At the start on 2009, the average household spends over $100 per month on their energy costs. The average driver also pays about $100 a month for gasoline. Rises in crude oil will continue to push the price of these energy costs up even further. However, things don’t have to be this way. If you had the chance wouldn’t it be nice to get your energy in a more environmentally friendly, less expensive way. “How can this work out cheaper?”, is probably your first thought when you looed at the price tag of home solar power systems. Suprisingly, solar power system costs are not as expensive as first thought which is what you will discover when you have a look at the figures involved.
The Hidden Cost
Solar power system costs are much less than what they first appear. A particular system make cost $20,000 or $30,000 but tax credits could make up anywhere from $7,500 to almost $15,000 for those systems, just the same as there are tax credits for electric and hybrid cars. A good rule of thumb is that tax credits will shave off about a third of the solar power system cost, although the precise value is likely to be a little different. However, the main savings are accrued over time, and you won’t see them for several years. The costs are all upfront.
Solar power system costs are not spread out over a period of time. The savings will start to stack up once you have paid for the system and had it installed. Systems like this generally pay for themselves in around 7-12 years. How much energy you use and the size of your home solar power system will decide on the savings you will make. Although they cost more, larger systems will save you more eventually. If you produce excess electricity, you can actually sell it back to the power company to make some money back from them. 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. You need to bare in mind that by installing home solar power systems you will helping to reduce air pollution and the production of carbon dioxide. Saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year is a great incentive, but even more than this is the fact that you will be doing your part to protect the plant and become energy independent. Many people are justifiably scared about being dependent on foreign oil and other sources of energy, but now every single home owner can do something about it.
Technorati Tags: energy saving, home solar power systems, Solar Power, solar power system costs
Tags: energy saving, home solar power systems, Solar Power, solar power system costs
