I have a home in Manchester Tn and we have been slowly remodeling the home. It is about 200 sq ft of living space. Our normal electric bill is about 50 a month. We would like to add some solar panels to the home to help reduce the amount of the bill. How many panels do I need and what would be the cost? I am not trying to go completely of the grid but I would like to start somewhere and maybe over the years be able to add. What is your recommendation for a reasonable cost of under 2 to 3 k??
you need to read and ? your elect co they will help you with survey of your elect use and how to lower bill . for free also read about solar panels and how to use and install bg makes good panels but panels only small part of cost invertor and controler and batterys bigger cost the real expense is panel and controler for panels to to grid connection as per nec is very expensive more than 2 for most 00 or 200 amp service you would better to change to demand type warer heater and flouresent lights and upgrade isullation depending on how you heat house and your area heat pump etc but call your elect co for engergy survey
Ok, well there are also other alternative energy sources, too, besides solar. There is tidal (but you need an ocean :] ), hydroelectric (river, stream, etc.), biomass/biofuels (burning garabage), geothermal (from within the earth, pipes in the earth), wind (windmills, wind, the sun to get wind), and there are others that don't come to mind. Solar energy would cost alot to be installed, and it would take up alot of space, but once installed it pays for itself and uses little to no labor. They all have positives and negatives. All of these are clean and renewable. Here are some sites that my teacher/professor gave us (we just ended alternative energy lesson.) Well I hoped this helped!
image voltaic panels can set you back as much as $20,000. A windmill that produces sufficient electrical energy for the abode would be approximately $0,000. Neither gets you off the electrical powered grid. image voltaic in basic terms works while the sunlight shines. At night, you will have not have been given any electrical energy. Wind in basic terms works while the wind blows on the merely right velocity. decrease than 5 mph and you get no capability. If the wind blows too speedy on your windmill, it is going to close right down to maintain from being broken. look to insulation, capability valuable doors and abode windows, an capability valuable air conditioner, landscaping that aspects shade.
Unless there has been some major breakthrough in solar panel efficiency - Forget it. I had looked at some utility interactive systems where the electricity generated by the solar panels went through a special inverter and into the electrical system of the house, any power you didn't use went backwards through the meter and into the grid. I figured that even if it was sunny every day, it would take about 20 years to break even on the system. That is, if I had invested $5,000 in a small system, to save $5,000 off the electric bill would take 20 years. If I had $5,000 to invest, this wouldnt be the place! It would take much more than 20 years of electrical savings to match even a modest investment. Then, don't forget what happens if 0 years from now the inverter or some of the panels fail and need replaced. Invest in fluorescent lights, maybe even LEDs. You will see a much quicker return on investment. Install more insulation, put in a heat-pump system. I appreciate you desire to save some energy, solar just isn't going to be worth doing, at least not yet.
