Solar is cheaper than you think

Share with us your alternative energy ideas and projects. Tell us about your experiments, no matter how far-fetched they may seem.

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justinford10jf
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2010 3:05 am

a homeowner can invest in a solar panel power plant on their roof or property to produce most, if not all, of their residential power. Be sure to plan ahead so you can charge your all electric car in the future.

You'll enjoy a $0 or very low power bill for the 25 or 30 year life of the system. For example, if you spend $200 per month for electricity with a utility, then you will spend $81,979 over 25 years. No matter how you calculate it, you will save money with a $5,000 to $25,000 solar panel system. Remember, you can pay the utility for 25 years, with annual price increases, or you can pay a lot less for solar power. You'll also get some great tax credits and cash rebates, and you will increase the value of your home.

To do something about this today, then shop online, compare solar installers and get the latest information about solar rebates, solar tax credits, solar financing and leasing, system costs and the benefits of going solar. The bottom line is that many homeowners and business owners can afford solar power today.
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Greg S
Posts: 541
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:13 am
Location: Kingston Ontario Canada

Unfortunately the reality is many home owners can not afford the initial up front cost considering the longer than advertised pay back times but can afford to budget for monthly hydro bills.

Unfortunately the harsh reality is that saving money can be expensive.
An individual must enforce his own meaning in life and rise above the perceived conformity of the masses. (Anton LaVey)
Groo
Posts: 79
Joined: Tue May 11, 2010 5:52 am

I know I don't spend close to $200 a month in electricity, and I doubt $5000 in solar pannels and all the other required related equipment would produce near that much electricity, especially in my neck of the woods. Prices are comming down, but I don't think they are there yet. I am looking at spending close to $7k to get electricity at a building site. If I could get off grid for $15k, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I looked at your site and did some math.
the average household uses 920kwh per month, that equals 1.27kw average consumption. assuming a I get 10% rated effectiveness out of the system (figure night time, cloudiness, the short days of winter, storage and conversion losses, I think that is a very generous assumption). The average household were I am at would need a 13 kw system. That would be around $90,000 (the largest example on your site was 6kw, so I doubled the price) that would also require a large bank of potentially explosive batteries in my house too. As much as I'd like to get off grid, how can I come close to justifying that? or even half that if my assumptions are off?
MsFixIt
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 3:08 pm

Greg S wrote:Unfortunately the reality is many home owners can not afford the initial up front cost considering the longer than advertised pay back times but can afford to budget for monthly hydro bills.

Unfortunately the harsh reality is that saving money can be expensive.
Solar Power isn't that expensive, but yes, the initial cost of setting everything up is what really gets to people. Most things that involve forms of natural power are always high cost because it isn't as accessible as coal power and the power generally found from high companies. Special equipment and practices require more care because they haven't been fully tested. Many people want to go to a company that has experience and they want to go with a company that is guaranteed to provide the best service.
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Dean3
Posts: 419
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2009 4:32 pm
Location: NE IA

Well off people could kill 2 birds. They have the chip to go off grid,they 1-save money while 2-promoting the tech by buying it. In theory that should 3-bring the future cost down for all. Hmmm,almost looks more like 3 birds.

I would suggest the industry carefully but strongly push the above "angle" to the upper mid class and rich folks,gently challenge them in public forums like TV,radio,newspapers,twitter,facebook,etc.

Every now and then I check status of DIY solar collecting paint,I don't see it on the market yet,bummer.

Dean

I've been wrong before,I'll be wrong again.
Groo
Posts: 79
Joined: Tue May 11, 2010 5:52 am

hate to say it, but well off people usually get that way by not wasting money.

the current move toward showing how it can make sense is the smartest route, but you've got to be honest with people about the expensed involved and the realistic results, or you'll loose future investors.
SteveSch
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2009 8:14 pm

I was just wondering if anyone has tried any of the new 'Build Your Own Solar System" books.

I have seen several of these sites. The have testimonials where people were able to build a decent sized panel for less than $200.

There's a bunch of sites. When I get a few dollars ahead, I'd like to give one a try.

myeasysolarplans.com

earth4energy.com

Steve
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