Monday, 6 July 2009

Solar Cost - A One Time Investment?

By Joan T. Ritzborough

With the limited supply of fossil energy people are now starting to find a better way to create energy. Photovoltaic panels offer us a new way to create electricity from the sunbeam. The output is in the form of DC voltage and it has to be inverted to AC voltage to serve our home appliance.

To make it happen there are some solar kits that you need to purchase. These kits are determined by how would you want to have the system installed. There are three different set-ups you can choose. First is on-grid, meaning you have the solar electricity integrated with the utility grid. This is the most popular option because you need to spend less money compared to other systems.

Why on-grid is less expensive? Since you don't need to store the solar electricity in batteries you need to purchase the solar inverter only. This cut down the price because solar batteries are quite expensive. Note that because you don't have battery back up during power blackout you will have no electricity.

The second option is to have a battery backup solar inverter. With this system your solar electricity is still connected to the grid but also backed up with the battery bank. By doing so you will still have electricity during utility outages. If you vote for this system you need to purchase a solar charge controller, solar batteries and also different type of solar inverter. Now you can see why the solar cost varies greatly.

The last option is you have it off-grid. This system is normally picked up by people living in remote areas where utility lines are not available. Here you will need to purchase the solar charge controller, solar batteries and also solar inverter. Same as other options mentioned above you also need to buy other items such as wiring, terminal connections, etc. The inverter for this system is different from the other types mentioned above. You may need to backup this system with gas generator or wind turbine in case of sun outages.

While the solar cost greatly varies it is quite safe to budget around $15,000 to $60,000 for your up front investment. This cost is actually depend on how big the wattage you need. A full substitution of the utility wattage is not recommended because it will jack up the cost.

Solar kits quality and the installation cost will also affect the solar cost. Different solar inverter quality means different price. The same thing applied to the installation cost. Different companies means different cost.

If you are thinking of getting a lower price then US government has a good news for you. Having renewable energy source installed in your house will allow you to get 30% federal tax rebate followed by the local tax incentive. You also get credits from the net metering system by sending the solar electricity to the grid.

You don't really need to have your home 100% powered by solar electricity. Start from 15% or 20% and you will see the utility bill's difference. Anytime you are comfortable with the budget you can always upgrade the home solar system.

Is it true that home solar system needs a one time investment only? The reality is some parts have shorter lifespan, i.e. batteries and solar inverters while other part such as solar panels can stand for 30 years. Most likely you will have to spend money for some parts so it would be better to have this possibility counted into your calculation.

If you are in doubt you can always search for online help. There are a lot of solar companies out there and they will be glad to help you finding the best solution for your home solar system.

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