Solar Panel Installation Cost

Renewable energy is one of the most talked about and discussed aspects within the whole spectrum of issues concerning environment preservation. Solar energy is fast becoming an extremely viable option when it comes to renewable energy and thanks to awareness created through umpteen mediums, people are increasingly opting to use solar energy. Yes, it is thanks to the technological advancement too which has facilitated such usage of solar energy. But as it is an emerging system and source of power generation, it is first of all not cheap and solar panels entail a slightly complicated installation process. The cost too is more than any usual power unit.

Cost of Installing a Solar Panel

There are a number of factors which add up eventually to the cost of the solar panel and solar panel efficiency is one of the major factors. Those factors apart, a good ball park figure for installation of solar panels is between $4 and $9 for a watt of solar energy. On an average expect to pay nothing less than $7 for a watt. This figure has come from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This cost, thankfully includes most of the things involved in the installation. This is the cost of inverters, mounts, wires and hardware. However, this installation cost does not include the inspection charges or costs concerned with getting on the grid with the local electric company. If you take around $7 to $9 (if installed professionally) on an average and use the formula - average KWH usage per day, divided by the average number of full sun hours per day ad then that quotient multiplied by 1.15 which can look something like this with figures - 500 KWH / 30 = 16.67 KWH per day. Then that divided by 7= 2.38. Then you have 2.38 X 1.15 = 2.74 KW or 2,740 watts. So now you got the number for watts required from your panels. Now you will have to multiply the 2740 watts by whatever the cost per watt comes to for your installation. There you get the final figure for getting the solar panels installed. Add to that, around a couple of hundred dollars for inspections and other fees and you get the total figure. Typically, an average American household having a single family home would probably be required to spend $50,000 on a solar panel kit professionally installed.

Some More Cost Considerations

In addition to this basic solar panel installation cost, there are a few more factors influencing the amount you shell out at the end. These might ultimately also affect the solar panel efficiency. To begin with, there are savings and tax rebates. Although these vary from state to state, there is no harm in checking out three things - Utility Cash Rebate ($3 per DC Watt), State Tax Credit ($1,000) and Federal Tax Credit ($2,000). You can this rebate in states like Arizona for using solar power. However, amongst these, please check the status of the last one, federal tax credit. Electricity bills and home value too can be counted under savings. To give you the logistics, while energy rates are increasing year after year, the solar system is most likely to pay off in about 10 years. Maintenance and repair is another factor adding to the cost of solar panel installation. Roughly, they say that it can run in around $2,000 to thereabouts for a lifetime of the solar panels.

Ultimately if spending more than $25,000 is not exactly what you would go for, you have an option of doing it yourself. Then the cost will be drastically less as compared to getting it professionally done. However, if you are not sure and still go ahead, there can be a chance that some solar panel efficiency issues might arise. So keep that in mind. This is all for now! I sign off here! Hope this helped!