Where can you by them? Are you able to install them in town or do you need a special permit or anything?
I already have energy star, the light bulbs, and good insalation
More Pages:
- Solar Energy: How Much Would It Cost To Set Up Solar Panels To Provide Energy For Your Whole House? (8/29/2011)
- Solar Power: How Much Cost Savings Could Be Expected Using A Solar Power System That Creates 2100 Watts During The Sun Day? (10/28/2011)
- Solar Turbines: How Much Do Solar Panels, Biomass Centres And Wind Turbines Cost? (8/15/2011)
- Solar Power: How Much Does It Cost To Get Solar Panels To Power Your House? (11/10/2011)
- Solar Panel: Look At The Picture Of This House. How Much Do You Think Those Solar Panels Cost? (9/15/2011)
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Enough Solar Panels to go 100% solar in a house that size is incredibly expensive. I do not know the exact price, but I guarantee if you did some research you would not consider it. BUT if you connect yourself to the grid and let any surplus energy goto the city they are obliged to reimburse you, but only slightly, so you could get your money back. In a number of years, though.
Oh, and I highly doubt you need a permit. Just the know-how and the money.
I concur with the first, You should keep up with the tax incentives by the fed and your state if they ever get serious it could be half worthwhile. Keep an eye on the technology too for better applications. Right now I believe solar is only cost effective if you live out there where running power lines is to cost prohibitive etc.. Off grid, no choice type of thing.
LOL yeah adam he could do all that 10.000$ stuff and just save on a regular electric bill too. And not be out your minimum amount 25.000 that will just about equal/compensate the electric bill when its time for new panels.
Its really hard to say exactly how much it woud cost, because the cost depends on how much energy your home uses.
It also depends on weather or not you want to have a grid tied system or a battery backup system.
Th grid tied will be much cheaper than a fully off the grid system.
Anyway, to answer your question, you would probably be looking at a minimum of $ 50,000 for a grid tied system installed if you have a typical inefficient home. Upwards of $ 70,000 for a battery backup “off the grid” system.
Again this number could be totally off depending on your particular energy usage.
You will need to get a permit and have the city come out if your going to tie into the grid.
You can buy solar panels online or from me
Also, here is a good rule of thumb, it is SOOOO much cheaper to first spend money to make your home more efficient and then look into alternative energy. For instance, you may spend $ 10,000 changing all of your windows to lo-E windows, adding good insulation throughout the home, buying new energy star devices, sealing your home, changing to CLF lights, etc…. With that $ 10,000 you can probably reduce your energy cost by over 50%. Then you can look into getting a solar array for $ 25,000, because your energy usage is half what it used to be.
efficiency, efficiency, efficiency then alternative energy.
PV panels were really meant for off gridders, of course on grid is a huge market they can’t finacially ignore. PV panels are also quite dirty to manufature, and silica is a limited resource you should start thinking about being responsible with, that’s why the price isn’t coming down as it does with most technology. Micro generation is also less efficient than centralised generation. so environmentally speaking, there would be better places to put your money.
Have you looked into making your home energy efficient? Less sexy but money better spent.
In the UK the average break even period for PV panels is 14 years, we may get less sun, but we get to sell our renewable energy at the full premium price paid for renewable energy, thanks to the Kyoto treaty.
I heard a story about a woman who put solar panels on the north side of her hose “because that’s where people will see them”.
Solar water heating is the way to go.
to convert a house to solar energy you’ll need more than solar panels.
you’ll need a battery pack that will hold enough energy to supply your needs during the night and cloudy days.]
you’ll need a converter to supply the house with AC voltage from the DC batteries.
an average home uses an about0.5 KW electricity, and you’ll need a system that is a little bigger than that, since your house is slightly bigger than the average.
there are many suppliers of solar panels systems for home use, you could find them on the net.
the whole system should cost about 3000 US$
Getting to your question, instead of telling you other things:
If you wanted to get off the grid:
A typical home solar array will need to be quite large to get you off the grid. Roughly it would cost around $ 30k just for the panels. Battery banks and inverters / converters / junction / wiring / hardware will run about $ 10-20k – depending on complexity. Labor will also be around 15k, unless you are up for a technical challenge.
This would put you in the neighborhood of about $ 65k, yet more panels would be needed if you live somewhere like the midwest. SW US, like Arizona – you would need less panels.
If you did a grid connect, the costs would be less, as you would use less panels, yet the electric company would need to be paid to have a consultant check the setup.
Check this site out. They design and install your system for about $ 500. You then only pay for the power you actually get from the system and they guarantee it to be equal to or less than your normal grid cost. And the rate never changes even when your grid cost goes up.
http://renu.citizenre.com/index.php