Estimate Your Installation Cost and Savings
Solar panel enthusiasts who own homes might be wary of the expense. The SEIA estimates that the cost of a typical 6-kilowatt-hour (KWh) system is between $16,000 and $21,000. Before making such a significant investment as solar panels, it’s critical to assess your home’s solar potential.
The Guides Home Team developed a solar panel cost estimator that offers a thorough analysis of what switching to renewable energy would entail for you. Enter information about your energy use and home, including its size, layout, and roof style, to receive a personalised estimate. We’ll also provide you a quick overview of your future solar energy savings.
Cost-Related Factors for Solar Panels
Our solar cost calculator considers a number of variables to calculate the cost of going solar. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of each aspect.
Average monthly electric bill: We can determine the ideal system size for you based on your monthly power expenditure. Additionally, it enables us to calculate your potential long-term savings.
If you use little energy or your location has low energy prices, a solar energy system could not offer enough savings. In order to achieve the best results, provide an exact year average of your energy use.
House size: To calculate how many solar panels you need, our solar panel calculator measures the size of your home. For appropriate electricity, larger residences will require additional panels.
Location: Knowing your location allows us to assess your area’s energy costs and find the closest solar firms. To estimate your installation costs, we utilize the average cost per kilowatt of solar panels in your region.
These costs may vary depending on the provider you choose, how much energy you currently use, and the federal and state solar subsidies that are available.
Number of floors: The easiest installations are single-story residences with uncomplicated roofs. To properly satisfy their energy demands, multi-story residences need additional solar panels. A multi-story home’s roof design may also change. Costs may rise due to a complicated arrangement or a lack of roof space for solar panels.
Roof pitch: The effectiveness of your solar panels is impacted by the pitch or angle of your roof. The best results come from south-facing panels that are tilted between 30 and 45 degrees. Depending on where you are and the weather where you are, these positions may change.
To make sure your solar panels are in the ideal position, you might need additional mounting hardware. When building your system, your solar installation will take into account the angle of your roof.
Roof type: Different roof types are more or less suitable for solar panel installations. For instance, the least expensive adjustments are needed for asphalt shingle roofs.
Standing seam metal roofs don’t need drilling during installation, which lowers labor expenses. To make tiled or EPDM (ethylene propylene diene terpolymer) roofs eligible for solar installation, further notifications are required.
Solar battery: You can estimate the cost of a solar battery. The extra energy your system produces is stored in solar batteries for later use. During a power outage, they can serve as battery backups or serve to balance off excessive energy prices. Additionally, solar battery banks can be utilized at night or when there is little sunshine.
Shade in the area: Shade reduces the effectiveness of your solar panels and makes it more difficult for them to absorb the required sunlight. Solar power systems are best suited for roofs with little to no shadow.
Rooftop solar panels are not recommended for homes that are constantly shaded by neighboring trees and other tall impediments. While some solar businesses provide ground mount systems, they often cost more and require more installation time.
The Financial Savings Potential of Solar Panels
Despite the fact that solar energy systems can reduce costs, many homeowners are hesitant to pay the substantial sum of money required to go solar. Customers seek assurances that such a substantial upfront expenditure would prove profitable in the long term.
Solar panels often pay for themselves within six to ten years. The payback period is this time period. The amount of time will vary based on the size of your system, your current energy use, and your anticipated monthly savings.
Your anticipated lifetime savings from adopting solar will be shown by our solar calculator. Based on the usual lifespan of monocrystalline solar panels, the greatest kind of panels available, this estimate has a 25-year life span. Additionally, estimates of your annual energy expenses with and without a solar system will be provided.
By utilizing state and federal solar incentives and rebates, you may increase your return on investment (ROI) more quickly. These incentives reduce your system’s installation expenses, resulting in a shorter payback time.
Net-metering systems, which let you sell the extra energy you produce back to the power grid, can result in significant savings. For this energy, you are given credits that you may use to offset future utility costs or withdraw at the end of the year.