Home Solar Panel System Cost

Whats Included In My Solar Electric System Costs

Once your system is designed and you have chosen which solar panels and optional add-ons you would like to include in your system, we prepare a fixed cost installation contract that includes all of the equipment and labor required to install a safe, code-compliant system. Your fixed-cost solar electric system includes:

EQUIPMENT

• Inverter system
• Power Optimizers
• System monitoring, so you can watch the entire array and each panels output information on your desktop or on your phone
• Racking and roof attachment equipment
• Roof specific attachment points

• Electric and building permits and associated fees

Why Solar System Prices Arent Determined By Home Size

An appropriate solar system for one 1,000-square-foot home may be very different from another 1,000-square-foot home. Here are a few reasons why.

Electricity Usage

While its often true that larger homes mean larger electric bills, it isnt always the case. Electric bills vary, even among houses that are the same size and design.

Lets look at an example. House A is a 1,000-square-foot home with electric heat and two people who work from home. They love to play video games and watch TV, and they run the dishwasher or laundry at least once a day.

Then, theres House B. This one is similar in size and design, however, it is home to just one person who travels to an office for work each day. House B has gas heat, and the homeowner partakes in outdoor activities as opposed to being inside.

Both House A and B are looking to go solar, but the system each house would need is very different because House A uses more electricity than House B.

In most instances, the best size solar system for homeowners is one that produces enough electricity to fully cover what they use. A smaller system may have a longer payback. A larger system may be prohibited by the utility.

So really, a better way to ask that question is to grab your electric bill, find out what you pay on an average month, and ask how much do solar panels cost for a $200 electric bill. For that answer, scroll down to the next section.

The Roof Space and Material

The Roofs Orientation and Local Weather

How Does Net Metering Work

Simply put, if your home is able to take advantage of solar net metering, solar energy that is collected in abundance and not needed in your home will run through your meter and out to the grid.

A digital meter on your house records electricity moving in either direction as it comes into the house and as it leaves. The net part of the term means that the homeowner pays the net amount for the electricity used by the house minus the extra sold back to the grid.

In states where net metering is in effect, consumers can sell the excess solar energy they produce back to their local utility. That lowers their electricity bill, shortening their payback period and raising their cost savings.

According to Solar Reviews, homeowners in Delaware, New Hampshire, Oregon and Washington, D.C. can take the best advantage of net metering because of a combination of factors including policy, inclusion, fees and rollover policies.

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All The Ways You Can Save With Solar

Acquiring a solar panel system is a major home improvement project, but its well worth the time and financial investment. Most homeowners go solar with no money down up front thanks to local, state, and federal incentives that significantly help reduce costs.

Whether youre utilizing local, state, or federal rebates, net metering, or perhaps seasonal promotions, you have plenty of ways to offset the costs of your solar panel equipment and installation to help you gain a lifetime of free, renewable energy. To learn more about Freedom Solar or request a free consultation and quote, call +1 795-0577 or fill out our online inquiry form.

How Much Do Solar Panels Cost For A 1500 Square Foot House

For a 1500 square feet house, installation of monocrystalline panels would cost between $7,500 and $21,000.

It is hard to calculate exact cost of solar panel installation just by knowing house area. So previous energy bills must be seen to get a good estimate. As per such an estimate, one 1500 square feet house has 6kW load installed.

Survey shows that cost of solar power panels ranges between $2.5 and $3.5 per watt. In this way, we can say that 6000 * 2.5 = $15000 minimum and 6000 * 3.5 = $21000 maximum are needed to power a 1500 square feet house.

Anyhow, it must also be mentioned that a 1500 square feet house could have just 3kW load.

With this assumption, lower slab of installing solar power system becomes: 3000 * 2.5 = $7500. Resultantly, it can be said that for a 1500 square foot house, you need $7,500 to $21,000.

Read the detailed breakdown of solar tubes costs here.

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Why Solar Panel Cost Should Not Be Your Only Consideration When Buying Solar Panels For Your Home

The most important difference between buying solar panels and any other purchase is that solar panels last 25-30 years. This is a long, long time and you will need customer service over all that time. The reviews below of the two largest corporate solar installation companies indicate larger corporate solar companies are not delivering this support to their customers.

