Why solar panels are expensive

And it can take a long time to iron out technological kinks on an apparatus that the manufacturer wants to be sure will last a long time. Consumer electronics is relatively quick. You want it to work and be durable. And that means you have to spend a long time testing it. That works because electricity is already expensive in those places, and because locations are ideal for producing solar electricity—lots of clear, sunny days. Friley offers another option. Even in places where the average cost of electricity is low, that cost varies with the seasons and the time of day.

Peak load times happen to coincide with the peak hours for sunshine. If the system were designed to encourage the use of solar to cover peak load, the cost savings would be substantial, he says.

Solar would naturally reach grid parity faster under policies that accounted for those costs by putting a tax or price on carbon. In fact, the right answer could change over time.

For instance, cadmium telluride thin film panels could help solar reach grid parity sooner than silicon panels could, but tellurium—a key ingredient—is fairly rare. If production of cadmium telluride solar panels increases substantially, it could trigger a scarcity of tellurium, raising the price for that type of panel.

If the solar industry has become dependent on the short-term low-cost cadmium telluride option, long-term scarcity could end up moving solar electricity back out of grid parity for many people. Thanks to the rising cost of coal and natural gas—as well as the short-term cost benefits of cadmium telluride, and falling costs of silicon and other solar options—the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that solar energy could reach nationwide grid parity by All rights reserved.

How Long Must Consumers Wait? But the question for most consumers is when it will make sense to put a solar panel on the roof. Share Tweet Email. Read This Next Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London.

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After installing solar panels, the money you save on electricity bills is strongly determined by local conditions: Solar panels are more productive in sunny locations.

There is more solar radiation hitting their surface, which means they can produce more electricity. Solar energy is more valuable in places with expensive electricity. If two solar panel systems in different cities have the same energy output, savings will be greater in the city with the highest kWh prices.

With net metering, the local power company purchases any electricity produced by your solar panels that is not used at home. On the next power bill, the balance in your favor is subtracted from the electricity consumed from the grid. Depending on how large your solar panel system is, it may be possible to bring the power bill down to zero, or even accumulate a balance in your favor. Some power companies carry over your balance to the next power bill, while others actually pay you in cash.

How Solar Panels Can Pay for Themselves For homeowners with access to low-interest loans, it may be possible to go solar with zero net cost. Related Posts. Are Solar Panels Worth It? Will Solar Panels Pay for Themselves? Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. Get Free Personal Solar Pricing. Do you own your home?

Yes, I own my home. No, I don't own my home. How much is your average monthly electric bill? How much sun does your roof get? Full sun for most of the day Partially shaded Shaded for most of the day I'm not sure.

Would you like to schedule a contact time? Where will the free pricing information be sent to? Thank you! Your form has been submitted. We'll send you a reply after we look over your info. Error message goes here. So I decided to find out why and get the background I need to help me decide whether to buy solar and, if so, how to go about getting the very best value for money.

Many different materials go into a solar panel , and lots of complicated and expensive production processes go into their manufacture. For example, the central element of a solar cell is made out of silicon. Silicon is a widely available substance, but to refine it to a stage where it can be used in a solar cell is a complicated process requiring precision technology.

When you add copper cabling and all of the other glass, metal, and human-made compounds that go into a solar system, it becomes clear that material costs are significant and unavoidable. So materials costs are a large part of the price, but typically they make up less than half the total cost of a solar installation.

That astonished me since I guessed it would be much more. It turns out that more than half of the cost of a home solar system is made up of installer fees and margins and expenses relating to having the system inspected and obtaining the relevant permits. This means that if we can find a way to reduce installation costs, then we can make substantial savings on our solar systems.

The softest part of your solar system cost relates to the installation and other contractor expenses, and here are some steps you can take to reduce these and make your solar system less expensive. Instead, you should look at several contractors operating in your area and ask friends for recommendations wherever possible. Traditionally the most expensive providers are the one-stop-shop guys who deal with every aspect of the purchase and installation of your solar system.