Connecting To The Grid
Most solar kits are designed for off-grid systems, which wouldn’t demand as much energy as the average home, such as tiny houses or sheds. A typical off-grid PV system costs about $2.50 per watt.
Grid-tied packages range from $2.00 to $3.50 per watt. The grid can be very useful, providing electricity at night or in times of low sunlight. Being connected requires more components, such as meters and safety equipment. You will need to consult your local utility company about regulations and hire a licensed electrical contractor to connect you.
Review Your Electric Bill
Solar panels generate their own power and can therefore greatly offset your monthly electricity bill, if not eliminate it. The higher your bill, the more likely you’ll benefit from switching. But you should note that electricity rates and usage the main charges on your statement are volatile.
“If a utilitys electricity prices fluctuate, so could the amount of savings,” says Garrett Nilsen, deputy director for the U.S. Department of Energy’s solar energy technologies office. “Similarly, if energy consumption changes, the amount of savings can also vary.”
Visit the EIA website to view the most recent prices per state.
What Kinds Of Incentives Are Available In My State
The good news is that every state in the US offers some kind of incentive scheme that helps you save money on your solar system. The bad news is that it is complicated, and incentives differ from state to state.
Fortunately, there is an excellent resource that lets you find out what deals are on offer where you live quickly and easily. The DSIREUSA website is operated by N.C. Clean Energy Technology Centre at North Carolina State University.
This website has a very user-friendly setup to help you figure out what incentives are available to you. You can click on a map of your state to find out all of the incentives offered there. Even better, you can enter your ZIP Code and see whats available in your neighborhood.
You can be confident that the DSIREUSA offers good information since they receive funding from the US Department of energy. The website gives a brief summary of each of the incentive programs and then directs you to somewhere where you can find out about it in more detail.
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Which Solar Panels Are Best For Home
There are many ways to rank the best solar panels, including by value, efficiency, and performance. These brands tend to have the best overall solar panels:
You can read our expert summary and justifications for the ranking of top solar panel manufacturers in 2021 on our best solar panel brands expert reviews page.
How Do I Know How Much Energy My System Is Generating
Each system has monitoring options talk with your Outreach Coordinator about the type your system will have. Keep in mind that your system will produce energy, but if you use more than the system produces, you will owe your utility company for this energy. Your utility company will assess the difference between the energy used by your system and returned to the electricity grid and the additional energy your home draws from the grid. They will then produce a bill, called the annual true-up bill, and you will be charged for any excess energy used.
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The Condition Of Your Roof
Does your roof need to be replaced just because youre switching to solar? Well, not really. But if you look at it more logically, its better to assess the condition of your roof before you make any decisions.
Itll save you a whole lot of trouble and money.
As long as there is enough sunlight and space, solar panels can be installed on almost any roof. The average solar panel weighs around 40 lbs.
However, if your roof is too weak or damaged, it may end up slumping under the weight of the panels.
Your roof may seem like just a collection of shingles and tiles, but the structure is way more complicated than that. Your roof is made up of multiple layers that all help insulate and cover your house.
Generally, a typical roof is made of:
- Roof truss
- Shingles or tiles
- Wooden frame
If any of these components are damaged, it will affect the whole structure of your roof. So, how does one know if the roof is damaged?
The signs are all there on your roof, you just need to look for them.
What Is The Solar Tax Credit For 2021
The federal Investment Tax Credit In 2021, the ITC will provide a 26% tax credit on your installation costs, provided that your taxable income is greater than the credit itself. For most homeowners, this effectively translates to a 26% discount on your home solar system.
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Do I Need To Buy A Solar Battery If I Install Solar Energy Panels On My House
In short, no.
In most areas, it is not necessary to buy a solar battery when you install solar panels on your roof. This is because most utilities offer some form of net metering, which effectively allows homeowners to sell the excess energy their solar panels produce to the power company, instead of physically storing it in a battery.
Even though battery storage is getting cheaper, it still has a relatively long payback period. For example, the Tesla Powerwall only costs around $12,000, including installation, but it will still take almost 10 years for it to pay for itself.
Another important factor when deciding are solar panels worth it is how high your electricity rates are and whether or not your utility offers retail net metering. Places with high electric rates and full retail net metering are often some of the best places to install solar.
