Cost Of Solar

The idea of putting solar panels on the roof of your home is very appealing. Once installed, the can produce free electricity for decades. Who doesn’t like free? Rooftop solar systems themselves are not free, however. The first question most homeowners ask is, “How long will it take to for the system to pay for itself?” The answer to that question depends on many variables. Here are some of them. The cost of the system The price of electricity in your area The efficiency of your solar panels   Federal, state, and local rebates and incentives Local utility company policies Let’s take them one at a time. The Cost of Your System No two rooftop solar systems are the same, so no two systems will cost the same. But on average, the typical residential solar installation in the United States has a capacity of 6,000 watts. Since the average installed cost is $3.14 per watt, that typical system has a gross cost of $18,840. Notice that...

Solar panels save most buyers a lot of money. Solar panel installation costs are not always easy to swallow, though. The fact is, you sometimes have to spend money to save money. And you sometimes have to spend a lot of money to save a lot of money. Solar panels are not really like TVs or phones when it comes to cost; they're more like tiles or mulch. That is, there is not dramatic variation in the technology options, and the differences in cost are mostly just related to how many you need. If you have a big roof and use a lot of electricity, you need more solar panels. If you have a small roof or a heavily shaded roof or you just don't use much electricity, you don't need as many solar panels and the price will be lower. There's an extra factor that is important, though. While the number of solar panels you need to have installed and the price of those panels are heavily dependent on your home and your energy use, and not very dependent on the solar...