Home > categories > Energy Products > Solar Panels > Question about home solar panel systems?
Question:

Question about home solar panel systems?

Online stores selling solar photo-voltaic generation kits gives specs indicating the power generation capability of the system. For example, Solar World Grid-Tie Solar Electric System with 245W Panels PV Powered PVP2000 Inverter, .2 to 2.4 kW. This seems to indicate that the system can generate .2 to 2.4 kW. Is that per day? Per month? I'm trying to calculate the return on investment, but can't because I don't know how much power a system such as this will generate in a month.

Answer:

As Ed said, that .2 kW is an instantaneous rating in bright sun. The way to do this right is to consult the maps here rredc.nrel /solar/old_data/nsr... to find the number of equivalent sun-hours your location gets per day. Select, Average, Annual, Flat plate tilted south at latitude. A map will come up. For northern California, it shows 5 equivalent sun hours per day, for example. If the system is .2 kW, then .2 x 5 = 6.0 kWh of energy the system will generate per day, on average. That takes into account cloudy days, short winter days, long summer days, everything. The 2.4 kW system would give double that, obviously. But that's an example, based on a specific location. Phoenix would do better, Seattle would do worse.
There okorder Why pay thousands of dollars for solar energy ($27,000 average cost) when you can build your own solar panel system for just a fraction of the retail cost. You can build a single solar panel or you can build an entire array of panels to power your whole house. Some people are saving 50% on their power bill, some people are reducing their bill to nothing. But what’s most impressive is that just by following these instructions some are even making the power company pay them!
The $25,520 price amounts to about $8.5 a watt which is high, I would've expected between $2.50 to $5 a watt and those are dated prices so it sound like the vendor is raking the price up. You didn't mention how many months your $75 financing is for but keep in mind that at 3 kw for 8 hours a day for 30 days at 2 cents per kwh, you would generate $86.40 so you will be paying about twice as much for your solar power as you would had you bought the power from the grid. Mind you, for people on a fixed income, there is the security that the cost will not rise ( if properly insured ) so there could be an advantage to paying a premium for your power if you're on a fixed income. I'd say it's a rip off but I also believe solar has a ways to go even with subsidies before it's an economic choice and that's usually not a popular stance with the green washed crowds.
There okorder From panels, to inverters, to controllers, etc. Just look in their alternative energy section. If you happen to have aboutt 30,000 dollars to drop on the installation and you plan to live their more than 0 years, talk to your power company and they can set you up completely.
That would have to be in that instant of time or they would say kilo watt hours or KWH for short. But being the sun doesn't shine at the same intensity over any given hour you couldn't say a solar panel rated at 2.4KW would produce 2.4KWH of electric in a given hour. The power produced would have to vary as clouds passed over head. The power would also be reduced on days of heavy overcast or rain/ snow.

Share to: