28
A few questions about solar energy for your home?
Posted by adminHow much does it cost?
Is it hard to install?
What is the best kind?
How big do the panels and the generator need to be to energize a whole home? Or do people only use solar for some energy? If so how much?
I live in the midwest and dont get all that much sun. Will they still work on overcast days? Basically will I get enough energy in the midwest or is this just for AZ and CA?
From what I understand you get a solar panel and put it on your roof and then you also need a generator that stores the energy that the panels produce? If there are any other tips or advice or technologies that I am not thinking of please tell me.
There are 2 ways of installing solar, you can stay on the grid and get a system that will reduce your bill, that’s what I did. Or you can go off the grid, you will need a much larger system and you will need a bank of batteries to store the energy for when the sun isn’t shining.
I can tell you that the system I had installed cost $26K, but I got a rebate from my utility of $10K and a fed tax credit of $2K. If you install a system now you will get a fed tax rebate equal to 30% of the installed costs. I have a 2000 sf tri level home and my system generates over 75% of my summer usage and over 50% of my winter usage. That is a savings of over $2K per year. I should break even in 6-7 years, it would have been more like 10 without the rebate. My utility lets my meter run backwards so they are buying back all the energy I produce but don’t use. I’ve only had one day that I didn’t really generate any electricity, so even on cloudy or overcast days I get some sun on my panels, it only needs the light so it temperature doesn’t matter.
The best thing to do to see what type of system may be right for you and what results you can expect is to have a local licensed contractor come out and give you a no cost, no obligation quote. Your specific site will determine your results. My roof isn’t at the best angle, but I’m still getting better results than the contractor quoted me.