Solar Power Cost Blog

Solar Power Cost Guide – The Secrets of Getting A Great Deal on Your Solar PV Installation

admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 00:40:12 +0000

http://solarpowercostblog.com
Solar power cost estimates vary a huge amount depending on who installs your system and which solar rebates you apply for. This short video gives a rough overview with examples of typcial solar pv costs.

For links to featured sites, please visit: -

http://solarpowercostblog.com/solar-power-cost/solar-power-cost-guide-a-quick-outline-of-how-much-your-solar-pv-install-will-cost

Duration : 0:6:36

Technorati Tags: grid tie solar, solar power cost, solar rebates

Solar Power Cost Guide – A Quick Outline Of How Much Your Solar PV Install Will Cost

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:49:14 +0000

At present I’ve been doing a lot of solar power cost research to find out how much an installation on my roof will be. The video below contains some of the best info that I found after several hours of googling. All links are added underneath the video.

Key Points

There are loads of sites about solar power cost, but the best information I have found are these three sources:-

1. http://www.thesolarguide.com

2.http://www.popularmechanics.com

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udUSVdJ2WqY

Each of these sites details its own distinct approach to installing solar panels, and the cost associated with each varies considerably. These methods are as follows:-

1. Professional Installer
Pro – peace of mind as work usually carries some sort of guaranty
Pro – work will take less of your time
con – cost is around $10-$12 per watt installed (before any rebates)

2. DIY install
Pro – Cost is much cheaper at around $4.50 per watt installed
pro – If you enjoy DIY, this option can be a lot of fun
con – If anything goes wrong you will have to fix the system yourself

3. DIY + Professional Help
Pro – Cost is around $6.29 per watt, which is still around half that of a professional install.
Pro – The tricky/dangerous bits are done for you
Con – There is no overall guaranty for the system

Solar Rebates
Perhaps the most important thing that I found is that the key to saving money is in the rebates on offer. A crucial first step is to check the availability of any federal grants you may be able to receive. Some people have been able to cut their solar power cost by more than half this way.

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solar power cost

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Solar Panels Electricity Cost

admin — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 23:32:06 +0000

http://www.123CheapSolarCom.com

Solar panels electricity cost less than you might think.
Electricity generation through solar cells wind turbines
and fuel cells is not only becoming more popular,
but much less expensive” Portable and small solar
cells can even be mounted on cell phones and
cars.

The most cost-effective solar cells are the ones
you build at home yourself. These cells can be
constructed for less than $200 per panel and
provide inexpensive solar panel electricity
generation.

Duration : 0:1:19

Technorati Tags: cost, electricity generation, electronics, portable, solar panels, solar panels electricity, voltage, wind power, wind turbines

Do you realize How many homes and business’s run on Grid tied Solar Today?

admin — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:48:41 +0000

http://homepower.com/home/

http://www.nrel.gov/solar/

solar is one of those things that is mainly for rich people. Your average person doesn’t have the capital to invest in 25,000 dollars worth of PV. That won’t always be the case.. they are making breakthroughs in solar practically every day, but for now.. it’s just not practical – for the typical person.. And I know you are going to say Tax right offs and subsidies.. but States are broke.

Does Grid Tied Solar Photovoltaic on your roof qualify as, owning your power, to power your own Home or Biz?

admin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 11:58:34 +0000

I don’t think so.. I think you still lease the lines that attach to your home from the utility pole. But you could always detach from that.. you just need enough PV, or wind, whatever to meet your own personal demand. Maybe a backup generator for cloudy days or eclipses?

Do you think all Grid tied Solar PV systems sell back to the grid?

admin — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 01:41:47 +0000

Yes. The system is designed so that what you sell all year equalizes your needs and when you are out — at work, school, shopping — you supply your neighbors and are credited. At nioght you use the grid, and if the system is designed correctly, you equal out by years end. Payback to own your own power is typically 8-12 years on a system warranted for 25 years. It’s really a now brainer that people owning their own power source is a good investment. People who don’t believe seem like Oil sheep and misinformed

I do not agree at all. I live in Phoenix which is one of the few ideal locations for solar. A system for my house will break even in 11-13 years, but only getting almost half of it paid for by the taxpayers and Utility rebates. If the system had to stand on its own, it would never break even. Also the break even does not include any maintenance and replacement costs which is inevitable. In most areas, these systems will not do as well as here.

