Why Does Solar Cost Vary Greatly?

Why Does Solar Cost Vary Greatly?

by Joan T. Ritzborough

With the limited supply of fossil energy people are now
starting to find a better way to create energy. Photovoltaic
panels offer us a new way to create electricity from the
sunbeam. The output is in the form of DC voltage and it has
to be inverted to AC voltage to serve our home appliance.

To make it happen there are some solar kits that you need to
purchase. These kits are determined by how would you want to
have the system installed. There are three different set-ups
you can choose. First is on-grid, meaning you have the solar
electricity integrated with the utility grid. This is the
most popular option because you need to spend less money
compared to other systems.

Why on-grid is less expensive? Since you don't need to store
the solar electricity in batteries you need to purchase the
solar inverter only. This cut down the price because solar
batteries are quite expensive. Note that because you don't
have battery back up during power blackout you will have no
electricity.

If you need power during electricity blackout you can pick
up the second option. Similar to the first option the solar
electricity is also routed to the grid but a battery backup
is added to the solar inverter. Note that this system is
more expensive because you need to buy the solar controller,
solar batteries and also solar inverter that is different
from the inverter we use in the first option. They
contribute a significant increase to the solar cost.

The last option is you have it off-grid. This system is
normally picked up by people living in remote areas where
utility lines are not available. Here you will need to
purchase the solar charge controller, solar batteries and
also solar inverter. Same as other options mentioned above
you also need to buy other items such as wiring, terminal
connections, etc. The inverter for this system is different
from the other types mentioned above. You may need to backup
this system with gas generator or wind turbine in case of
sun outages.

While the solar cost greatly varies it is quite safe to
budget around $15,000 to $60,000 for your up front
investment. This cost is actually depend on how big the
wattage you need. A full substitution of the utility wattage
is not recommended because it will jack up the cost.

There are at least two other factors determining the solar
cost. One is the quality of solar parts and the other is the
solar installation cost. Solar inverters quality for example
varies greatly leading to different prices. Solar
installation companies have different prices as well.

If you are thinking of getting a lower price then US
government has a good news for you. Having renewable energy
source installed in your house will allow you to get 30%
federal tax rebate followed by the local tax incentive. You
also get credits from the net metering system by sending the
solar electricity to the grid.

You don't really need to have your home 100% powered by
solar electricity. Start from 15% or 20% and you will see
the utility bill's difference. Anytime you are comfortable
with the budget you can always upgrade the home solar
system.

Many people think that we spend a one time investment only
for home solar system which is paid up front, however this
is not completely true. Solar panels are known to have very
long lifespan, can be more than 20 years but other parts
such as batteries and inverters have shorter lifespan so you
will need to put them in your cost calculation as well.

The best way to determine your solar cost is by contacting
some solar companies. They can give you great advice based
on what information you feed them.

Please visit (http://solarcost.org/) solarcost.org to read
more valuable information about
(http://solarcost.org/solar-homes.html) solar homes and
other useful posts related to the solar energy.

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