We recommend you find a small or mid-size, local, family-owned solar company. These companies tend to care more about you and your specific job. You don’t want to be on hold to a corporation’s call center for the next 25 years!

People also ask:

How Much Will Solar Panels Cost To Install On Your Home In 2022

The cost to install solar panels on your home in 2022 will vary depending on your location, your energy usage, the brands of equipment chosen, and whether it is a DIY installation or a job done by a professional solar company.

Since more than 95% of homeowners choose to go with a reputable local solar company, our solar calculator below shows estimates for professionally-installed systems in your area.

Find out how much a solar system would cost for your specific home

*Based on 370-watt panels

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The 10 Best Solar Panel Kits For Home Of 2022

The changing climate from extensive use of fossil fuels and the growing demand for energy is giving an option to everyone to be a part of the hopeful and sustainable future of our species and our Earth. Choosing a solar panel kit for your home or business and installing it on the roof of your home or ground is the most profitable option for you and our planet.

Contents

• It Is Your Turn

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.

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Approximate Costs Of Solar Systems After The Rebate

The range of prices in Australia below is mainly down to the quality of the hardware used in the installation. To use a car analogy , expect the lower price range to be Kia level brand and the upper cost to be a BMW level brand. Ill leave you to decide if BMWs are worth paying more for than Kias!

For the absolute top-shelf components installed by a particularly fussy installer, you can expect a system to cost even more.

So, the approximate cost of a good quality solar system installation with Tier 1 solar panels as at August 2022 in Australia:

There have recently been major disruptions to solar panel supply , which have pushed prices of 6.6 kW systems up by about $1,000. Current prices of panels are fluctuating daily so dont be surprised if your quotes are only valid for a few days.

Note that the above assumes the use of 370W solar panels, so the final solar panel capacity may be a bit more or less than the figures mentioned above.

See Real-Time Australian Solar Pricing

The costs quoted above are based on thousands of data points. To see real-time, average prices being paid for full system installations of various capacities in your state, check out the SolarQuotes Solar Price Index.

Microinverter/Optimiser Cost

If you want a good quality microinverter or optimiser system installed, expect to add around 20% in cost to the above price ranges.

Finding The Money

What Are Solar Panels

Solar panels, otherwise known as PV panels, are devices that collect solar energy to generate an electric current. Once the electric current is generated, an inverter covers the DC solar power source into an AC power source for household use.

When you install a solar panel system in your home, it will consist of several panels. With a larger home, youll need more solar panels than a smaller home. But in either case, the system will include the necessary inverter required to transform solar energy into usable electricity.

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State Solar Panel Rebates & Deductions

Individual states and cities offer their own policies, incentives and credits, as well. Some utility companies will even offer 10 to 20% rebates on your installation. With these incentives, combined with the ITC, you may be able to save as much as 50%.

• Washington: Utility companies offer rebates up to $2,000

• Massachusetts: Utility companies which offer rebates of $0.50/watt and up to $625/kW.

• New York State: Tax credit of 25% for PV systems.

• Florida: Permanent sales tax exemption for solar energy products. Also several utility companies offering $500 rebates on solar water heating systems, which cost an average of just over $3,500.

Leave Solar Panel Installation to the Pros

Watt Diy Solar Install Kit With Micro

Why we like it: A complete solar panel kit for home and small business use. A combination of mono-crystalline solar panels with individual micro-inverter makes an efficient and safe option. Has real-time monitoring to observe power production by solar kit and consumption at home or supply to the grid. Engineering help by the company to design install and commission the solar panel kit is required and available.

Editors rating: 4.5/5

• Inverter Enphase micro-inverter, 17 in number
• Panels mounting- IronRidge racking structure.
• Monitoring system

Other components required are to be bought from your nearest home depot for which a list will be provided.

Design: The Phono Solar, 310W, 60 cells, mono-crystalline, the all-black solar panel has around 19% efficiency in standard conditions, which is considered good. For a 5kW system, 17 solar panels are connected which requires 400 square feet of roof space. The micro-inverters are attached along each solar panel to convert direct current to alternating current for further supply. For a system facing south in the USA or Canada, this system can produce 320-850 units per month if 5 hours of sun is available each day.

