The average solar panel installation for a medium-sized home about $25,000 if you have the panels installed professionally, according to homeandsolarwindinfo.com. The total cost can amount to about $4.30 per watt according to paystolivegreen.com, and it will reduce your home's dependence on oil and generate energy "off the grid", reducing your competition for power at peak times. Still, that set-up cost is unattainably high for most homes.
Enter the new craze in buying panels separately and setting them up yourself. The Earth4Energy program is one of the first of this new Do It Yourself energy trend. Other programs are popping up everywhere: GreenDIYenergy, for example, and HomeMadeEnergy.org. The burning question we money-conscious, Green-oriented consumers want to know is this: Do these new solutions really save you money?
Average oil costs in the US range from about $1,200 per year in the West to over $3,000 annually in New England. On top of that, electricity costs for a medium-sized home at baseline use are about $6,000. Most electricity in the US is still powered by coal, a non-renewable resource. To full replace those energy sources with solar, the average home will need about 6 panels, which can be purchased for the DYI installation at bout $60- $200 per panel, plus the program costs of about $60-$75, and you're looking at a total cost of about $2,000- $3,000 per year. Not too bad! Plus the green, renewable energy has a positive impact on the earth, which is of course not quantifiable in dollars.
If you're a homeowner, checking out these new DYI options may be a good investment for you. Especially now, with the economic downturn and energy prices skyrocketing once again, getting at least some of your energy from solar panels gives you and your home a fresh edge and cost-efficiency. It also makes an attractive home improvement that can put your house ahead of others in buyers' minds.
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