Solar photovoltaic costs (Score 1)

12 Kyocera 130 watt panels @ $610 each dlvd = $7320 Outback GFX3648 inverter,controller,charger, etc = $2800 Wire, breakers, cable, connectors, panels, etc. = $1600 42 KWH battery bank = $4100 Total = $15,820 This system will deliver about 5-6 KWH per day. Summer more, winter less; this is an average. Say it's 6; 6 x 365 = 2190 KwH per year. 2190 x $0.06/KwH from the grid = $131.60 per year cost avoided $15,820 / $131.60 equals a payback of 120 years, not including labor or the cost of my tracker, which is homebrewed. Generator (gasoline) costs about $1200 for a portable 7.5 Kw nominal. You can expect no more than about 500 hours runtime from these gensets, so the cost per hour is about $2.40 per hour for the generator. If you run it at 6Kw, it burns around 2 gallons an hour, maybe a little less. With gasoline at $3.60, it costs me about $7 per hour to run, maybe a little less. So my cost per hour is about $9 or so, say $9. That gets me 6 Kwh of power, for a cost per Kwh of about $1.50, or 25 times what grid power costs me. On that basis, assuming running a generator full time, the payback is less than 5 years. Of course one has to consider the circumstances under which grid power might not be available, and the payback becomes a few months, at most. Several points to be made here- Grid power is a SCREAMING deal compared to solar, based on today's costs. Even at TWICE the cost, grid power is a bargain, compared to other sources. However, grid power may not be available, and it's really nice to be able to have a refrigerator and a computer running when the power's out. So what are the best options? Over a short time, emergency generators deliver more power capability for much less money than solar does. Over the long haul, solar can provide a quiet source of electrical power; I expect my solar installation to last for the rest of my life. Having that capability and ability to be self-reliant is worth a great deal to me. That's why I bought a solar system rather than a new car.