Solar Power System Costs – The Cheaper Alternative

At the beginning of 2009, the average home pays over $100 a month on their energy bill. The average driver also pays about $100 a month for gasoline. These energy costs will continue to rise as the price of crude oil shoots up again. However, it doesn’t need to be this way. Wouldn’t it be nice to change how you get energy, to make it cheaper and more environmentally friendly. You may have looked at the cost of home solar power systems and though, “How could this possibly be cheaper?” Some quick calculations involving solar power system costs reveal that they are much cheaper than first meets the eye.

The Hidden Cost
Solar power system costs are not as high as they initially appear to be. if a systems costs between $20,000 to $30,000 the tax credits available could range from $7,500 to approximately $15,000 for some of these systems, similar to the tax credits available for hybrid or electric cars. Although savings may vary, a general guide is that tax credits will save you around a third of the solar power system costs. However, the real savings are accumulated over time, so you won’t really see them for many years. Fortunately, the cost is a one time, upfront payment.

Solar power system costs are not spread out over a period of time. You pay for the system, have it installed, and then you start racking the savings up. Systems like this generally pay for themselves in around 7-12 years. The size of the savings you will make will depend on the amount of energy your household consumes and the size of the home solar power system you install. Larger systems cost more up front but save you more. Producing excess electricity can actually earn you money as you can sell it back to the energy company. If you install the solar power system yourself you would make even further savings as there would be no installation costs.

The environmental cost is also something that is taken into account with the solar power system costs. Just think about all the air pollution and carbon dioxide production you can prevent by installing home solar power systems. Becoming energy independent and playing your part in protecting the planet are great incentives that you should not forget.  As are the savings of hundreds, if not thousands of dollars you will make each year. A lot of people are very scared of the dependence we have on foreign oil and other energy sources, and quite rightly so.  Now is the time for eveyone to do something about it.