How much will a solar panel system cost to run a whole house?
Question by Will: How much will a solar panel system cost to run a whole house?
I am wondering about the average cost to put solar panels on the average size home. (I know it takes a 3 to 4kw system, I think)
Would this power the home all the time?
Will there be power left over to sell back to the power company?
Just trying to get a clear understanding of solar panels from people that run their homes with solar?
Can you help? Leave your own answer in the comments!
8 Responses to How much will a solar panel system cost to run a whole house?
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That depends on how much power you use.
Cecil
December 5, 2013 at 12:10 am
the price will differ greatly across the country. Power the home all the time, not likely unless you live in the sunbelt or a place that receives a lot of sun. power left over , depends on usage. And you don’t really SELL it back, you have a special meter installed that can run backwards. If you produce more at a time than you use ,then it runs your in reverse thus owing the utility less. Some areas of the country get so little direct sun that they are not cost effective. These places you are better off starting from the ground up and rebuilding a home that is efficient for where you live.
Bluesman1960
December 5, 2013 at 12:51 am
First before you install solar on your house you should make your house as energy efficient as possible. I’m sure you are aware of all the different ways. Some will add value to your home (energy efficient windows) other may not (re-insulating the attic and walls). Some are very easy to do like using all florescent lights. If your refrigerator is older consider buying a new more energy efficient model. If you can save 400 or 500 Kwh per month average that is less electricity the solar system has to make and a smaller system you have to buy. But to answer your question you can go to the link below and type in the information and it will give you averages based on your area. Depending on the state you live in the power company may or may not buy the extra power. You can check that at the second website below.
Nick
December 5, 2013 at 12:51 am
“average” isn’t very useful.
electricity use varies quite a bit, as does cost, and solar availability, and house size.
in calif, you can only “sell back” to the point where your cost is $ 0.
they will not pay you more than that.
what happens is that, you can generate more electricity during the day, than you use, and send some to the grid.
however, at night, you’re not generating any, so you use electricity from the grid.
the power company still has to pay for the wires and generating capacity, so it’s quite appropriate for them not to have to pay you.
alternatively, it may, at some point, be possible that they would pay you extra, but only at the rate that they pay their low paid suppliers, which maybe 25% of what you pay for electricity.
so you’d have to generate 4 times more than you use, in order to come out ahead.
linlyons
December 5, 2013 at 1:21 am
I live in Australia but at present our dollar is similar to USDs which are universal worldwide. Most homes may require a 3kw system to run them. I dont think it is very smart to not consider current energy levels and just change to a solar system but instead look at ways where electricity can be conserved. One of the biggest users of electricity in the home is the electric hot water service (this can be up to 50%) and second the fridge (a further 20%). If you installed a solar or instant gas hot water service and a possibly a gas fridge (they are expensive) a home could be run more easily with solar. Homes are wired up to run on 240V 50Hz AC power which is different to solar which is lower voltage DC power- I am a research scientist who works in forests and I own a solar system to run our field camp which produces up to 50V. Many of your appliances at home are actually low voltage (any that have a tranformer such as a laptop, pc printer, mobile phone charger) and others can be installed as a DC device such as lighting. The use of inverters to convert from DC to AC power have huge transmission losses so I wouldnt advise using those.
From my above justification I think a normal home could be running on around 1500W (1.5kW) with little modification and being smart (turning stuff off when not in use). Our field situation runs at much less than this and we have to store in batteries. In Aus at present panels cost around $ 3-4 per watt therefore a 1500W system would cost a little less than five grand. You also have to keep in mind that this doesnt include storage which is through batteries. Batteries are very expensive (add another five grand potentially) so a positive negative meter would be useful where you can feed in during the day when you are at work and then buy back later on. The price of feed in tariffs (from the retailer) are increasing but still only at about half of what you are buying power for but contact your retailer and see what the going rate is.
Five grand is a lot of electricity so this would be a long term investment for you. In Aus government rebates are generous and would give you around that amount at present. Hopefully this helps.
chris
December 5, 2013 at 2:05 am
Mos engineering actually use electronic test equipment to foresee the the whole cost so that would be the resolution.
Lea
December 5, 2013 at 2:41 am
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Ron M
December 5, 2013 at 3:39 am
I have a 3.74 kw dc system. The full cost to have the system installed was $ 26K. I got a $ 10K rebate from my utility and a fed tax credit (it has been increased to 30% of the total cost so it would be $ 7800). Not all utilities will allow your meter to run backwards, mine does. It was estimated my system would pay for it’s self in 6.2 years. My city just passed a 20% rate increase, so I should break even much sooner. My system is tied to the grid so I sell them my excess and buy what I need when the sun isn’t up. I don’t have a storage system. I create about 90% of my summer usage and about 75% of my winter usage. My bills went from about $ 200 down to about $ 20 for the summer. In the spring my bills are closer to $ 10.
I highly recommend getting a quote from a local installer, because local rebates and incentives can have a big impact on the over all costs. Where you live, the angle of the panels, any shade issues etc. can all have an impact on production. Any quality company should be able to tell you how much it will cost, a fair estimate of production and an estimate of how long before you break even. It helps if you can give the installer a usage history, I was able to get 2 years history from my utility.
It always helps to begin with conservation.
whsgreenmom
December 5, 2013 at 3:49 am