What Does Solar Energy Cost?
Calculating the cost of solar energy is complicated. It depends upon many variables: household size, how many kilowatt-hours you normally use, available sunshine, type of system, and available tax benefits. Nonetheless, experience has shown the following to be an honest guide.
A solar powered hot water system costs from $2,000 to $4,000. A one kilowatt photovoltaic system costs from 8,000 and $10,000. A 1.5 to 3 kilowatt system for the average family's three bedroom house costs from $13,000 to $27,000, before rebates.
The following is the experience of a California household gives an indication of available savings:
Example 1: An average family requiring a 2.5 kilowatt system.
Current electric bill: From $50 to $75 monthly
Cost of solar system including installation: $22,500
Cost reduction from government rebate: $7,000 (rebate based upon 2,500 watts X $2.80 per watt)
Cost reduction from tax credit: $1,163 ($22,500 - $7,000 = 15,500 X 7.5% = $1,163)
Actual cost after rebates and credits: $14,337
Example 2: An average family requiring a 3 kilowatt system
Current electric bill: From $75 to $100 monthly
Cost of solar system including installation: $27,000
Cost reduction from government rebate: $8,400 (rebate based upon 3000 watts X $2.80 per watt)
Cost reduction from tax credit: $1,395 ($27,000 - $8,400 = $18,600 X 7.5% = $1,395)
Actual cost after rebates and credits: $17,205
You can save even more each year with Net Metering. A good rule of thumb to follow when estimating the required size of your system is to add 0.5 to the size of your system for each $25 increment on your electric bill, and add $4,500 to the cost before any incentives are included. Note that all the prices given above are estimates. The estimated cost of solar energy may fluctuate depending upon the variety of conditions present for each specific installation.
Click to read more:The Cost of Solar Energy
How To Build A Solar Panel
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