The electricity supply from the solar panel kit is then supplied to a junction box from where it is supplied to loads at home or if in excess it is supplied to the grid from the point of common coupling.

Pros:

• Not easy to connect for anyone without experience & skill.
• No storage or battery.

Pros:

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Thin Film Solar Panels

Thin film solar panels offer a different take on solar panels. Several thin layers of photovoltaic materia either amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, copper indium gallium selenide, or organic PV cells are layered on top of each other to create these flexible solar sheets.

The main draw of these panels is the fact that they can easily blend in with the background on the roof of a house. In addition, they wont stick out like a sore thumb since they are much thinner. Nonetheless, they are also great for homes with limited roof space because they can be wrapped around objects.

The downside with these panels is low efficiency and a shorter life span than monocrystalline and polycrystalline panels.

Read more on Thin film photovoltaic cells here!

How Does The Cost Of Solar Power Compare To The Electricity Rates Charged By A Utility

Levelized cost of power from this typical solar system installed on a home in Louisiana over 25 years is 5.7 cents/kWh.

Average cost of utility power over 25 years is 18.6 cents/kWh. This shows that solar is a far cheaper way to power your home in Louisiana over the long term. The way we calculate the average cost of utility power is by assuming the current utility electric rates will grow each year at a compound rate of 3.5%. Actual inflation may be higher or lower than this but either way this analysis shows that solar is a clearly better choice.

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What Are The Ways To Pay For Solar Electric Systems

Most customers choose between paying upfront for their solar electric system or financing the purchase and paying a monthly payment.

Direct Purchase: Choosing to pay for a solar electric system out of pocket will give you the highest return on your investment. Youll own your solar panels immediately and not have to pay any interest. Many of our customers have taken advantage of low-interest rates and increasing home values to pay for their solar systems with home equity loans or when refinancing their mortgages.

Solar Loans: Financing the purchase of a solar electric system allows you to fix your cost of electricity for the lifetime of your loan. Your fixed monthly payments may at first be higher than your monthly electric bill, but over time as electricity rates go up, your monthly payments will stay the same. Maine Solar Solutions offers solar financing through Mosaic. Mosaic offers no money down, low-interest rates, and a variety of term lengths with no prepayment penalties. Additional financing options may be available through your local bank or credit union.

How Do Rooftop Solar Panels Work

A solar panel generates electricity by knocking electrons from atoms with photons or light particles.

Rooftop solar panels consist of two or more layers of semi-conducting material. The first layer is usually made of silicon wafers, which absorb light and convert it into electricity by creating an electric current when theyre hit by electrons flowing through them.

The second layer consists of photovoltaic cells that produce current when sunlight strikes them these solar cells produce direct current , rather than alternating current .

More specifically, the top silicon layer is seeded with phosphorus which adds extra electrons with a negative charge, and the bottom layer is dosed with boron which results in fewer electrons, or a positive charge.

This then adds up into an electric field at the junction between the silicon layers. When sunlight photons hit these electrons free, the electric field pushes the electrons out of the silicon junction.

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Save Big On Multi Panel Orders

Looking for multiple panels? Installing a complete replacement system or a new one for the first time?

Be sure to check out our selection of DIY KITS. These products are bundled together with significant discounts, saving you up to 25-48% OFF MSRP!

Each of our DIY Kits include everything you need to:

• Install the selected number of solar panels in a single row or âbankâ.
• Mount each solar panel to your preferred installation surface .
• Make water connections to and from each panel.
• Make water connections to the systems supply and return plumbing lines.
• Aid in automatic gravity drainage of the panels and piping.

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State Of The Industry

Solar hot water systems are considered a mature technology as they have been commercially available for over a century. They are available on many scales, from small do-it-yourself kits for domestic hot water needs, to large commercially installed systems for agricultural applications. There are more than 600,000 m2 of solar water collectors installed in Canada.

Whether used for residential or agricultural purposes, solar water heating systems are usually paired with a back-up heating system, in order to ensure that hot water is never lacking. A solar domestic water heating system can provide from 80 per cent to all of a householdâs hot water needs in the summer, depending on water consumption habits. During the winter, however, its output falls to 20 to 25 per cent of hot water needs.

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