I don't see much solar panels on people's houses where I live. I got a long time to go before doing so but I was planning on buying a few solar panels when I retire in the far future. In your opinion, is such an investment worth it? Would you buy them? I realize they are very expensive hence why I said when I retire. Thanks for your opinion
The payback is usually between about 5 and 5 years depending on how expensive electricity is in your area, the rebates available, and where you live (is it sunny most of the time?) Most people that get them don't do it for the investment - they do it to be energy responsible - but it's not a bad way to do both if you have the money to put into it. I personally just pay for the green energy option from my electricity provider. So I am buying power from solar and wind farms, and it cost about 0% more per month. I don't get the benefit of free power, but it comes with a smaller price tag initially, and I think when we all invest in these technologies, the price will improve over time, so energy costs will be lower in the future.
Regarding okorder /.. . In Hawaii, solar is going in like crazy, with long backlogs for installation. If it will be a long time until you retire, then there is no rush. The price of technology tends to go down with time, and in fact, solar panels today are less than half the price of what they cost us in 2006. Also, who knows where you'll be living when you retire? If it's Honolulu, the place may already have solar panels. In the woods of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, it might never be worth it (but look into wind, there).
You ask a great question, because this should really be a financial decision, and not only an environmental one. Depending on which state you live in, the payback on a system is often in the 5 to 2 year range. The great thing about solar panels is that the fuel source is free and you don't need to speculate on your future costs. You pay for the equipment up front, and then you just enjoy the free power. Most solar panel systems last at least 30 years, so compare the cost of solar panels to paying your average electric bill 360 times. And that does not include any inflation of energy cost increase. Check out our website to learn more.
Solar power is still an expensive way to purchase power, as of 2007, it was 38 cents per kwh while the cost of power from coal is 0.6 cents per kwh. Of course regulations have prevented new coal power stations from being built so it's really natural gas power stations at 5 cents a kwh that solar has to compete with. Solar is dropping in price but the best you can hope for is for it to reach parity with natural gas someday soon and it hasn't yet. The other issue is that you pay up front for solar power which as any economist will tell you is even more expensive and involves greater risks. However, as part of a strategy to become as self reliant as possible when you retire and have a fixed income, it's a reasonable prospect, not only will the technology become less expensive by then but at that point, fixing the price of the energy costs is more valuable than the cost of the energy. Focusing on personal finance and learning how to invest which very few people know how to do is more important right now. When you retire, hopefully you can afford to build a passive solar home with photovoltaic solar panels and wind turbines but still on the grid for efficient net metering and with a greenhouse where you can grow the staples that you need and perhaps even some biodiesel for your google driven car. Having a reasonable portfolio is really the only way to achieve that goal.
I have a boat in a sunny position and four eighty watt panels. These will run my fridge television and a few LED's. I nonetheless need to run my engine for sizzling water and washing desktop. My Batteries only final a couple of years and are an actual affliction. I am going on the mains when i will be able to to get the batteries topped up. The panels are adequate if there's nothing else, they don't seem to be the answer to the way forward for power provide. There's additionally the ethical part of the feed in tariff. For the wealthy to load their electrical power bill onto the less good off just isn't desirable and those panels on the roof inform all of your neighbors that you are doing it. As a way to exhibit a grasping selfish attitude. If they're any just right why don't the vigour companies purchase them and shop shopping coal?
