What makes solar panels so expensive in the US?
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Yes, they are too expensive - but if more people bought them, the cost would come down. Even 30K is a good investment, though, if you plan to stay in that house a few years. Let's look at some numbers:
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In my neighborhood (cold climate here) my heat plus electric bill averages about $350/month (about $4200/year.) Assuming I switch to electric heat, and I can provide for all of my energy needs from the panels, they would pay for themselves in about 7 years.
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How much better would this be if you drove an electric car? (I drive one.) The average driver puts about 15,000 miles/year on his car. The average car gets 18mpg. At $2.50/gallon, that driver spends $2083/year on gasoline. And this number, along with the price of gasoline, keeps going up.
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Total cost savings: $6283 per year. So those $30,000 panels pay for themselves in about 4.77 years. If the price of gas and utilities keep going up (they will), you'll be paid off even faster.
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They are expensive because the corporations dont want to lose there stake in our wallets. Hell, Nicoli Tesla made a device in the 1890s that took energy out of thin air. His lab was then destroyed by JP morgan so it would never see the light of day.
We want to save the earth. They want to make money.
Also, since they don't have that much demand they have to keep their prices high.
It's because Bush hates any kind of oil competition. He'd rather spend hundreds of billions stealing oil than a dime on solar. For what has been spent on the Iraq disaster, every house in America could have had solar panels. America should be making solar panels and electric cars and selling them to the world. That we could be proud of, and be profiting from, and the world wouldn't be hating the US.
Hello, I'm from Europe (Belgium), and I was asking myself the same qestion when I also received a similar quote.
Probably it is because our companies like to make big profits... In Europe it is even better: the government is paying 3/4 of such an installation, but after deduction of this grant, we also pay about 30.000$. Just try to figure that one out ?
Did you know BP is one the largest manufacturers of solar panels?
I think petroleum goes into making some of the components.
If solar panels were feasible, i.e. they produced enough usable power to pay for themselves by reducing fuel consumption, then they would be on every flat surface.
Unfortunately, they are just not efficient enough yet.
There is no conspiracy, it's just economics.
Conservation is the only answer. Turn off your computer now.
Solar cells are expensive because they are semiconductors, just like computer chips, only simpler and cheaper. But not simple and cheap enough. It takes millions of dollars of high tech equipment and lots of ultra pure chemicals, many of them HIGHLY toxic, and some expensive materials, like gold, and a highly skilled and paid workforce to make a solar cell.
They are expensive all over the world, not just in the U.S.
please go to http://www.motherearthnews.com They have many articles and much information on renewable energys, and issue before last has info on panels that stick right to your roof. they are about the same price as glass panels now, but are supposed to drop in price when production catches up to demand in a year or two. last issue had a cool solar thermosyphon heater that you can make yourself. really cool!
see "easy solar power" issue 218, oct/nov. 2006 from the issue library. i was quoted about 8000.00 for enough panels, batteries, inverter, etc. to comfortably run a small two bedroom, off grid cabin, about 800 s.f. a couple of years ago. that uses propane for water heater, refrigerator, wall heater, and gas dryer.
As with most things that are "scientifically engineered," there is going to be a hefty cost the consumer usually pays (especially in the beginning years of its release to mainstream consumers) for newer products from the engr or science world. As there is more consumer trust in the product, then mass production can begin and prices usuaully go down. Many estimate that within the next 5-10 years, the costs of solar panels will go down. Whether our economy will be in any shape for anyone to buy then is another story, as the US government has a $4.6 trillion debt! Frightening!
Also, this culture "diefies" high tech & science realms and if people aren't addicted to the entertainment that the high tech world gives them, then they often believe that science can solve all our environmental earthy problems! Many people living in poverty levels will often forego their proper survival needs, including good nutrition just so they can have the latest iPod or cell phone! This also helps keep prices high. But beware! Technology will not rescue us as a species and what ails us environmentally, morally and spiritually! We need to wake up and have a major shift in human consciousness! The government is not going to help us out of this mess either, that's for sure! The shift has to happen within the depths of people, from deep within them. When people awaken from the trance or bad dream they are living, they will know that we cannot keep living this way, addicted to fossil fuels, materialism and entertainment. These Oil Wars are the roots of the global terrorism that is lurking globally!
