Depends on several factors, main one being how much power you need to generate...and then, how much roof space do you have, which way does your house face, is there shading, etc.

I've seen residential systems between $20-$200k, so...you'll need some details on your property to get an idea of what your install would cost. You should be able to get a free assessment...I'm not positive but I think our dealers offer those. <-- they do - there's a link on the residential part of our site.

 

the solar panels from our pool need a 600 dollar fitting fixed, seems like bs ripoff. Wonder how much it'd be to just get new panels too, since they are so fing old.

 

zekera, what dept u work for @ sunpower? San Jose office or Richmond?

 

I know that this year the Federal Solar rebate program has upped their rebate (tax-credit) from 30% of the net installed cost, capped at $2k, to 30% uncapped. That's a significant difference. I think the state rebate is around $2/watt - though, who knows how long that'll last.

Don't forget, it's not necissarily the most cost efficient to go completely "of-the-grid". I know in my case, with standard tiered rates from PG&E, the last 25% of my usage is 50% of my bill (or the last 50% is 75% of the bill - something like that). With net-metering you can get a system that generate only a fraction of your daily usage and minimize the net cost and ROI time.

 

It heavily depends on the specifics of the installation...but you can put in your address & details: http://us.sunpowercorp.com/residential/ to check it out if you're interested in your home specifically.

 

Both - two days in SJ & three in Richmond. When not traveling, that is...you work here? Or know someone who does?

 

My gf works in the accounting dept in Richmond

 

Even a net cost of 18K for the system, which is very very low estimate. My ROI is 120 months. 10yrs from now there will be more tech available to provide lower cost solutions. It's a fine idea that has come down in cost over the years. Yet still too high. I addition, they are so few and far between the housing market would likely not reward you for your installation. Ten years from now you may be the only one on the block who doesn't have solar.

 

Yeah I did, I LAWLD.

 

Hah nice. While you were doing that i was trying to get an href to work so i didn't have to paste the link in...which it obviously didn't...which is why I'm not a web developer

 

It really depends on the individual's desires.

Is it worth waiting 10 years for a 5 year ROI, when you would could have already paid off your solar install and be "making money" those next 5 years? Besides, even if panel costs drop by 50% in the future, there is no guarantee that we'll still have a 30-50% rebate at that time.

If you have a choice between paying $150/month to PG&E or paying $150/month on a lease/loan for your solar system over the next 10 years, why not bite the bullet. You won't necessarily be any worse off on a monthly basis and you'll be eating away at the ROI time-frame.

 

I used to be a PG&E power engineer, do NOT get batteries, just the inverter and the panels.

Ensure that the panels are easily accessible for cleaning/maintenance.

Ensure you use a contractor that has passed the PG&E evaluation, what I used to do is examine the drawings and either accept or decline the work. If you use someone who works in this area, then it should be no problem on either the brand of inverter or the design of the inverter/switch.

Please realize that a 1 KVA electrical system will max produce about 800 VA and that many modern homes will require up to 2 KVA average daily - also realize that you will get credit for what you produce (PG&E has to buy it, they do this by running your meter backwards), but they will never send you a check if you overproduce (i.e. ave daily is 1 KVA, but produced ave is 3 KVA, you will not get a check for the 2 KVA overproduced).

When I looked into doing solar, the total installed cost was around $10K per 1KVA, that is not reasonable to me, as I can buy a LOT of electricity for $10K.

Solar is cool, just expensive, let me be clear on one thing though, DO NOT BUY BATTERIES...if you don't understand or want to understand why, feel free to ask, i am more than happy to talk to you about it....there were lots of solar guys selling batteries when i looked into it...batteries are a losing game.

Good Luck with your solar.

 

What is important is the installed cost per KW. The above may mean a savings in physical space, but that is minor compared to the total cost.

 

It's not worth the cost. 10yrs or so from now it might be worth checking out. You won't get extra credit for being the first on your block with solar. If you want to do your part to conserve; Set your T-stats to 78 in the summer and 68 in the winter. Unplug or power strip all electrical items in the home. Change your bulbs to CFLs. Install recommended attic insulation thickness. All of those will reduce your energy consumption and have immediate returns.

 

Those are great (and really imporant) points - even with solar, you maximize the investment by lowering usage. Additionally, high-efficiency appliances have short ROI (and in some cases, have rebates).
When we put solar on Moscone Center (and this is years ago), the only way it was viable was to also do a huge energy efficiency study and replace all the lighting in conjunction with the solar project.