How much does it cost to get solar panels to power a house?

Question

How much does it cost to get solar panels to power a house?

Answer 1

Of course it depends where you are and how much south-facing roof you have. In the North of England with a south facing roof and an electrically-efficient house using only around 2000 kWh/year, you would be able to generate that amount with a 25m2 panel costing around £9000. The Low Carbon Buildings Programme can provide a grant towards that but it's in a bit of a mess at the moments so don't rely on it. Check whether your council or local Development Agency gives grants too.

You would need a tariff with your electricity supply company to sell back any excess to the grid, as you won't always use all you generate and still need to buy in power when it's dark or too cloudy. Most installers recommend that you install enough capacity to run about half of your annual consumption, unless you get a very good deal on selling back to the grid.

Answer 2

About $10,000 to do a medium sized house.  And then you have to make sacrifices to minimize electrical use.

Answer 3

There's no easy answer to that question...sizing a system is a function of the size of the house, the expected load, the amount of sunshine available (are you in the north or south, in the woods, etc), competing electrical costs, etc. In general, solar power is still pretty expensive but its getting more competitive as time goes on. And you may live in an area where you lose your power frequently....that's where having a solar system really shines. But, if we are going into a period of time where we have more cloudy days because of global warming (and the increased amount of water vapor held in the atmosphere in the form of clouds), then solar systems could be much less effective. Your guess is as good as mine.

But ignoring that question for now, if your state has generous tax credits for installing a system (I don't think the Fed. tax credits are that great anymore (and could be zero), but I could be wrong) or the cost of power where you are is exceedingly high, then the payback for installing a system will be shorter. But it all comes down to the payback if you are looking to make a purely economic decision. If you can get the payback to around 10 years (or roughly a 10% return on investment after rebates, credits, electrical savings, etc) then its probably worth doing.

Answer 4

It depends on the size of the solar array.  A 5kW system will cost about $50,000.

Answer 5

A solar system to completely power it?  About $50,000, give or take.

Answer 6

depends...here in the Midwest we hardly see sun in winter..so what then.....if you are north or south and how many watts does your house use?????

Answer 7

It depends where you live which effects the payback time frame. Those who would use it for space heating would have the shortest payback time frame! You can make your own panels and save your money for other things!

Answer 8

It depends on the size and weather you include a battery backup

system.