What makes solar panels so expensive in the US?

Question

I recently got a quote to get solar panels for my house and it was over $30,000! I want to do my part to reduce global warming and support renewable energy, but how can the average person do it when it costs so much? Even with federal and state rebates, its way too expensive? Did anyone see 'Who Killed the Electric Car?'

Answer 1

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Yes, they are too expensive - but if more people bought them, the cost would come down. Even 30K is a good investment, though, if you plan to stay in that house a few years. Let's look at some numbers:
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In my neighborhood (cold climate here) my heat plus electric bill averages about $350/month (about $4200/year.) Assuming I switch to electric heat, and I can provide for all of my energy needs from the panels, they would pay for themselves in about 7 years.
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How much better would this be if you drove an electric car? (I drive one.) The average driver puts about 15,000 miles/year on his car. The average car gets 18mpg. At $2.50/gallon, that driver spends $2083/year on gasoline. And this number, along with the price of gasoline, keeps going up.
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Total cost savings: $6283 per year. So those $30,000 panels pay for themselves in about 4.77 years. If the price of gas and utilities keep going up (they will), you'll be paid off even faster.
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Answer 2

Silicon is the second most abundant element but the expense comes in the (1) sophisticated manufacturing process and in the (2) large size of the panels. Photovoltaic cells have an efficiency between 5-20% (the majority of useful energy is lost as heat), thus requiring huge surface coverage to compete with conventional fuels, on a kW produced basis. As of yet they can't come close to competing on a $/kW produced. A conspiracy is absurd as there are multiple independent parties and multiple competing interests involved.

Answer 3

I sell solar products and 30K for parts and labor is not bad to run a whole house if you use about 575 Kw a month or more. And you live in the northern part of the USA. In the south there is more sun per day so you would not need as big of a system. If you knew how to put it together your self you could cut 10K to 15K off the price.

I installed my own solar electric backup system myself. If I want to go total solar all I have to to is turn off the breaker to the grid and the transfer switch will switch to solar and batteries.

I don't want to give the Grid anything for free so I did not grid tie. They won't give me anything for free. Remember with grid tie anything over your usage is a free gift to the electric co. And if the grid power goes down your electric goes down with it. You don't have the problem with a solar backup system.

For beginner info on what to look for when buying solar products and to get you started in a do it your self job check out the link below.

If you want more information, email me from the site and I will do my best to fill you in with anything you may need to know. And I can even set you up with a pre-built system shipped to your door so you can install it.

Sorry for the sales pitch but there are easier ways to do it.

Answer 4

It's because Bush hates any kind of oil competition. He'd rather spend hundreds of billions stealing oil than a dime on solar. For what has been spent on the Iraq disaster, every house in America could have had solar panels. America should be making solar panels and electric cars and selling them to the world. That we could be proud of, and be profiting from, and the world wouldn't be hating the US.

Answer 5

At present the cost of solar panels may be high. As costs of solar products decrease, solar energy is replacing electricity/fossil in many application like lighting, cooking and heating. More information at http://altenergy.in/

Answer 6

please go to http://www.motherearthnews.com They have many articles and much information on renewable energys, and issue before last has info on panels that stick right to your roof. they are about the same price as glass panels now, but are supposed to drop in price when production catches up to demand in a year or two. last issue had a cool solar thermosyphon heater that you can make yourself. really cool!
see "easy solar power" issue 218, oct/nov. 2006 from the issue library. i was quoted about 8000.00 for enough panels, batteries, inverter, etc. to comfortably run a small two bedroom, off grid cabin, about 800 s.f. a couple of years ago. that uses propane for water heater, refrigerator, wall heater, and gas dryer.

Answer 7

Solar cells are expensive because they are semiconductors, just like computer chips, only simpler and cheaper. But not simple and cheap enough. It takes millions of dollars of high tech equipment and lots of ultra pure chemicals, many of them HIGHLY toxic, and some expensive materials, like gold, and a highly skilled and paid workforce to make a solar cell.

They are expensive all over the world, not just in the U.S.

Answer 8

Hello, I'm from Europe (Belgium), and I was asking myself the same qestion when I also received a similar quote.
Probably it is because our companies like to make big profits... In Europe it is even better: the government is paying 3/4 of such an installation, but after deduction of this grant, we also pay about 30.000$. Just try to figure that one out ???

Answer 9

They are expensive because the corporations dont want to lose there stake in our wallets. Hell, Nicoli Tesla made a device in the 1890s that took energy out of thin air. His lab was then destroyed by JP morgan so it would never see the light of day.

Answer 10

If solar panels were feasible, i.e. they produced enough usable power to pay for themselves by reducing fuel consumption, then they would be on every flat surface.

Unfortunately, they are just not efficient enough yet.

There is no conspiracy, it's just economics.

Conservation is the only answer. Turn off your computer now.