Tax dollars are not FREE. It is hard-earned money by millions of hard-working individuals. Most of us do not have $20,000 laying around to install a system. Only the rich do. Using my tax dollars to help the better off to justify or sell a money losing Solar system is WRONG!

Let the market work! Don’t use my money to prop up these systems. Build Nuclear Power, or help people that really need it if you want to spend my money. Again – Tax Subsidies are not FREE.

DIY Solar Panel Cost

admin — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 11:02:11 +0000

DIY save money, have fun, www.cleanenerguy.com solar

Duration : 0:3:2

Technorati Tags: alternative energy, classes, clean power, contractor, cost, Dave Dugdale, diy, education, green, installation, interview, kilowatt, money payback time solardave, Painéis Solares, Paneles solares, Panneaux solaires, Pannelli solari, photovoltaic, PV, solar power, training, tutorial

Im charging a AA rechargeable battery using a solar panel, After charging the battery drains very quickly why?

admin — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:27:24 +0000

Im charging a Rechargeable AA battery using a 2.4W Solar panel. The batteries are connected through a USB port. They are exposed to 6 hours of sunlight, They seem charged after, However the batteries do not retain the charge and get very quickly drained. my question is why is the battery getting drained after showing 87% of charge.

The battery is clearly not getting fully charged. You need a charge controller with your solar panel to properly control the flow of electricity. And the solar panel must put out more voltage than the fully charged battery does or else it will never fully charge the battery even with the charge controller. So you need to know more than just how many watts the solar panel can make, you need to know it’s voltage. And keep in mind that the 2.4W rating is no doubt the maximum you can get under ideal conditions. If you don’t keep moving the panel to point exactly at the Sun all the time you will loose some power. This requires turning the panel slowly all day to follow the Sun. Just setting out in the sun and walking away for 6 hours will result is less than 2.4W most of the time.

Why Do People Not Believe in Solar When You Can Lease Solar PV in CA for the Cost of Your Electric Bill?

admin — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 14:12:54 +0000

21 Sates Have rebates. If you lease a system here in CA, the lease is for 2o years, you pay nothing, and it locks in your energy costs at the rate of your bill today.

Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency

http://dsireusa.org/

Other states aren’t as fortunate as California in terms of amount of sun vs. electricity prices.

California’s rebate is small, as it has been ramping down for years. The Federal tax credit dominates, the same credit that is available in any state.

Our system, which is 3 kW, supplies substantially all our electrical needs for the year. But we’re a conservative user of electricity – no A/C, no electric heat, no pool pump, no big screen TV. Like 95% of solar systems installed today, it uses no batteries. At today’s prices, the system would cost $9000, including tax and shipping, but not labor, and not including tax credit. We paid no labor, as it was a self-install, but for another person, possibly the tax credit would balance out the labor. Assuming the system lasts 20 years, the cost per kWh is 7.5 cents. This is how a lease can make money, since the cost of electricity is currently more like 15 cents per kWh here. In a place with less sun or cheaper electricity, this arrangement would not work.

As prices of panels drop, I expect systems to become financially advantageous in more and more areas, even without added incentives. But not yet.

To the assertion that solar panels never return the energy put into their manufacture, that was once true, perhaps in 1980. Here is a document from the National Renewable Energy Labs with a more recent analysis http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy04osti/35489.pdf . A modern solar electric panel is a good location will return the energy of its manufacture in about 2 years.

Recession Means More Cost Efficient Solar Panels

admin — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 21:11:07 +0000

The wholesale solar panel industry has been forced to drop its prices due to the cost of silicon after the recession. Clean Skies News looks at what homeowners will gain by installing solar panels now, and interviews David Llorens, who is co-founder of solar company One Block off the Grid.

Duration : 0:6:30

Technorati Tags: Clean Skies News, David Llorens, electric bills, energy efficiency, Lee Patrick Sullivan, One Block Off the Grid, Power Generation, silicon, SOLAR, solar farm, solar panels