With that said, it may be worth considering installing solar with a battery system if you live in an area that does not offer net metering.
Solar Panels Under A Lease Or Ppa: Questions To Ask
In this case, the solar panels are not owned by the homeowner, but the solar company. Leases and power purchase agreements are similar financing tools that both boil down to the same thing. The solar company installs solar panels on a home for little or no upfront cost, and the homeowner signs an agreement with the solar company to purchase electricity at some rate that should be lower than the utility rate.
This is the most complicated situation, and requires the prospective homebuyer to be careful. In order for the sale to be completed, the buyer will need to agree to take on the lease or PPA – otherwise, the seller will need to have the solar panels removed, usually at a significant cost. This can be a big headache for the seller, enough that it can cause a sale to fall through.
If youâre interested in keeping the panels and taking over the solar contract, you should go through the same questions as if you were exploring a new contract with the company. You can read our guide to solar financing to learn more, but here are some basic questions you should ask:
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Do Solar Panels Work When The Power Goes Out
Most people think that solar panels will keep their lights going when the power goes out. Unfortunately, unless you add battery storage , they wont.
Solar power systems automatically go offline in the event of a grid power outage as a safety measure for utility workers who are repairing power lines.
The only way solar panels will power your home during a blackout is if they are paired with battery storage.
If Youre A Homebuyer Planning To Buy A Home That Already Has Solar Panels Installed Heres A Quick Guide To Things You Need To Know
If youâre thinking of buying a house that already has solar panels installed, there are some questions youâll need to run through with the buyer before you sign the contract.
But first, if youâve never thought about home solar until you came across them in your real estate search, you probably have some questions. Home solar has become wildly popular, with now more than 2 millions solar installations across the United States. Our buyers guide will give you an in-depth introduction to home solar, such as explaining net metering and whether you need to clean your solar panels.
Home solar can be great for your pocketbook and it helps the environment, but if you want to buy a house that already has solar panels installed, there are some questions you should ask the seller before you sign the contract.
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Look Into Rebates And Tax Incentives
While solar panels can seem expensive, especially as you are facing the sizable up-front costs, you’ll want to keep in mind the fact that some places have incentives to encourage you to go green.
The federal government offers tax credits to home owners who install solar panels. Some states similarly offer tax breaks and rebates when you embrace solar power. Make sure to capitalize on these opportunities to shrink the cost of switching to solar.
How Many Solar Panels Do I Need
Your energy needs determine how many panels you need, which affects the overall price of your solar system installation. To eliminate your electric bill entirely, you must generate 100% of the electricity your home needs. Most homeowners need between 25 and 35 panels to achieve complete energy independence.
Average households need867 kWh/monthin electrical power
A solar panel typically produces about one kilowatt-hour per day, so if your daily kWh usage is 30, you would need 30 solar panels to generate all of your energy needs. If you need to generate extra energy to heat a pool or run the air conditioning for most of the year, this adds to your energy costs.
To estimate the amount of energy youll need, you need to know your average kilowatt-hours . This number should be on your utility bill as kWh used. To get your monthly average, look at bills for the past year, add up the stated kWh used and divide by 12.
Next, divide your monthly kWh average by 30 to calculate your daily average. For instance, if your average monthly kWh is 900, then your average daily kWh is 30.
For a more accurate calculation, try to factor in times when there is not as much solar power available, like when its cloudy or in the evening. There are two main ways to account for this:
These additional calculations can be difficult, but they are necessary if you want the optimum solar power system for your home.
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What Is The Average Payback Period For Residential Solar Panels In 2021
The solar payback period refers to the amount of time it takes for the electric bill savings from your solar panels to equal the amount you paid for the system. The average payback period for a residential solar system in 2021 is about seven years.
A payback period of seven years equates to a return on investment of approximately 14%. However, this varies greatly by state and even by regions within states.
Calculate the solar panel payback period for your home based on your location, electric use and current local solar system prices
Once you have generated an accurate payback period, you can compare this to the returns you see on other types of investments:
- Long-term government bonds currently have returns between 0.1% and 2%
- Zillow estimates that home prices increase between 3% and 5% annually
- The stock market has risen around 9.5% historically
As you can see, residential solar panels stack up favorably against all of these other investment options – and this is even before we consider the increase in a homes value caused by the solar panel installation.
