PV Gap

Bernard Said:

how much do solar panels cost 4 a house?

We Answered:

The "true" cost of solar panels for a solar electric system on a residential house is largely determined by rebates and incentives. The current market rate for a solar electric system is around $8-10 per installed Watt. How many Watts you need is determined by your electricity usage. You can find out more about sizing a solar electric system here....

http://howto.altestore.com/Articles-on-R…

If you already have a very efficient house and lifestyle, it might be worth looking into a solar electric system. If not, you're much better off investing your money into energy efficient appliances and fixtures and trying to make your electricity usage as small as possible.

Just to give you an idea, there really isn't a "typical" house so a solar electric system can range anywhere from $10,000 to over $100,000. It is all about minimizing your electricity usage before you look into renewable technologies.

If you want to see some prices on some solar panels, you can see them here.

http://www.altestore.com/store/Solar-Pan…

Hope this info helps.

-Dave C.

Carla Said:

How much would it cost to install solar panels on my house?

We Answered:

Take a look at your electric bill and see how many kilowatt hours (kwh) a month you buy. If you were to size the solar system based on your current use, that would be the number to use in a solar calculator http://www.altestore.com/store/calculato… Most people don't generate 100% of their needs, they just produce a fraction based on budget. You can get a starter package for as low as around $3000, but the amount it generates is minimal. $10k to $20k is very common for a grid-tied system.

Spending the money in reducing your usage is a much better use of your money. Every $1 you spend to use less is equal to $4 less in your solar system.

If you have the electric company available, you can generate as much as you can during the day, sell any extra back to the power company, and then buy it back from them at night. Depending on the incentives and the price of electricity, both buying and selling, then it may be affordable if you conserve first.

Also look into solar water heating as a fabulous way to reduce your power bill and generate free hot water. http://www.altestore.com/store/Solar-Wat…

Lynn Said:

Putting solar panels on my house? Cost?

We Answered:

Based on you energy bill you are using between 2,000 to 4,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month.

The typical 3,000 peak watt system that is installed residentially produces approximately 4,000 kilowatt hours per year.

I estimate your annual electric use to be anywhere 24,000 to 48,000 Kilowatt hours of electricity per month.

That is six to twelve times the annual out put of a standars size system.

The standard size system is approximately $30,000 installed.

For a system that will handle your electrical use you will a need a system six to twelve times as large as a standard system. The cost for that will be $180,000 to $360,000.

I realize that is rether expensive, however solar photovoltaic systems currently are for people who are independently wealthy.

As expensive as your electric bill is, it is even more expensive to generate electricity by the use of a solar photoelectric system.