The Cost Of Solar Power

The cost of solar power may have been higher as compared to power derived from fossil fuels. However, many research reports suggest that the cost of solar energy will come down drastically within a decade. It is said that the cost of solar energy will be at par with traditional power sources by 2013. If you are thinking about installing solar energy system at your home, you should understand how much it would cost. Let us see these costs in detail.

Energy Requirement Of Your Household

The cost of solar power for your home will depend upon three important things. First it will depend upon the required energy of your household. If you require more power, you will require more solar panels. However, the cost of the technology that helps in harnessing the solar power has declined drastically and will come down further.

Government Grants

When you switch to alternative sources of energy such as solar power, the government offers a rebate. Yes, the government bears part of the cost of your solar energy system.

Tax Credits

The government also offers tax credits if you use solar energy at your household. The tax credit you get will depend upon various states in the US. The tax rebate ranges from $1000 to $2000.

Let Us Crunch The Numbers Now

The photovoltaic system that is a part of your solar energy system would cost between $8000 to $10000 for a 1KW system. The cost per watt ranges from $8 to $10. If you have a 3-bedroom house, your power requirement will range from 1.5KW to 3KW. In this case the cost of the solar energy system will be in the range of $14000 to $30000, excluding tax credits and rebates. If you take the state of California, you will get $4200 as rebate for a 1.5KW solar power system. If you require a 3KW solar power system, you will get a rebate of $8400.

To be more specific, the cost of a 1.5KW solar energy system is $14000. After $4200 of rebates and $735 of tax credits, the real cost of the system will be $9065. That is a huge saving.

What Experts Say

The cost of solar power is expected to come down significantly in the coming years since the cost of technology and the raw materials associated with solar energy systems is declining. The decline is a cost is partly due to the economies of scale in production. According to The Utility Solar Assessment Study, the cost of solar power will decline to $1.43 to $1.62 per average peak watt during 2025, as compared to the present $5.50 to $7 level. The Utility Solar Assessment Study is done jointly by Clean Edge research firm and Co-Op America. This report is considered very credible by solar energy experts. Imagine the amount of money you will save in the future by deploying solar energy systems. Not only that you are going to save the planet by opting for these green energy systems.

Thus, the major advantage of going for solar energy is that you will find the reduction in energy costs immediately and for years to come. Moreover, you will find an indirect reduction in health costs with solar energy systems.