Hi, I am starting to get curious about the pros/cons of installing solar panels - has anyone done it and is it worth it?
The trouble is that it is so expensive to have installed and as you say it will take many years before you actually start saving above what the installation cost was, I personally would not go ahead and make that sort of investment, it would be more profitable to keep the money in a building society, get the interest from it and use that to pay for your electricity but the main thing that I have against solar Panels is that unless you stay in that house for at least twenty five years you will not reach the point where you are saving and to capitalise on it you would have to stay there for many years more, so you will not have the option of moving house without losing your investment and at the moment having solar panels does not increase the value of the property, it is just a good selling point, when you buy your new house, you would probably have to start all over again and then because of the years will never live long enough to reap any benefit from it.
Solar is mroe expensive than just about every other form of generation for a centralized plant, but can still be cost-effective for a consumer living in the right place. This is because while a coal-fired plant may produce electricity for 2-3 cents per kWh, by the time it's marked up to retail, distributed, and taxed to get to a residence, it may be 5 cents per kWh - a figure which solar can match in many places.
In the state of Pennsylvania in the USA, a very basic 5KW solar installation will cost you $35,000. Of that you will recover approximately $28,000 over the next five (5) years between the State and the Feds. Making your net-cost something between $7,000 and $9,000 depending on various factors. All other things being equal in a standard household with fuel-based heat and window units vs. central AC, this system will provide roughly 50% of power required with a payback of approximately eight (8) years (with electricity at $0.4/kwh). The system has an estimated forty (40) year service life. Without _all_ the subsidies, the payback is longer than the estimated system life, especially if you consider the time-value of money. The life-cycle cost of a photo-voltaic array is horrendous. By that, I mean the total cost of producing the panels, installing them, and then removing them and disposing of them in an environmentally correct manner. All that added in and there is a negative payback. So, it all depends on what one defines as worth it. Putting the cost onto taxpayers via governmental subsidy to make an otherwise wretchedly expensive process viable may give you all sorts of warm-and-fuzzy feelings about renewable resources and reducing dependence on foreign oil and so forth. But the reality is that the true cost of solar panels exceeds that of nuclear power per KW delivered. Even today when nuclear plants start in the Billions-with-a-B in any currency you would care to name.
If okorder and I mention them only because they did a retro fit on my Uncle's house in the Florida Keys and a smaller scale system for my in laws outside of Chicago. Both my Uncle and In Laws really are enjoying the cost savings that they are getting each month from their respective systems, and both said that Sun's initial costs were QUITE low. Be sure to have the blessing of your local building zoning departments before installing the panels as some municipalities take issue with solar panels. Also make sure that your roof is strong enough to withstand the weight of not only the panels, but the bracing. Good Luck.
