How affordable these days are solar panels for the home ? why arent we as a country doing more for the planet

Question

looking to lower energy costs and help the planet at the same time what i as a consumer can do

Answer 1

Solar panelling will pay for itself after 10years not 15-25 worked off solar panelling estimated at $10000 if your average power bill is 80month.

Why we do not do more is a matter of convenience. Push for solar panelling in your local residential sector to become mandatory, it will minimise water consumption & maximise power vesibility.

You can get building materials that can contribute to solar power, building paper, roofing iron, purlins, flooring & external cladding that can absorb heat tranforming it into power using same resources as solar paneling.

Answer 2

in the short run solar panels cost a lot, around 1000, but if you stay in that house your whole life, than its worth it. won't have to pay the electric bill. the reason  why we don't do stuff for the planet is because we don't have a leader in the fight agains global warming. without a leader, everyone thinks if my neighbor isn't doing it, why should i?

Answer 3

Most of these post are just wrong about solar.

Before you buy one, you look at how you use energy.

For every dollar you save in consumption, you save five dollars in production.

The cost savings is made through using less power in the first place.  Reduce your monthly Kwatt's down to 200 - 300.  Then solar makes sense.  To buy enough solar panels for a typical home would cost $50k - $100k.  Now if you buy a Sunfrost refrigerator, LED light bulbs, eliminate all phantom electric loads, get rid of all other electrical appliances, dryer, stove, oven.  With this small power load $10k would be enough.  The best part is, if done correctly no but you would know.

Answer 4

solar panels are expensive. I DIY mine. Its a small scale set up, to charge my laptop or save some energy for use at night.

I have 8 used ones that I wired to get 48 volts instead of the normal 12. The cost was so high I had no money left for wiring (with the copper going up like that). I had to use what I had. Four large stoarge batteries supplies stored current to an inverter, featuring square waves. I con't use it for normal appliactions, but they work with my laptop and the lamps I have around here.

And for the planet, I believe nuclear is the way to go. small compact reactors can power the whole block. People just refuses ot trust nuclear. We should have nuclear cars, houses, microwaves, and various battery packs by now.

Answer 5

Your solar panel will never cover its cost with its energy production.

Answer 6

Solar panels will indeed pay for themselves - eventually.   But it will take many years (between 15 and 50) before they do.  And its a lot of money to lay out at once.

There are, though, federal tax incentives for installing solar panels.  In parts of the country, there are also state incentives and utility rebates that can help.   In some places, these incentives will help to drop the payback to less than 10 years.

For information about incentives in the US, go to the first link below.  It lists all the federal, state and utility incentives available, state-by-state.

You can also call a local solar installer, who will certainly know about local incentives and who can help you size and cost a system for your home.  I'd recommend that you find an installer from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners.  This will ensure that your installer has some experience with these systems.  I've put a link to their web site below.

If you live in a subdivision, you should be aware that some subdivisions do not permit solar panels for aesthetic reasons.

Good luck.

Answer 7

Solar panels still cost too much and make too little power. If you want lower energy costs your only choice is coal, the dirtiest power source. If you want clean power, all your choices are extremely expensive. If you don't like that then you need to invent cleaner and cheaper sources yourself. It is hypocritical to do nothing to solve the problem yourself while at the same time criticizing other people for not doing it for you. That shows the truth of this statement, "Nothing is impossible to the person who does not have to do it himself."

Answer 8

I'm from Canada, and although I'm assuming you're from the Us, I'm still going to answer.  I actually just read this in the paper today...

"The solar thermal panels that heat the water cost about $3,500 to install, while the solar photovoltaic panels – which generate electricity – cost about $18,000 once taxes and installation are factored in."

It's from an article about a neighborhood in Toronto where a group of homeowners got together and decided to push through for putting in solar panels.  More than 150 families have signed up for the program.

If you're seriously interested in solar panels, there's no reason you couldn't do the same type thing in your own neighborhood.  The problem is the regulations for doing it, most people just can't be bothered, but evidently, if someone else does the hassle work, a lot of people are willing to switch.

Here's the article if you're interested in what they did:

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/...