We don’t have enough money right now to buy capacity for the whole house, which would probably require about 12 kilowatts. However, I would like to start buying panels toward building up toward that.
But I want to buy the most solar panel for the least price. I think that piecing a lot of very small panels together will be a very expensive way to do it.
Does anyone know the least expensive way to buy large solar electric panels?
More Pages:
- Solar Power: Solar Panel And Electric Fence- Help Please!? (8/17/2011)
- Solar Producer: Where Can I Buy New Sheet Like Solar Panel? (6/15/2011)
- Solar Energy: Why Not Solar Energy For Homes? How Can I Get Panels? Difficulties With Them? (5/11/2011)
- Solar Panel: Where Should I Start Researching To Buy A Solar Panel? (8/1/2011)
- Solar Power: Solar Power Cost Effective Calculation? (7/27/2011)
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
there is none. The price of panels are set by supply and demand. It’s like asking for a cheap Prius, why would anyone sell them cheap when there are 1,000,000′s lining up to get them.
Trust me, wait about 5 years, they will be dirt cheap but still more expensive than buying Nuke energy.
i think hot and sunny places. mainly being near the equator – asia/africa are good.
These guys seem to have good prices, but I’ve never personally bought from them. http://sunelec.com/
One thing to keep in mind is that it costs more to build an expandable system. If your thought was to first put in 1 kW, then add to it slowly, that’s going to cost much more than getting the whole thing at once.
12 kW is a large system for a house. If saving money is a concern, are there any conservation measures you can do first? If you haven’t done so yet, it’s worth getting a professional installer to look at your house and energy bills and bid on a system. You can always decline, but at least that will realistically size your system.
Also, large installers can get panels much more cheaply than a consumer can, no matter what, so it’s possible that it would cost less to just have someone provide the whole package than to buy parts, yourself.
If your aim is to save money install solar thermal panels instead and use them to reduce your energy load. They are more efficient and generally have a shorter pay back period.
They can be used for:
Air conditioning (absorption system)
General Heating
Pool heating
Hot water
To power a stirling engine that can be used to run a generator and produce electricity. This may work well with an Air Conditioning system heat by product.
Vacuum tube collectors will work in colder weather or cloudy days.