Still falling in price... $1.90/Watt if you but a pallet.
The stalled economy is keeping the prices low.

If you're a serious DIY'er the time has never been better. If you wait the opportunity cost of saving $20.00 or so on a penny a watt drop is less than the $$$ you'll earn in just a few days to a week of bright sunshine.

If you're looking for a commercial system of several hundred kilowatts or several megawatts or more I hope you'll drop me a note!

The Light is Green!

Solar power,, oh it is hard to understand. get pregnant fast

I come back to visit the roost and whom do I see has visited as well? Yankee Boy, goes to show, some old habits are in fact, hard to break.

I have a 2800 sf home and I have a nice area on our roof that faces NE - how much would it cost and how much would I REALLY save if I installed the solar panels? auto insurance

In case no one has heard or noticed, PV panels are now available for as little as $2/Watt. Please mind that these are not the premium efficiency or the largest panels, but modest 175-185 Watts per panel, made in China production surplus.

But hey, if you're a DIY'er, taking advantage of market swings and opportunities *once* is what it's all about.

It's been a while, how has everyone been?

The Light is Green!

A few are still waiting for a half price solar system. Don't wait or global warming will win first.

With incentives many systems are about half price.

As power companies continue to raise rates you save more with every increase.

the solar stacks

An important item to remember is that solar cells and equipment may get cheaper but your cost to have a system will be about the same. Why ? Becuase there are incentives that are rated by year and each yet the incentive is reduced by about 10%. Even clean energy won't get a fat incentive forever.
Also the cost of labor goes up. Electric rates keep rising so it will seem cheaper to have your own safe clean power. The best time to install solar is now.

To compare look at Japan. The have no incentives and everyone intsalls solar panels. They also have some of the highest electric rates in the world at over 20 cent s a kwh.

So don't even expect a free ride. If you pay a fair value you will keep your osts from going up but not get rick off solar panels or othr renewable energy. Clean quailty cost money.

PS you can invest in comapnies that are clean and your returns could make you a few bucks. Sunpower solar has gone up almost 100% this year alone. First solar when up anout 500% .

the solar stacks

Billy, A lot depends on the incentives and net-metering in your area. All solar PV and hot water dealers have those numbers in your exact area. Call them and learn the deal. Call 3 and get different views.
I save over 100 a month and my system cost was 12K with no incentives. I installed it myself and fought for net-metering and my utility is the only one to offer it to me and all solar users. When I did it in 2001 they had 8 grid tied customers, now they have over 500. Imagine what a really good net-meteing policy could do. Imagine it nationwide for wind and solar and small hydro. Go renewables.

solar stacks

knoa and Billy,

Being more efficent is the first step. A compact florescent bulb pays for itself in 1 year or less . a old fashioned incadensent bulb make 90% heat and less than 10% light and we call it a light bulb ? It heats the air and if your colling the house with Air Cond that's dump. It uses 100 watts and a CFL compact uses 1/3 the power AND makes less heat.

Other simple items, shade sceens and over hangs, solar screens to block heat but not light. Energy star appliances, a cloths lines instead of a gas or electric dryer. It all adds up a lot.

I have seen an installation where solar hot water makes sense with two pannels. This seems affordable, with a relatively short payback period. You need a large array of pannels, and it gets costly to do whole house heating, even with utility rebates, tax credits, etc.

Ed Begley should weigh in on this - he's got quite the system! Bill Nye (the Science Guy and Ed's neighbor) said he installed 20 pannels to get 4 killowatts. I've read the average conventional home needs 5kW. Maybe 2kW in a very energy efficient home.

There is talk of more efficient/affordable technology in the works, which would be great.

The first step is to reduce and conserve - better insulation, less air infiltration, more efficient lighting and appliances. Turn off unused lights and appliances. Less demand means a smaller energy load required.

Joe G.

check with local incentives from your free estimate solar installer. There are now federal as well as local incentives. Don't forget net-metering and renewable energy credits.

I installed my own grid tied system in 2001 aqnd it's paid for itself already and keeps getting better. I add to it and also use passive solar screens, solar hot water, energy efficient appliances. It reduces pollution, is safer than nuclear and lasts for 40 years. Solar also doesn't use any ater like coal and nuke.

It's more than the dollars you save.

Hi Joseph:

I designed and built a very energy efficient passive solar home recently and had planned to have solar electric, however once I actually looked at the high initial cost I decided to buy my electric from the local power company. I am not happy about this since they generate almost all of their electricity from coal, and I have seen firsthand what an environmental catastrophe this is. Recently I learned about a new company called Citizenre, that has a plan to make Solar electric much more widely available by renting the systems, instead of selling them. They have eliminated the upfront cost and even made it cheaper to go with solar by locking in your current electric rate for 25 years. Although it will still be awhile before they are able to install the systems, I have signed up my house and even become a salesperson for this company. You can get more information at www.jointhesolution.com/kevineigel.

-Kevin Eigel