Are solar panels worth it? The answer really depends on your individual situation. Solar power systems, also known as Photovoltaic systems can have an extremely favorable effect on your power bill if you install them in a place where there is always unobstructed sunlight. However the initial costs of purchasing and setting up a solar power system for your home or office can be very high and make one ask the question are solar panels worth it. For that reason you should first carry out a costs/benefits survey in determining are solar panels worth it and if you will get a favorable return on your investment. Here are a few steps that you should carry out in order to be sure that your investment will not turn out to be unfruitful.

1. Calculating current energy costs in determining are solar panels worth it

In order to accurately calculate your current average power costs per annum you will need the data regarding your average power usage for at least the past 24 months to answer the question of are solar panels worth it for you. This data may be gathered from your previous power bills, if you have catalogued them. If you do not have the copies of the power bills, or your electrical supply company maintains all of its previous records online, you can get the data from there. If you are still, for any reason unable to get the data by yourself you can call up your power company and ask them how many units of electricity you have used in the past 24 months. The ideal scenario would be if you find data of your yearly usage of electricity for at least two stable years as this will give you the most reliable answer in determining are solar panels worth it. Stable years are those in which you did not leave the house for an extended period of time, such as for a vacation. You can then get an average of your yearly usage of electricity in the units that your electrical supply company uses. Usually power usage is calculated in KWh (Kilowatt-hours). You can then check out the current power tariff to see how much each power unit costs and are solar panels worth it given your current energy costs.

2. Calculating potential savings to determine is solar worth it?

Potential savings can be calculated by finding how many units of electricity can be generated by the solar power system that you have installed. You can carry out research to find out that on average how many hours your area receives sunlight in one day. The data for this task must be collected from the whole year as days are longer in the summer and shorter in winters and if you only used summer it may give you the wrong decision in determining is solar worth it? You must then multiply the number of hours per year that receive sunlight with the rated generation capacity of the solar power system that you want to install (usually measured in watts). You must then divide the answer by 1000 to get your answer in KWh. This is the power your solar panels can produce per year. You can multiply this number by the cost of 1 KWh from the electrical power company to calculate your theoretically possible savings per annum in determining are solar panels worth it.

Sunforce 15 Watt Solar Kit

3. Saving money by selling power to the electric company in determining are solar panels worth it

Along with saving money on electricity which you have not used through your usage of solar panels, you can also sell the excess electricity generated by the solar panels back to the electric company. You can calculate your potential earnings by first finding out what amount your electric company pays per KWh. Once you have found out this value, you can multiply that value with the theoretical yearly generation capacity of your solar power system that you had calculated earlier to find out how much money you can earn back per year on your initial investment on the solar power system and see is solar worth it.

If you are looking for more info you may also find this post useful in determining are solar panels worth it.

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4. Solar Panels Prices – What Everyone Should Know about Cheap Solar
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 at 5:39 pm and is filed under Solar Panels for Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.