Solar Cost Calculator
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26% Fedaral Tax Credit
$21,526Power Generated in 10 Years
$52,827Increased Home Value
$95,492Loan Interest Paid
-$10,049Loan Principal Paid
-$22,301on average per year
Metric tons per year
Trees per year
less per year
With the cost of solar panels dropping every year, there’s never been a better time to go solar. Due to new government incentives, many homeowners are taking advantage of these opportunities. A solar panel installation ranges in cost depending on many factors, including your state, equipment brand, and energy usage. That all brings us to a key question: how much do solar panels cost? Use our FREE Solar Calculator to calculate the cost of Solar in your area.
Solar power works by converting light from the sun into electricity. This electricity can then be used in your home or exported to the grid when it’s not needed. This is done by installing solar panels on your roof which generate DC (Direct Current) electricity. This is then fed into a solar inverter which converts the DC electricity from your solar panels into AC (Alternating Current) electricity.
Solar Panels
Your solar panels are made up of silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells. When sunlight hits your solar panels, the solar PV cells absorb the sunlight’s rays and electricity is produced via the Photovoltaic Effect. The electricity produced by your panels is called Direct Current (DC) electricity, and which is not suitable to be used in your home by your appliances. Instead, the DC electricity is directed to your central inverter (or micro inverter, depending on your system setup).
Inverter
Your inverter is able to convert the DC electricity into Alternating Current (AC) electricity, which can be used in your home. From here, the AC electricity is directed to your switchboard.
Switch Board
A switchboard allows your usable AC electricity to be sent to the appliances in your home. Your switchboard will always ensure that your solar energy will be used first to power your home, only accessing additional energy from the grid when your solar production is not enough.
Utility Meter
All households with solar are required to have a bi-directional meter (utility meter), which your electricity retailer will install for you. A bi-directional meter is able to record all the power that is drawn to the house but also record the amount of solar energy that is exported back to the grid. This is called net-metering.
Grid
Any unused solar electricity is then sent back to the grid. Exporting solar power back to the grid will earn you a credit on your electricity bill, called a feed-in tariff (FiT). Your electricity bills will then take into account the electricity you purchase from the grid, plus credits for the electricity generated by your solar power system that you don’t use.
With solar power, you don’t need to switch it on in the morning or switch it off at night – the system will do this seamlessly and automatically. You also don’t need to switch between solar power and the grid, as your solar system can determine when is best to do so based on the amount of energy being consumed in your home. In fact, a solar system requires very little maintenance (as there are no moving parts) which means you’ll hardly know it’s there. This also means a good quality solar power system will last a long time.
The premier advantage of the solar power system lies in its versatile adaptability, giving you instant access to renewable solar power. You no longer need an expensive, clunky system to enjoy the benefits of this green energy. It is now effortlessly accessible through multiple paneling technologies, and a host of independent, solar-powered products like solar lighting equipment, chargers and power banks, solar windows and blinds, portable solar power systems for camping and boating, etc.
Annual growth of 49%, thanks to solar-friendly government policies, rising demand, and falling prices of solar power systems. In fact, prices have fallen by 40% in the majority of American states!
Today, almost any American can tap into the vast benefits of a solar power system, in any place, in various ways!