How Much Does Solar Energy Cost?

“How much does solar energy cost” is a difficult question to answer but this article will hopefully give you some good pointers.

The cost of using solar energy is next to nothing after the initial investment of setting up your solar power system for your home. The amount of money that you will pay for the equipment is determined by a number of variables.

Factors that determine the cost of solar energy include your electricity requirements, the amount of sunshine that is available to charge the solar panels, size of the place where the panels will be used and incentives given by the government to people using ‘green’ technology.

And governments and states are recognizing the benefit to society at large to encourage the use of renewable energy sources. Clearly this would also have the effect of reducing the obligation on government to provide power which is an increasingly onerous task because of the depletion in fossil fuel supplies.
Taking into account the above mentioned variables, here is a rough estimate of the cost of solar energy.

Water Heating System: The cost of a solar water heating system is $2,000-$4,000.

Photovoltaic System: The price of a solar panel depends on its wattage. A 1 kW system costs between US $8,000 and $10,000. For an average sized family, 1.5 – 3 kW solar panels are required, which cost between US $13,000 and US $27,000, without rebates.

You can save a lot of money on solar panels with the help of government rebates and tax credits. For example, say you live in California and have purchased a 2.5 kW system for $22,500.

The government rebate on this system will be $7000 (2500 watt x $2.80 per watt rebate = $7,000). Also subtract the tax credit amount of $ 1,163 from the sale price (7.5% of system cost after rebate. $22,500 – $7,000 x 7.5% = $1,163).

It should be kept in mind that the example given above is an estimate and other factors will play a part in determining the final cost price of a solar energy system.

You can reduce these costs enormously though by building your own solar panels which can be built at a fraction of the cost of buying ready made units.