Solar Panels?

Question

Is it financially worth installing solar panels for electricity and heat (for home use), if you are going to live in the house for 4-6 more years?

Electricity bills come in at $500 per year (for us); how much does installing solar panels cost compare to about $3000 dollars of electricity costs (for 6 years more stay in the house)?

Also, tax deductions must be taken into account.
If it is financially worth installing solar panels- what kind is the most environmentally efficient?

Answer 1

http://www.solarhome.org/solarhomekits.html
this site can give you a lot of infomation you need. I sure would love to know where you live at to have a $500 year electric bill. My bill averages between 137 & 150 month 3 bdrm, 2 ba. This site shows a solar tax incentives state-by-state and if one is to financie they have a tax deducttable financing. I would say it would be worth it. also there solar home kits include everything that is needed.

Answer 2

First off check out this page and click on some of the links.

http://www.oynot.com/how-solar.html

You will see even at ten cents per kWh you will get a large profit in a 30 year time frame. At higher rates you will start getting a pay back sometimes in 10 to 15 years. Plus as you said you have to add in tax credits and other programs the the electric co, state and fed has. You have to think about the fact that you do not pay city, county and state sales tax on the electric you make. Taxes are only on what you buy (rent) from the electric co. Did you think about the inflation rate? It is currently 3.5% and then on top of that there is the fuel inflation rate of about 7%.

Add it all up and if you can't find a profit in it you are not doing the math right.

You have about a 41 dollar a month electric bill If I knew how much you paid per kWh and your local sales tax rate I could tell you how much you would save by going solar. But you for sure would not need more then a 3,000 system. You don't need batteries for a grid tie only system. And systems without batteries last as long as 30 years with out anyone touching it. You never know it is there.

Then after you get your $30,000 system with all the discounts and you sell your home in 6 years you add 20% to the cost of the system and install cost and you get a pay back. Plus you get the last 6 years $6,000 in free electric.

You will make a killing.

Answer 3

If you look at it that way, no. It'll cost at least $15,000 after rebates and deductions for a small system that probably won't exceed your needs so you'll end up paying a small amount to the electric company every month.

But what you're missing is when you sell your house, it'll be worth more with the solar panels and you'll most likely be able to sell it for $15,000 more. Remember, this system initially was $25,000. The rebates and tax deductions bring your total investment to $15,000.

BTW, US electric companies will only credit your excess power, then give it back when you using more than you're making. They don't credit any money. If at the end of the month you made more than you used, the electric company gets to keep it and sell it to someone else.

Whether or not it's worth it financially or otherwise? Yes, it's worth trying to make our world a better place to live in.

Answer 4

hi depending on your roof area size the cheaper you can get.... eg. anamorphous cells are cheaper but require more room.
this type are also more environmentally friendly as they dont use the rare metal silicon...
I recommend installing a solar hot water system first as this is the main energy consumer in the house (as it is always running) and you will see reductions in your energy bill about 1/3.....
It is probably cheaper to make your house more energy efficent, you can insulate the walls via various methods...
Even now you can insulate your walls with paint additives so all you need to do is repaint your house....
This will help reduce your heating bill which is also main cosumer of energy........
So you can end up saving 1/2 your bill without even spending anything on electricity panels....
I recommend getting a small system with a large inverter so you can upgrade later if you decide to stay........
This will be grid tied so you wont run out of electricity or anything........
A hot solar water system will financially pay itself back in 4 years so it will definatly be worth an investment.....
Over here in Australia for solar electricity panels we get a 8k rebate so a 1kw system normally costing you 14k is now 6k....... This will give you 4-5kwh a day off your bill which will vary depending how much you pay per KWH which should be on your bill
This type of system will pay itself off in 10 years......
It will also protect you from energy price hikes so it may pay itself off quicker.
It will also add to the value of your house as solar panels are becoming a hot selling point of houses even if it is something as simple as solar hot water system..........

Answer 5

At present, deciding to get solar panels is more of an environmental decision than an economical one. I would only do it on a house that I planned to stay in for at least 7 years.

Answer 6

What a 50w panel costs about 300-500 dollars. You'd need quite a few. Then you need a controller. If you live in a windy area U might consider a wind turbine they can put out over 1.2 kilowatts with a decent breeze.

Most "avg." homes use approx 15-20kw I mean U have to pwr your fridge, water/water heating/ furnace/ T.V., lights, etc.

If you have a small house with newer windows and proper insulation with energy star-rated appliances, you will save lots of $$$.

Answer 7

There is a fantastic article I just read on http://www.getwithgreen.com. It reviews all the solar energy calculators that are out there on the web. Super stuff. Check it out, and maybe run your numbers through each calculator to see what it outputs. I ran some calculations and tax incentives and local energy rates are incorporated into many of the tools

Answer 8

You will rarely justify solar power based on cost saving. With tax or rebate incentives you may come close. If you want to do it for the environment, then great. I wish we had more tax breaks and incentives available so more people could afford it.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

Cost recovery period is about 6 years,but it can reduce plenty of polluted gas,it produces evident environmental benefits.