Is using solar panels cheaer than normal electricity or is it just a one time payment then your done? thanks.?

Question

Is using solar panels cheaer than normal electricity or is it just a one time payment then your done? thanks.?

Answer 1

Is using solar panels cheaper that normal electricity?   It depends.   There are parts of the US where you can get federal tax rebates, state tax rebates, and additional incentives from your electric utility.   The panels are still quite expensive, but one you add in all the rebates, they can pay for themselves in 10 or 20 years.   This means that even after you discount the cost of your solar system using all these rebates, it will still take 10 or 20 years before you've saved enough money to equal the cost of the panels.  So, in the long run, it may be cheaper, it may not be cheaper.  It depends on how many rebates you qualify for.

Is it just a one time payment and then your done?  Pretty much yes.  You pay a large amount of money to get this solar system installed, and your electric bill goes to zero.   Or maybe just gets much smaller - it depends on how big a solar system you buy.  You may need to do some maintenance on your solar system every few years, but in general it's like anything else you buy for your home.  You pay for it once, and then see the benefit for as long as you own the panels.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Solar is not normally cheaper unless you happen to live in an area where electricity is very high, and your home is located in an area where the sun shines most days (Like the SW desert areas of the US).

It is not to difficult to figure out. You can buy a panel for $400-$500 that will put out about 60 Watts of power during peak sunshine periods (May be 6-7 hours on a good summer day). The average power cost around the US is $.10-$.11 per 1000 watt-hours. (10 cents for an hour of 1000 watts). As you can see, it is pretty expensive to pay $500 for about one light bulb worth of power, when I can pay about $22 a year for that one light bulbs power through the electric company.

It is pretty much a one time thing, although all panels do have a replacement life. Maybe 10-12 years, and I understand their efficiency does drop off with age.

Solar power is great. I love it. It is a good way for us to reduce the use of coal / oil / gas. I just wish more people would be realistic about it. It can help, but it is not THE answer. It is more expensive. It doesn't work well at all in many places and seasons. It is not always reliable (Nights, cloudy days, etc).

Answer 3

Electricity rates vary, as does usage, but there is a high initial cost in setting up a house to run entirely on solar panels. However it has been discovered how to manufacture solar panels out of sheets of plastic, and this will sharply reduce their price.

Answer 4

I think that some have the wrong idea on this.  If you use solar to fuel your lifestyle, one would use a solar dryer, clothesline, or for A/C, use a fan.  The changes are simple and dramatic, yet no one would notice, if you weren't bragging about no power bills.

Answer 5

The guy above has a real good explanation but you have not seen the final bill. I suspect it is a lot. To run and electric dryer you need about 3000 Watt. A window air conditioner 1500W. To run just the dryer is qty 60 50watt panels. That's $15000 just to run an electric dryer, everything else is more. The good thing is the panels last for years and are low maintenance and the energy is not coming from the Middle East.

Answer 6

cheaper

even cheaper if you build a solar panel yourself instead of buying them. here's how...

Let me start off by saying we (my family and I) live completely, 100% “off of the grid and are completely self sufficient”

Solar chimney, solar AC, solar heating, solar water heating (pool and home), solar stove, solar power, wind power, hydrogen powered back up generator, hydrogen back up water heater, hydrogen stove, 2 hydrogen powered trucks, 1 EV (electric vehicle) and satellite internet.

Here’s a DIY step by step process, taken from a guide I offer at www agua-luna com it’s complete but if you’d like the more specific process or the pics and images go to www agua-luna com. Its pretty simple but if you have any problems feel free to contact me directly I can walk you threw the process.

www agua-luna com

"STEP 1. SOLAR PANELS: or PV panels are the key to a hybrid system., converting the sun’s beams into electricity that we can use in the home. They come in many different sizes, shapes, power ranges and costs. We will focus on a 12v 50watt (4amp) panel, measuring appx 4 sq. ft. with a price range from $300-$500.

www.mrsolar.com ($340)

www.agua-luna.com ($299)"

"Retrieve a typical winter electric bill. You won’t need a summer bill, because by building a system that runs in winter, it’ll be proven for summer use where days are longer. Divide the total KWH (Kilowatt Hours) on the bill by 30 (giving you your Kilowatt Hour per day, or KWH/d consumption amount), now divide that by 10 (or the total average winter day hours in your area)(giving you KWH/h), now multiple that by 1000 (converting KWH/h to WH/h or watts)."

"Now that we know how many watts your systems requires, we need to know how many panels to use, along with an adequate- sized controller. For simplicity reasons, let’s use a typical 50w solar panel. We will divide your final “system requirement” results from above by 50 to tell us how many panels you'll need (hourly winter consumption watts / 50)."

"NOTE: Size (watts and feet) of panels is a personal choice and isn’t determined by any system requirements.

Mount panel/s flat (0 degree) facing south (if located in the north hemisphere). With a multimeter, measure the incoming amps (via pos cable to battery), slowly raise the top edge until the amps peak on your meter. Secure."

Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions if you’d like assistance in making your first self sufficient steps, I’m willing to walk you step by step threw the process. I’ve written several how-to DIY guides available at  www agua-luna com on the subject. I also offer online and on-site workshops, seminars and internships to help others help the environment.

Dan Martin

Alterative Energy / Sustainable Consultant, Living 100% on Alternative & Author of How One Simple Yet Incredibly Powerful Resource Is Transforming The Lives of Regular People From All Over The World... Instantly Elevating Their Income & Lowering Their Debt, While Saving The Environment by Using FREE ENERGY... All With Just One Click of A Mouse...For more info Visit:  

www AGUA-LUNA com

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