I was sent a link sent around by an electrician who is claiming that he spent less than $100 to do his own and install solar power and he is actually getting back a few dollars from his power company rather than paying $100 to $150 a month. That is utter nonsense.
After US federal credit of 30% I have 4300w solar system with 24 175W BP solar panels and a 4000W inverter to connect to the grid. It is supposed to have a lifetime of 25yrs. Inverter has a lifetime of 10yrs. It is 4.5yrs since I had the system. I paid $14k back then. Prices have fallen a lot since then. It generates about 500KWh per month on the average.
Assuming nothing really fails for 25yrs (I may have to replace the inverter. Paid $4k now $2k and may be $1k to replace) 6000 KWh per yr * 25 = 150,000KWh for $15k is about 10 cents per KWhr.
I did a spot check of what I would do today for a similar system.
You get 30% federal credit on income tax. Net cost $5.6k. Over lifetime and $1k to replace the inverter. Your Assuming it produces the same 150,000KWh the cost per KWh would be 5 to 6 cents.
First of all you need know the cost per KWhr and what your real bill is.
I found this list of energy prices for each state
Electricity tables state by state 2013
Note that the average cost per KWh was 11.72 cents.
However, in each state, the rates differ in each county.
"In 2012, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 10,837 kWh, an average of 903 kilowatthours (kWh) per month. Louisiana had the highest annual consumption at 15,046 kWh and Maine the lowest at 6,367 kWh."
See details at this link
Electical Energy consumption by state
In theory, an average state with 11.72 cents per KWh and average home consuming 903 KWh is costs about $106 per month. So, you could say that savings could be $50 per month on an investment of $5.6k. That sounds great?
Not so fast. Size of each panel is about 5f x 2.5ft. You need a south facing roof big enough to mount 17 panels of this size and no trees or other building blocking the sun. If you live in a gated community or a condo, they should not object to your solar panels.
Why did I do it then? in Alameda county, CA where my home is, the "baseline" quantity is about 400KWh which varies from season to season and above the baseline, the price per KWh was 24 to 42 cents. My energy consumption was about 1000KWh per month and I was paying $250 per month electric bill.
With Solar system generating 500KWh per month and replacing bulbs with energy efficient bulbs, old single pane windows with double pane windows, I got my usage down to 750KWh because I did energy audit and found these things. Now I pay $300 per year instead of $3000 per yr. I am getting my money back in another 1yr or so (about 5.5yrs from start). Worked for me.
So, do you jump on the Solar band wagon? May be, may be not...
After US federal credit of 30% I have 4300w solar system with 24 175W BP solar panels and a 4000W inverter to connect to the grid. It is supposed to have a lifetime of 25yrs. Inverter has a lifetime of 10yrs. It is 4.5yrs since I had the system. I paid $14k back then. Prices have fallen a lot since then. It generates about 500KWh per month on the average.
Assuming nothing really fails for 25yrs (I may have to replace the inverter. Paid $4k now $2k and may be $1k to replace) 6000 KWh per yr * 25 = 150,000KWh for $15k is about 10 cents per KWhr.
I did a spot check of what I would do today for a similar system.
Realistic way to do it the low cost way is to panels and supplies, Have a certified electrician install. I found these 250W solar panels by Sharp which is know for relaibility.
You need 17 panels for a 4250W system. $200 each plus tax, shipping probably costs $4k.
Panels produce DC. To converter to AC, you need inverter.
You need one per panel if we use enphase micro inverter 250-60-2LL-S22
That would be 17 * 200 = $3400.
A single sunny-4000 inverter like the one I have costs $2500 with tax and shipping.
So the cost would be $4k + $2.5k + permits, electrician costs, misc mounts $1.5k
First of all you need know the cost per KWhr and what your real bill is.
I found this list of energy prices for each state
Electricity tables state by state 2013
Note that the average cost per KWh was 11.72 cents.
However, in each state, the rates differ in each county.
"In 2012, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 10,837 kWh, an average of 903 kilowatthours (kWh) per month. Louisiana had the highest annual consumption at 15,046 kWh and Maine the lowest at 6,367 kWh."
See details at this link
Electical Energy consumption by state
In theory, an average state with 11.72 cents per KWh and average home consuming 903 KWh is costs about $106 per month. So, you could say that savings could be $50 per month on an investment of $5.6k. That sounds great?
Not so fast. Size of each panel is about 5f x 2.5ft. You need a south facing roof big enough to mount 17 panels of this size and no trees or other building blocking the sun. If you live in a gated community or a condo, they should not object to your solar panels.
Why did I do it then? in Alameda county, CA where my home is, the "baseline" quantity is about 400KWh which varies from season to season and above the baseline, the price per KWh was 24 to 42 cents. My energy consumption was about 1000KWh per month and I was paying $250 per month electric bill.
With Solar system generating 500KWh per month and replacing bulbs with energy efficient bulbs, old single pane windows with double pane windows, I got my usage down to 750KWh because I did energy audit and found these things. Now I pay $300 per year instead of $3000 per yr. I am getting my money back in another 1yr or so (about 5.5yrs from start). Worked for me.
So, do you jump on the Solar band wagon? May be, may be not...
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