How Much Does Solar Energy Cost Per Month

How Much Do Solar Panels Cost To Install

To answer this question, lets take a look at the basic price range for solar panel installations. According to a recent report from the Solar Energy Industries Association, in the first quarter of 2021, the national average cost of a residential solar system was $2.94 per watt. To put this in perspective, this means that after the federal tax credit is applied, a 5-kW system would cost $10,878 and a 10-kW system would cost $21,756. An average residential solar system would sit somewhere between those figures.

The exact price youll pay for solar panels will depend on a number of factors and is best found by getting free quotes from local solar companies near you.

Next, you might rightly wonder: What exactly am I paying for? The solar panels themselves usually make up just about a quarter of the total system cost. Remaining expenses include labor costs, solar maintenance and additional parts and equipment .

Cost Of Solar Panels By State

There is a wide range in price of solar panels, both in the starting cost for a 6-kilowatt system and cents per kilowatt-hour across the country. Prices can vary greatly from state to state, due in part to the average electricity bill in the area. Hawaii has the highest costs, while Louisiana has the lowest costs. The national average cost is 10.53 cents per kilowatt-hour.

How Much Is Electricity From The Electric Company

Your current supplier is the electric utility company, which is SDG& E for most people here in San Diego County.

The 2022 Total Electric Rate Schedule from SDG& E has three usage tiers which are:

The more electricity you use, the more youll pay for it. These are summer rates, whereas winter rates are about 10 percent less for each tier.

The average size household uses around 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month, more in the summer in Inland County areas, and a little less in the Winter months.

Lets do the math and compare it to solar!

1,000 kilowatt-hours x $0.342 per kWh = $342 per month electric utility company bill for the average San Diego household.

The electric companys rates usually go up between 3 to 10% every year.

The electric utility company has a monopoly.

You will pay them for the rest of your life as long as youre connected to their electric grid.

Until about twenty years ago, there was no alternative to the electric utility company. And then, solar power systems became affordable, and solar financing was made available, and homeowners began to have choices and the potential for significant savings.

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Are Solar Panels Worth The Cost

Absolutely! Even though the average solar power installation price amounts to thousands of dollars, going solar is an investment that delivers long-term returns through cost savings and years of free energy.

Since the average lifespan of a solar photovoltaicsystem is 25 to 40 years, youll still have at least 15 years of cost savings, assuming a payback period of ten years.

Going solar also protects you against rising electricity rateseven if energy costs increase, its impact on your finances wont be as much as when you were fully reliant on the grid.

What Is The Cost Of A Security System

There are two main types of alarm systems: Yes, its not surprising that a monitored home security system will cost you more than an automated one, but any type of security system is better than none. A security system monitored over a private telephone line costs on average between $15 and $30 per month.

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Determine How Many Solar Panels You Need

The number of solar panels your system needs will depend on the wattage of the solar panels you want to buy. For example, if you want solar panels to produce enough energy to cover most of your homes needs, you would need a solar panel with a higher wattage rating. Conversely, if you only want solar panels to cover a portion of your homes needs, you can buy solar panels with a lower wattage rating which are less expensive.

The number of solar panels needed = * 1,000 / .

For example, if you need a solar system that generates 10 kW of energy and you want to purchase solar panels with a wattage rating of 500 watts, the calculation would be 10 kW * 1,000 / 500 watts = 20 solar panels.

Solar Panels Tier 1 Tier 2 & Tier 3 Cost Comparison

Solar panel manufactures are broken up into tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3. These tiers basically separate the larger companies from the smaller ones. Another way to say it is Tier 1 are bigger and more well-known producers like Panasonic, Trina, LG, Canadian Solar, etc. and their solar panels cost more than tiers 2 and 3.

This is not to say other manufactures produce solar panels of lower quality, its just the tier ones have been at it for a while not as with a warranty that lasts 25 years, you want to be sure the company is still going to be here if you want to make a claim in 10 years time. So you will pay less for tier 2 and 3 panels, but what is the real cost if you cant claim on the warranty?

