How much does Solar Panel Cost?

This is a question that many homeowners have thought at some point in their life. We often get asked that question and there are tools online that can help you calculate the costs, but they can be confusing unless you are an expert-so here are simple guidelines that will help you average the cost that you would pay for solar panels.

In the United States, a rule of thumb is that each home consumes electricity at a rate of 1 kW per hour. There are 730 on average hours each month, the average price of kWh of electricity is $0.10. So the bill will come up to 73 for 730 kWh of electricity.

Of course, this all depends how much energy you consume at home. With non-standard items such as a hot-tubs, or electrical appliances that run all day long.  Extended use of the plasma TV or computer can run up your bill. An air-conditioning unit will make a big impact as well. The cost of electricity varies in the state you live in. It varies all across the United States, it can be as low as $0.07 per kWh in West Virginia up to $0.24 per kWh in Hawaii. This is measured out according to the cost of living in the area.

A conservative value to use as a solar panel’s generating capacity is 10 watts/sq. ft. This represents a panel conversion efficiency of about 12%, which is typical. That means that for every kW you generate, you are going to need 100sq ft of panels. If the sun would be out for 24 hours you can put up 100sq. ft. of panels that will generate enough energy to power a home.

As we know, the sun is only out in daylight hours, and they don’t generate when there are lots of clouds. Luckily, there are tools on the web that can help you figure out how many hours per day does the panels generate electricity, based on where you live. Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Chicago generate an average of 3 hours per day, compared to California and Colorado that generate 5 to 6 hours, and Arizona at 7 hours per day.

Solar panel costs depend on several different factors. Depends on the energy used, energy produced, and cost of living is how much solar panels will cost. The good news is that the costs for solar panels are expected to continue to drop, as thin film panels from companies like First Solar, Nanosolar, and AVA Solar become available to the residential market. Calculate how much it will solar panels will cost in your area by clicking here. For more information email us at ask@solarconnectca.com.