Solar Panels Cost: An Analysis
How To Create DIY Solar Panels
A lot of people are understandably in the dark about how much solar panels cost. The only proper answer to this is that it actually depends on how big you want your solar panels to be. And aside from that, you'll also have to ask yourself how much electrical energy you're spending every month. Of course, to put a simple answer to this: It can be expensive. But wait, that doesn't mean that it can't save you money. In fact, if you consider things in the long run, then you'll find out that you've managed to save yourself a lot more.
Commercial Set-Ups
Here's the gist: Commercial set-ups of panels can easily cost around $40,000. But then, this estimate doesn't really include the permit fees you have to pay for, as well as for the structural engineer who basically checks to see if the residential solar panels you're running seem fine. Plus there's also the fees you're going to have to pay the electrician who's going to help you plug it all in. Count these additional fees up and you're likely to pay an added $3000. That would be a rough estimate of around 43,000 dollars.
Rebates
However, with commercial set-ups, it's all about the rebates. Many states (and companies) offer rebates that can reduce your overall costs to 50% to 60%. In the estimate of $40,000, that would mean that you're only actually going to pay for around $20,000 or less. And since 40 thousand dollars is a higher-than-average pricing of most commercial set ups, this would mean that you're going to spend far less than the $20,000 estimate. The overall cost of solar panel installation as well as other necessary materials won't sound as bloated anymore. A lot of companies are now granting customers just a mere $20,000 as a standard price. Punch in the best rebate deals you can get, which is around 70 percent or so, then you'll only be paying for just $7000, give or take. Now that is absolutely cheap for a commercial set-up.
DIY Solar Panels
But of course, some homeowners just want the DIY or homemade versions of these set-ups instead of buying the panels from companies. It's a good option since you can cut down on the costs as well as get to see how you can even build more on your own. This way, you'll be able to add more panels by yourself in the future if you decide to increase your electrical usage. Solar panels cost within the average of $300 per panel at 4.5 amperes. Added to that, there're also other materials that you need in order to harness it all up together such as brackets, wiring, regulators, meters, etc. All that would add 200 dollars or so to your overall cost. As an estimation of a conventional home's usage of electricity and the number of panels needed (or the wattages needed): the overall sum would amount to nearly $1500.
Newer Solar Panels
Of course, as more and more designs of solar panels come out every year, manufacturers will basically compete with each other on creating more affordable solar panels. It used to be that most people wouldn't buy solar panels because they were just too expensive. But nowadays, better solar concentrators are being integrated into the residential solar panels to minimize the costs of making them. These new and improved solar concentrators are basically minimizing the usage of a lot of solar cells in the panels simply because they focus more light into just one solar cell. Compared to the older models (which created only minimal energy), these new solar concentrators are basically cementing the solar panels into the market forever. In the near future, you can be assured that the prices mentioned here will definitely decrease even more.
Your Electric Usage
To fully estimate if the costs can justify the ends, then you have to ask yourself a few questions. First of all, ask yourself how much you're paying for the electric bill every month. To get a better sense of how much you'll be gaining or losing concerning solar panel installation and all the other costs, think about it as if you're paying for all your electric bills in one exact sum for the next 25 years. For example: If you paid a one-time fee of $10,000 for your solar power system, then divide that with 25. That would mean that you're going to pay for only 400 dollars every year. Divide that again and that would mean you'll only be paying for roughly 33 dollars every month. Get the picture now? It's amazing, isn't it?
U.S. Government Pays You
It might seem strange, but the U.S. government will pay you if you choose to go with solar power. Basically, they're giving you rebates (as mentioned in the third paragraph of this article) if you choose to go with residential solar panels. A lot of states in the US have customized the rebate policies to fit according to their local laws and that's why most of the rebates decline as time passes. However, the lifespan for this federal government's tax credit basically runs out by the year 2016. In short, if you switch to solar power sooner than later, then it's a lot likely that you'll get even more money.
Solar panels are definitely the best bet for the future. Choosing to go with solar power not only helps to counter the effects of the current economic crisis, but it also helps to curb the looming environmental difficulties. Energy and cost are the main issues that everyone's facing today, and it's even possible that the current problems may yet reach its peak in the future. Yes, solar panels costs may seem very high now; but in the end, you'll be glad that you went in this direction.