Most
homeowners will not entertain investing $30,000 in a solar panel installation.
Solar should be considered by wealthy ranchers in remote areas. Solar should
also be considered by remote villages and desert areas.
Solar in
remote areas is looking better, because it appears that solar panels are
becoming cheaper and more efficient. See below.
How Many Solar Panels Does it
Take to Power a House? 12/26/17.
While many factors are
involved in determining how many solar panels are needed to power your home,
there is a basic formula. Gregg Garrison, general manager of Northeast Solar in
Hatfield, MA, gave some guidelines for the average homeowner regarding the
number of panels to power both electrical and hot water requirements.
How many solar panels to supply an average
household?
Garrison stated that the
typical home is approximately 1,500 square feet, with electrical costs of about
$100 per month. Such a house generally needs about 16 panels to completely
cover electrical power needs.
If you are looking to
heat water for the average family of four, two solar thermal panels would be
needed, Garrison explained. “The average hot water consumption is offset by
about 70 percent.”
What’s the difference between photovoltaic panels
and solar thermal panels? The
cells in photovoltaic panels generate electrical power by
converting solar radiation (sunlight) into an electrical current. Photovoltaic
(PV) cells are made of a variety of materials that include several types of
silicon, arsenic and selenium.
Solar thermal
panels are a
closed system of tubes that contain a solution similar to antifreeze. Solar
thermal panels collect solar heat and transfer it to hot water tanks. Garrison
advised that electrical hot water tanks work the best for solar hot water
use.
What affects the number of solar panels necessary to
power your house? Depending
on what direction your house is situated – north/south or east/west, you will
have more or less sunshine available to you to convert into solar power. The
other primary factor is how much shade your home receives.
Contact a professional for an assessment of your home.
They'll utilize technology such as a Solar Pathfinder to measure how much sun
your home receives in a year, which in turn reveals how much power you could
generate. They will also use a special device to measure shade and solar
access. “Once we have gathered all the information, we download it into a
program that gives us a more accurate measure of electrical savings and
output,” disclosed Garrison.
How does the number of panels affect “payback?” In
general, for the average home (and 16 panels), it takes about six to eight
years to pay back the cost of installation, according to Garrison. In addition,
some power companies allow you to contract to sell excess power to be fed back into the general
grid, saving you even more money over time.
Solar panels have
dropped in price considerably over the years. Seven years ago, the general cost
of a 50-watt panel was $215, or $4.30 a watt. Nowadays, a 50-watt panel will
run you $75, or $1.50 a watt.
But the panels
themselves are the most inexpensive part. The cost for the components of the
solar system, like inverters, wiring, and mounts, can be $6,500 on average. You
also need to factor in the fees for installation, permits, and inspections. The
average homeowner will pay between $2,000 and $5,000 to install an appropriate
solar panel system which includes permits and inspections.
If your home is
especially shady and you aren’t willing to take down the surrounding trees, it
can take nearly double the time for payback. “Any shading on the roof reduces
the amount of production,” Garrison warns.
Keep in mind, most solar
panel systems are estimated to last about 25 to 30 years. Garrison remarked,
“Gas, oil, and electric aren’t giving you a payback. Households using solar
panels (for power) are able to stabilize long-term energy costs. You won’t be
hit by the fluctuations in the energy market.”
A note about government incentives - Currently, homeowners can take advantage
of a variety of federal and state incentives to repay part of the system's
cost. Federal incentives for solar energy have been
extended through December 31, 2021, on a gradual step-down basis. Updated December 26, 2017.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
No comments:
Post a Comment