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Why Is My Electric Bill So High With Solar Panels

2) You just use more electricity than before. Solar energy can offset your homes energy consumption during the day but if you simply increase your energy consumption by believing that the sun will compensate for it all, your bills will be higher than before. 3) Your system is not working properly.

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Brighter Days With Sunrun

Theres plenty of sun to go around. Join the solar energy market. To get you on your way, Sunrun offers solar leases and power purchase agreements . These options both give you the energy cost control and environmental benefits of a home solar system. We also have cash options if you want to buy and maintain your own solar system.

Sunrun is the easiest, smartest way to join the solar energy revolution. All Sunrun service agreements include 25 years of support*guaranteed.

To make the right decision for your budget, its good to have a solar lease and PPA bills explained.

In general, a solar company does the installation. The solar company then leases the equipment installed on your roof to you at a fixed monthly amount. Or, they can sell electricity that the panels generate to you at a set price per kilowatt hour. Heres how they affect your bill:

Solar Lease:

If you like consistency, this is the one for you. With a solar lease, the bill from your solar provider is the same every month. This fixed figure is established by the amount of power your panels are designed to yield over their 25-year lifespan. That amount is then divided into consistent monthly payments for the term of your lease.

Solar PPA:

If youre more inclined to play the odds, consider a PPA. Under a Solar PPA, you pay the solar company a fixed rate per kilowatt hour generated by your home solar installation. This rate is generally less than that charged by the electric company.

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How Much Will My Electric Bill Be With Solar Panels

Recent research from the Rocky Mountain Institute shows that monthly electric bills for a typical home in Westchester County, New York may rise to $350 a month by 2030.

Yet, the same household may spend $260 or less a month if theyve installed solar panels and battery storage. The time for solar is now.

Going solar can reduce your electric bill dramatically, to the point where its not a significant player in your monthly budget. Some fortunate homeowners can even eliminate their electric bill.

The Solar Tax Credit: Solars Best Incentive

The best incentive for going solar in the country is the federal solar tax credit, or the investment tax credit . This incentive allows you to deduct 26 percent of the cost of installing solar panels from your federal taxes, and theres no cap on its value. For example, a 10 kW system priced at the national average comes out to $27,600. However, with the ITC, youd be able to deduct 26 percent of that cost, or $7,176, from your taxes. This essentially reduces the cost of your system to the $20,424 price tag we highlighted at the beginning of this article.

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Youre Our First Priorityevery Time

We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. And while our site doesnt feature every company or financial product available on the market, were proud that the guidance we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are objective, independent, straightforward and free.

So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence which products we review and write about , but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services.Here is a list of our partners.

How Do I Calculate How Many Solar Panels I Need

Here are the steps you need to follow to calculate the size of your solar panel system:

A home consuming 1000 kWh per month would need 27 solar panels, each rated at 300 watts. This assumes an average irradiance of 4 kWh/m2/day and does not include PV system losses of up to 23%. Good practice is to add 20% to 25% more panels to account for system losses.

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Solar Panel Cost By State

As interesting as it is to look at the average solar panel cost in the United States, its also very helpful to understand what solar will cost in each state, as prices can vary significantly depending on where you live. Why? There are a number of reasons, but one important factor to keep in mind is system size.

In general, states where homeowners need to use air conditioning more often have more average electricity used per household. As such, some of the largest solar panel systems are installed in sunny, warm states like Arizona and Florida. Why does this matter? For solar installers, the larger your system, the less they will usually charge per kilowatt-hour . Its like buying in bulk at Costco you might pay a higher sticker price, but your per-unit costs are lower when you buy more at one time. Well dive into this phenomenon more below.

Back to solar panels. In the end, this very roughly translates to lower $/W pricing in warm states and higher $/W pricing in cold states. But in the end, total pricing is usually close to a wash warm states have a lower price per watt, but larger system sizes, and cold states have a higher price per watt, but smaller system sizes.

Table: cost of solar panels by state

NOTE: These ranges are system prices BEFORE the 26 percent federal tax credit for solar. Additionally, EnergySage does not currently provide quotes in all 50 states, which limits our ability to provide solar panel cost estimates in each.

Vivint Smart Home Products

One of the ways Vivint is trying to separate from the competition is by positioning themselves as more of a home automation solution.

