| Is Solar Power Worth the Price? by Jay Tracy (Look above for more updated information through the internet links.) I have looked for a relatively cheap solar power system for quite a while, and this is the best thing I have come up with so far: To buy Solar panels, a grid-tied inverter, adjustable mounts, and wire the whole thing together. I am of the opinion that batteries should be used in an emergency if someone lives in the city, but that otherwise they waste electricity in the long run. Many solar panel companies offer a 20 to 25 year warranty.. This is the cheapest thing I have found so far for the cost, other than solar cells: 20 ASE -145 Watt Solar panels average to $372 each at AltenergyStore.com..............................................................................................$ 7,439.00 Trace 4KW inverter for $1740 at Sunelec.com..........................................................+$ 1,740.00 A Trace Charge Controller C40 at several places for $120 each X 3 =..........................+$ 360.00 A Grid Tied Interface for the Trace 4KW inverter or. ................................................+$ 380.00 25 6v, 225 AH batteries, from Johnson Controls:.......................................................+$ 1,225.00 Permit and wiring- Probably $500..+........................................................................+$ 500.00 Total cost: $10,419.00 Grid Tied or $11,264.00 off-grid This would make 2,900 watts. Now for the break down of Costs versus Paybacks: The number of full sunlight hours on each panel per year in my location: 2,226 hours The price of electricity in my location: x .11 cents The number of kw/hr produced at full sunlight at its least over 25 years: x 2.52 kw Savings in one year $617.04 Multiply this by ASE's 20 year warranty: x 20 years Total Lowest Savings: $12,340.00 Subtract the cost of the solar electric system: -$10,419.00 or $11,264.00 The net amount made over 25 years would be: $ 1,921.00 or $1,076.00 savings Adjustable roof mounts are available at Gotsolar.com. In this equation I have not added the energy needed to run the inverter, the efficiency of the inverter at different loads (in the beginning and end of the day), and the energy lost in resistance. I have also not added in the resistance in wiring and a few other components. I tried to keep this calculation simple. Those who are looking for the payback must realize that at this point the system will have at least 80% of its prior electricity generation at this point, or 1,600 watts, making up another $392.00 dollars the 26th year, $367.00 dollars the next year, and so on until they pay for themselves. You can find out more about cheap solar panels here. |
| --Please Notice that the blue underlined text are weblinks-- --My Research I have done some research on alternative energy and have refined my beliefs about how alternative energy should affect my purchasing. Is Solar Power Worth the Price, my mini article down below discusses some of my beliefs. --Solar Research and Development Here I have a list of places I like to visit because of their research and development of either alternative energy or energy efficiency. -The National Renewable Energy Laboratory researches everything about alternative energy. They are a great resource, and have links available to almost everything. They are located in Golden, Colorado. They have a visiting area that is great. -The Department of Energy has a great website. I am still exploring it. -Sandia National Laboratories also has some good sites, including an energy storage website. -The Energy Information Administration is a branch of the government that provides exact details and graphs on domestic energy uses and patterns. This is a good place to find data for research. -The U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy homepage is another good source for information that you cannot find at the Renewable Energy Laboratory website. -The Energy Star website provides very good information on a wide variety of things. I have found some of their most efficient appliances and have listed them here. -Australia has its version of Energy Star at their Energy Rating website. I found this website out of desparation after looking for some products I could not find at Energy Star. I mainly look for the company names, as Australia's appliances run on 240 volts instead of 120 volts. |
| Research on Alternative Energy and EnergyEfficiency |
| SonnyXiao-zhe Li's Homepage -He has done some research on possiblefull-spectrum solar cells |