Does Removing A Tree Negate The Environmental Benefits Of Solar Energy
Some people believe that removing trees to create solar energy is a bad tradeoff for the environment. They believe it creates a net negative impact. After all, trees remove carbon dioxide from the environment by storing CO2, and we emit CO2 when manufacturing solar panels.
In reality, solar energy production has a net positive benefit on the environment even when you need to remove trees to install your solar panels.
Energy Sage actually did the math on this one. They cited data from the US government showing that one tree stores 0.5 metric tons of CO2 over its lifetime. Manufacturing a 5 kW solar panel system, on the other hand, produces 10 metric tons of CO2. That means when you remove one tree from your property and replace it with one solar panel, your net negative impact on the environment is 10.5 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
In other words, for the removal of one tree to make sense , the net CO2 reduction from that solar panel must exceed 10.5 metric tons.
Now lets look at the positive effects of solar panels. Panels generate 6,000 kWh of electricity per year for 25 years. Over a lifetime, that means a panel generates over 150,000 kWh of free electricity, eliminating 103 metric tons of CO2 that would have been generated from traditional energy sources.
Thanks to Energy Sage for doing the numbers on that one.
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How Can Solar Energy Power Your Whole House
So, can a home solar system really power your entire house? As weve stated, yes! But, it does depend on a few variables that youll want to take into consideration when deciding to go solar. Mostly, these variables are used to determine the power output levels and the number of solar panels that your home requires to meet your energy goals. In this case, well explore the goal of running your whole house entirely on solar power.
Every home is different, and every home will require a unique amount of solar panels in order to effectively convert the suns energy into the energy you can use to power your home. At SunPower by BlueSel, we understand how to install your panels at the perfect angle, in the perfect spot, to maximize sun intake. Installing your solar panels in the perfect spot can make a big difference in regard to energy.
HowStuffWorks.com explains perfectly how solar panels can power an entire house:
As solar panels protrude from the precipice at various angles, they capture whatever sunlight is available, and convert it to DC power. An inverter converts the DC power to AC power . And for people who want to completely power an entire home with the suns rays, there are systems available to convert and store extra power in the form of battery energy.
Cost Of Diy Solar Panels
The cost of DIY solar panels runs $2,000 to $20,000 for a kit ranging from 2kW to 10kW. These kits include everything you need to install your own solar array. However, you may even look to building your own panels.
The costs to make your own system and build it from scratch is going to vary quite a lot depending on you level of skill. Its a highly technical and specialized field. If you have a high level of electrical skills, you may be toying with the idea of building your own solar panels. The cost of solar cells and the silicon wafers used to create them are available to purchase individually. To build your own, you would typically put 60 of these wafers onto a backing and wire each of them. You would then need to connect this to an inverter.
Consider, however, that there are several risks associated with building your own, including:
- You can’t be sure of the quality of solar cells purchased.
- Homemade panels are often a fire hazard.
- Many tax credits and incentives will not apply when systems are constructed outside of approved facilities.
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Reduction In Energy Costs
Youll save between $650 to $1,500 annually. Over a 25-year period, youll save between $15,000 to $40,000 in energy costs. Cost ranges vary by regional differences in the cost of electricity and how much sun youll get. Dont expect to save as much in a darker northern climate as you would in southern California, Florida or Hawaii.
A great first step in determining which products are right for your home is to conduct a Home Energy Audit. A home auditor will do a detailed inspection of your usage and areas where you can improve to help you determine if you would benefit from a solar system. From there, a pro can help you to select the right location, size, mounts, and panels to maximize on savings.
Although you may hesitate to spend the money on the most expensive types of panels and mounts, it is good to remember that you will save money on the other side with decreased electricity bills. It could be that what you spend up front will pay for itself very quickly in your reduced monthly bills.
You can enhance your savings by selecting products with higher efficiencies and investing in track mounting. Track mounting will ensure that your system absorbs all the light it can, and high-quality panels will be able to capture and convert that light at a greater rate.
