Cost Of Solar Panels
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This is part 2 of a two part article on the cost of solar panels. For part one, see Solar Panel Prices.
There are ways to greatly reduce the cost of solar panels for installation in your home. In part 2 of this article, we’ discuss buying from alternate sources and building your own system.
As discussed in part 1, the cost of solar panels account for more than half the price of a solar home energy system. A solar panel is really nothing more than a series of individual solar cells laid flat and soldered together into a sort of daisy chain that collects the energy from the sun and passes it along out into the system.
There are ways to greatly reduce the cost of solar panels for installation in your home. In part 2 of this article, we’ discuss buying from alternate sources and building your own system.
As discussed in part 1, the cost of solar panels account for more than half the price of a solar home energy system. A solar panel is really nothing more than a series of individual solar cells laid flat and soldered together into a sort of daisy chain that collects the energy from the sun and passes it along out into the system.
As a consumer you can save thousands of dollars on the cost of solar panels by building your own system with panels you build yourself from individual cells. You can even install used panels that can be purchased very cheap. Either way, it really isn't hard to do once ou understand some basic concepts and understand how all the parts go together.
What you don't want to do is waste a lot of time and money on incorrect parts or "trial and error" type purchases. These add up quickly and will errode any potential savings before you know it. Believe me, early on I made a few very expensive mistakes and it's not a good feeling.
Being able to calculate the dollar cost per watt while you are shopping for parts will keep your project on track and under budget. It will also allow you to design your system to grow over time
Solar panels vary in the amount of electricity they can produce, even when they are the same size. Age, quality and condition of the cells all play a part in this equation. Older technologies are less energy efficient than newer. Solar cells also have an expected age rating once placed into use, so an old cell that has been used more will have a lower capacity than an identical cell that has never been used.
You can buy brand new individual cells that have minor defects from the manufacturer. They don't want to sell them for retail because of their flaws, but they work fine and you can usually get them dirt cheap.
Panels and cells can often be found for free if you know where to look. Here's just one of many places you can find used solar panels. Highway departments and contractors often need to unload these and don't mind giving them away. Often these panels can be used as is, or for parts in making your own panels.
Another place to look for used panels is on ebay or other online auction sites. Just make sure that you get the specs for any panel before you bid or buy. Find out the age, wattage, efficiency rating and where, how and how long the panel was used. For more details on shopping for used solar panels, see our used solar panel page, here.
Putting your own panels together is a straight forward process. You just connect all the cells using the tabs provided, anchor them to the field panel inside the frame and enclose everything.
What you don't want to do is waste a lot of time and money on incorrect parts or "trial and error" type purchases. These add up quickly and will errode any potential savings before you know it. Believe me, early on I made a few very expensive mistakes and it's not a good feeling.
Being able to calculate the dollar cost per watt while you are shopping for parts will keep your project on track and under budget. It will also allow you to design your system to grow over time
Solar panels vary in the amount of electricity they can produce, even when they are the same size. Age, quality and condition of the cells all play a part in this equation. Older technologies are less energy efficient than newer. Solar cells also have an expected age rating once placed into use, so an old cell that has been used more will have a lower capacity than an identical cell that has never been used.
You can buy brand new individual cells that have minor defects from the manufacturer. They don't want to sell them for retail because of their flaws, but they work fine and you can usually get them dirt cheap.
Panels and cells can often be found for free if you know where to look. Here's just one of many places you can find used solar panels. Highway departments and contractors often need to unload these and don't mind giving them away. Often these panels can be used as is, or for parts in making your own panels.
Another place to look for used panels is on ebay or other online auction sites. Just make sure that you get the specs for any panel before you bid or buy. Find out the age, wattage, efficiency rating and where, how and how long the panel was used. For more details on shopping for used solar panels, see our used solar panel page, here.
Putting your own panels together is a straight forward process. You just connect all the cells using the tabs provided, anchor them to the field panel inside the frame and enclose everything.
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