Solar Panels For Your Home: Your Questions Answered

admin answers:

It cost .7 per kWh here. I added up the cost of my system and I installed it will take me almost 20 years to get my money back. I should be dead by then. Maybe I will sell the house and make it back because it does increase the value of a home.

admin answers:

I have made some enquiries on going totally solar and for a hot water service was around £3,000.00..
I am going to totally cover my roof (only 3 sides) with solar panels which will cost around £15 – £20,000.00…
There is talk of  Government paying rebates as incentives to become green on a variety of things.

admin answers:

In the short, a solar panel is composed of many solar cells…all tied together and in some sort of a frame for mounting. When energy from the sun hits it, it creates a reaction which can feed electricity through leads to a converter system which takes the Direct Current power and converts it into Alternating Current. If you rewire your house for DC products I suppoes you wo’nt need the converter. But most of these systems are retro-fits.
Batteries provide back up source to the system when the sun goes down.
So solar is converted to electricity through the panel, which goes to your solar system which both provides power to the house and to recharge batteries. The batteries take over when the sun is down.
So you will need to know how much battery capacity you need by calculating the Amp hour rating of your appliances that you normally use at night like Microwave, TV, radio, refrigerator, etc. For some depending on the appliance….water heater (if electric) or stove)
then you need to figure out how many panels you need to provide your normal daily energy use, figure out how many batteries you need, set up a distribution system that gives you what you need where you want it and wa la.
Once done, you will be off the grid and paying nothing from the electrical utility. Some places due to deregulation allow you to sell excess power to local utilities too, but those systems need to meet tight standards.

admin answers:

I don’t know about Texas, but in California, doing a self-install does not invalidate the rebate. And it certainly does not invalidate the Federal Tax Credit on form 5695 http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/f5695–dft.pdf . Take a look at the form and instructions. I got both rebates installing myself. Florida requires professional installation for their rebate, I think.

You must still be compliant with your local building codes. What you could do is hire a roofer to put up the standoffs and panels, then later, an electrician to hook it up to your service panel. The electrician can run conduit as needed. Or you could do the physical job of putting up the panels, yourself, then call the electrician to hook it up. Just be sure to get all the necessary permits and inspections.

$20k is way too much for just installation. That should buy a 3 kW system, parts included, installed.

If you want to see roughly what’s involved so that you can direct a roofer, you can see a video here: http://www.archive.org/details/DIY_self_installed_solar_photovoltaic_panels

admin answers:

When you hook a system up to the “grid” you need to get a permit from the city. You will need to submit plans and get them approved. The cost will depend be determined by your city or county.

It is also up to the utility to allow items to be hooked up to the power companies equipment.

I had a solar system installed and the permits were only a few hundred dollars, the solar contractor had to submit plans for approval and we had to have an inspection before we could start the system.

Solar Panels For Your Home