Customers can use either Vivints SkyControl Panel or Google Home as a hub to control and communicate with all their smart home devices.

The great thing about the SkyControl Panel is that it uses two-way audio to communicate with Vivints monitoring team, so customers have instant access to support.

Vivint products include:

• Water Sensors: $50

To control smart devices remotely, homeowners can use the Vivint Smart Home app.

Vivints app is highly rated in the Apple app store and Google Play . With the app, you can control and see the following:

• Arm and disarm home security
• Lock and unlock your front door
• Check the status of your window and door locks
• Open garage door
• View live feed on doorbell camera
• Use two-way audio with doorbell camera
• View live feed on indoor and outdoor camera
• Turn lights on, off, and dim
• Adjust smart thermostat
• View smoke detectors

Vivints home automation system is compatible with common smart home hubs, such as Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa.

For environment controls, Vivint sells both the Element Thermostat and Nest Thermostat.

For lighting, Vivint integrates with Philips Hue LED bulbs that you can control the brightness levels of with your voice or mobile app.

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Offset Costs With An Increased Home Value

At $4,020 per kilowatt, a 5-kilowatt solar panel installation would add an average of $20,100 to the market value of a mid-sized U.S. home. Thats an appreciable amount that many homebuyers are willing to pay!

A solar homes selling price is typically 4.1% higher than comparable properties without solar. It is also important to note that solar loans are transferable to new homeowners should the property be sold.

How Much Does Solar Energy Cost

The first and most obvious question we receive from people interested in solar energy is: How much does a solar system cost?

In this article, we attempt to answer that question to the best of our ability, but it’s important to keep in mind that each solar system is a custom solution. The price can vary drastically from customer to customer.

It’s also important to understand what goes into determining the cost of a solar system. We dive into those components first, then provide the average installation cost for commercial and residential solar systems.

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With A Gas Auxiliary Tank System:

Daily Water Heating Energy

Fuels such as natural gas are often sold in units of therms. One therm equals 100,000 British thermal units . Look through your utility bills and see how much fuel you use in summer months, when gas is not used for space heating. If you have gas for cooking and clothes dryer, you might want to take about 60% of that summer total as the energy used to heat water.

A conventional water heater’s energy efficiency is the Uniform Energy Factor which is the amount of hot water produced per unit of fuel consumed in a standard test. The higher the UEF value is, the more efficient the water heater. UEF is determined by the Department of Energys test method outlined in 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B, Appendix E. Household gas water heaters are required to have a UEF of at least 0.64. For electric heaters the UEF is taken to be 1.0 since all the electricity goes into the water.

Daily Water Heating Energy = *EF*0.6/

The fuel used is related to the amount of water used and the temperature. The definition of Btu is energy required to raise one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit .

Daily Water Heating Energy= ***.

Often it is advisable to size a solar system based on such benchmark loads or based on the number of bedrooms in a house instead of current consumption, which depends on the changing number and behavior of occupants of a house.

Annual Cost of Convention Natural Gas Heating

What Does Solar Electricity Cost

As shown in the chart at the left, photovoltaic solar cell prices have come down by a factor of 100 over the last 38 years and down by a factor of 25 over the last 15 years. The sharp drop in 2009 and 2010 was because of too much capacity, especially in China, which has caused prices to collapse. The 2015 average solar “cell” price was $0.30 per watt and the average solar “module” price was $0.72 per watt.

Since costs after installation are minimal for solar electricity, the relevant costs are the purchase price, installation costs, and the cost of land . Cost components that make up a residential solar system are: system design, solar modules, and the balance of system which consists of an inverter, bi-directional billing meter, connection devices, and installation labor.

In the southwest, installed residential solar prices are competitive with residential electricity prices after incentives.

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory , located in Golden Colorado and Washington DC, the average residential household in the U.S. installs a 5 kWh system and it cost on average $2.70 per DC watt or $13,500 before incentives. Utilities on the other hand typically install systems in the 100 mega-watt or greater range. The average installed “fixed” utility system cost was $1.06 per watt and $1.13 per “tracker” watt. Top

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