Residential Solar Panels
Residential Solar Panels-Cheapest Residential Solar Panels
Author: N Jamal
Solar power is the energy of the future. Learn how to get cheapest residential solar panels. A few of the several advantages of solar energy are first and foremost its free, easy to harness and is capable to provide more energy than what is needed by most households.
You might be aware that commercially sold solar panels have their worth in thousands of dollars. But, did you know you can actually go solar for a fraction of that cost. To be specific, you can go solar for as little as 0!
Why Go Solar?
Solar panels are made up of tiny PV cells, also known as photovoltaic cells. The PV cells capture sun light and store it in a battery. The energy stored in the battery is then transformed into exploitable electricity using an inverter. Solar power is a renewable resource of energy and free to harness once you have installed solar panels.
Installing ready made solar panels can be quite expensive and can cost you anywhere from ,000 – ,000 to solar power you entire home. You can solar power your entire home for a fraction of this amount if you learn how to build residential solar panels. Building your own solar panels from scratch is cheap and easy, all the required raw materials can be easily picked up from the local hardware or electrical store. This also cuts down on any further impact on the environment as the solar panels do not go through any manufacturing processes.
Going Solar Is Easy!
Various kits are offered to download from different vendors that will teach you how to build dirt cheap residential solar panels. The downloaded kits include steps for calculating the actual electricity that you require from solar panels based upon your utility bills. Once you have that information you can start building your own solar panels, typically you can easily build a 100 watt solar panel in a day very easily.
Now, that’s not something substantial, but when you can easily redo the whole process over and over again, you can completely go off-grid with a few days of work and perhaps sell back the extra power back to the utility company. Now, how is that for a change? You’ll get a check from the utility provider!
Save Heaps!
Once you have installed residential solar panels, they will pay for themselves many times over the course of their life. Generally, solar panels have an average lifetime for 25-30 years requiring little to no maintenance. So, you do the math here and calculate how much you are set to save!
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/residential-solar-panelscheapest-residential-solar-panels-1456694.html
About the Author
Stop paying your energy bills and throwing money out of the window. Learn how to get cheapest residential solar panels for a very small and affordable investment! Learn how thousands of people worldwide have slashed their electric bills by 80% and at times completely eliminated them by using the Best DIY Solar Power Guides on the planet, that have step by step instructions and videos that even a novice teenager can follow to make solar panels.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-1
I have some panels on my house and no they are not cheap. If you look around you can buy them for around $4.70 per watt for a 100 plus watt panel, this will make them $470 or more. But you will get a first quality panel. And no I do not know of any fed. government programs for home owners. These kind of programs usually only go to large companies. And it does not look like our government is going to help seeing how the let the large oil companies keep there tax programs but refused to help solar. This just happened today when the senate voted on the energy plane. Good luck go solar
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-2
If you’re in a sunny area, and the cost of electricity is high, solar panels can be worth it. But it’s not a big moneymaker, it’s something that pays back over long timeframes. We live in northern California, and our system is about break even, but that’s because our electricity usage was low to begin with. If you want to see our system, look at the web page in my profile.
Are panels worth it in your area? The only way to know for sure is to find a local installer in your phone book, and then ask for local references. If you can’t find a local installer, that’s a clue, and if they can’t give you any references that are nearby, that’s another clue.
The panels don’t actually store energy, the energy is sold back to the power company when what you produce is more than you consume, driving the meter backwards. Again, this is not a big moneymaker, and in fact, it may be impossible to make a profit, depending on your local laws.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-3
If it’s new construction, the panels are easily absorbed into the cost of the house, and would barely be noticeable. What’s another $15,000 for solar electric when the house is $300,000 or more? That’s less than the commission paid for selling it. If it’s just solar hot water, the price tag could only be $2000 – $4000.
Also, solar adds value to the home, so it’s possible that they will pay for themselves when you sell. With home prices fluctuating so much, though, it would be hard to tell for sure what the effect of having solar was. In general, the guide is to take the annual energy savings, and multiply it by 20 to get the increase in the value of the house. So if the panels can save $1000 a year, theoretically the house could sell for $20,000 more than it otherwise would.
Prices are softening, may be dropping soon. Someone in your neighborhood got a fantastic deal – $5 a watt, including professional installation. I don’t know if this is a one-time thing, or a trend. We were quoted about double that just 2 years ago.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-4
To get the state rebate, you must be compliant to local building codes, which means the NEC (National Electrical Code) in most places (see article 690 of the code in your library). The NEC says that you need the UL listing. Also, it must be a grid-tied installation, that is, displacing grid power. More info at
http://www.gosolarcalifornia.org/
The federal government doesn’t specify UL listing. If you lived in an area that was lax about that, you would still get your federal rebate.
If you’re going off-grid (batteries) in a cabin, the UL listing doesn’t matter (no rebate), and you can save significant dollars by getting panels that are “seconds” from a place like sun-elec.com
EDIT: I yield to dave123. That’s right, UL is not specifically required. But if you buy the cosmetic defect panels from sun-elec, they will have their certification removed. I know a number of people that used them, though, and never any problems. I’m not advocating breaking the law, but must say, when the inspector looked at our panels, he did not not look for the certification sticker on the panels. Our panels were factory prime, but nevertheless, no one checked.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-5
My best advice: Don’t bother with solar-electric (PV) panels.
Go for a solar water heater. You’ll make out a lot better by eliminating the energy you’d otherwise use to heat water than by trying to generate electricity to do it the old way. And insulate the crap out of the place, and make all the fixtures fluorescent (except maybe in seldom-used locations like closets).
After you’ve done that, if you still have budget money left you can think about PV panels for the roof.
June 22, 2007
9:36 am #comment-6
Anyone here have residential solar panels?
I’ve been looking into solar panels. They are fairly expensive ($35k or so). My state has some rebates and grants available. Is anyone aware of any federal grants and rebates other than the federal tax credit? We are subject to AMT tax and can’t take the credit. (Which is ridiculous, is the federal government committed to conservation or aren’t they??????)
February 10, 2008
7:30 pm #comment-7
How much will it cost to have solar panels installed in a medium 2 story residential home?
In a couple of years I will be purchasing a home. It will be probably be a new 5 bed 3 bath home. thanks!
August 11, 2008
6:39 am #comment-8
How expensive and cost prohibitive are solar panels for residential construction?
November 16, 2008
6:56 pm #comment-9
Do solar electric panels need to be UL listed in California for residential installations?
Does anyone know if solar photovoltaic panels need to be UL listed in California for residential installation? Does a UL listing affect state or federal rebates? Are there any insurance issues with UL or non-UL PV panels installed in California?
December 12, 2008
5:30 pm #comment-10
questions about solar panels for residential use?
how much do you think it would cost for installation?
i heard that solar panels can store electricity and any excess electricity gets sold back to the electric company. how much money can a home owner make from doing this?
do you think solar panels are worth it?