Costs of Solar Panels and Solar Power Energy and Payback Period

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How Much It Will Cost to Power An House With Solar Energy?

SOLAR PANEL SYSTEMS: THE INITIAL INVESTMENT

Solar panel systems initial cost is higher than classic gas or electric systems. Most homeowners and homebuilders choose conventional systems for that reason.

But that doesn’t mean that today’s solar power systems aren’t cost competitive. The option may be environmental, but also economical.

As natural gas, fuel and electricity becomes more and more costly, solar become more and more advantageous.

A recent study undertaken by Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), a research institute of the University of Central Florida, found that solar water heaters offered great savings. Annual costs are 50% to 85% lower for solar water heather than those for electric water heaters.

In today's USA market the average price of an active solar hot water system is around $2,500-$4,000 per home (or half of that for systems without circulating pumps and controls).

Besides, there are also local finance incentives and tax credits which may reduce sharply the final cost and consequently the payback period.

SOLAR SYSTEMS: PAYBACK PERIODS

You can recover your initial investment on solar power systems in a short period, or in a much longer one... It depends on the type of solar power system.

The payback period for solar hot water systems is usually short: 3 or 4 years, in some cases.

The payback period for solar space heating varies a lot, depending on the type of system: see Costs and Payback of Solar Space Heating

The payback period for PV solar electricity is larger: 8 - 10 years or more. It all depends on eventual rebates, tax credits, home insulation or on the scale of production...

Remember: the payback period may vary, but after it the energy costs are nearly zero...

Costs and Payback of Solar Space Heating

In the case of solar space heating, costs may vary widely. The simplest solutions (solar wall heaters) are relatively inexpensive, say, $700 - $1000 per collector/room. But they have a restricted set of uses; they can be a good solution for heating a room or as an auxiliary heating device, and just that.

Other active solar space-heating systems demand a much higher initial investment. They are more sophisticated in design and maintenance than solar water-heating systems, and demand a higher investment in collectors and hardware. With today’s technology they aren’t as cost-effective as the solar water-heating systems and they have a longer payback: two or three years more at least.

Climate is another major element in cost-evaluation of solar space systems. These systems are obviously more cost-effective in climates with extended heating seasons and many sunny days. If you live in a state as Florida, with short heating seasons, the system becomes less interesting and less competitive…