It is this same illusioned sad story and type of "technology saviour" thinking with medicine, pharmaceuticals, etc. Many of those who are the most educated and wealthy are often the ones who "incorporate" their high tech business and get caught up in the corporate greed instead of ethical and sustainable living! Did anyone see the video The Corporation, available on Netflix? They explain this very well. These corps also usually charge the most for their goods and services regardless of whether their service or product is ethical of unethical or whether it could degrades or destroys humanity or the earth in any ways. These same corporations even BLOCK new sustainable technologies from emerging if it will compete with theirs! As the movie Who Killed the Electric Car indicated, there are many who hope to continue to ban renuable energy technology until the last drops of fossil fuel are taken from this earth.
But as Peak Oil gets closer and closer, we will have no recourse but to go alternative and renuable and sustainable like solar. But it is important to remember that it currently takes fossil fuels to make today's solar panels, so if we wait too long to go solar, there may be great difficulties in getting the resources needed to make solar panels. I am also aware of there being some shortages in some of the elements needed, like silicon. Also, solar panels are not without their toxins too. Many panels are constructed of high tech materials that contain many toxic heavy metals. As solar panels age and need to be recycled, these toxins can have a detramental effect on the earth if tossed in a land fill. A few companies are working on less toxic panels.
CA just passed an initiative that will bring solar panels to 1 million rooftops in the next decade! That is a start.
I also heard about a US company that is going to rent solar panels for homeowners in late 2007. Now that sounds like a great idea! It may help the average joe be able to do their part to help clean up the environment, slow down global warming and planetary degradation. (Email me for more info)
I have been a professor of env sci for 3 decades now and it is so hard to get corporations and govt to budge on these urgent issues we face as global warming amps up! It is now up to the individual to make waves so that the Solar Revolution can begin. We need an end to the Petro-Pig Way!
I remember in 1981 when I was a newlywed and homeowner in Riverside CA, I had a solar company come out and give us an estimate to purchase solar panels for our house. It was $7K for a 1550 sf home in 1981. Since then, the cost has easily gone up 5-6 times! I was horrified and disillusioned to say the least. So now in 2007. I am planning to rent solar panels and save us the $30K! Then I know I am doing something to help this ailing Earth! Someday soon I look forward to plugging my electric car into the socket in my solar powered home and garage!
Forgot to mention, that there are governments that endorse solar for their people. I thought it was Belgium til I saw the post above, but I guess not..Ideally it is about economic and environmental health and security!
I sell solar products and 30K for parts and labor is not bad to run a whole house if you use about 575 Kw a month or more. And you live in the northern part of the USA. In the south there is more sun per day so you would not need as big of a system. If you knew how to put it together your self you could cut 10K to 15K off the price.
I installed my own solar electric backup system myself. If I want to go total solar all I have to to is turn off the breaker to the grid and the transfer switch will switch to solar and batteries.
I don't want to give the Grid anything for free so I did not grid tie. They won't give me anything for free. Remember with grid tie anything over your usage is a free gift to the electric co. And if the grid power goes down your electric goes down with it. You don't have the problem with a solar backup system.
For beginner info on what to look for when buying solar products and to get you started in a do it your self job check out the link below.
If you want more information, email me from the site and I will do my best to fill you in with anything you may need to know. And I can even set you up with a pre-built system shipped to your door so you can install it.
Sorry for the sales pitch but there are easier ways to do it.
At present the cost of solar panels may be high. As costs of solar products decrease, solar energy is replacing electricity/fossil in many application like lighting, cooking and heating. More information at http://altenergy.in/
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