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To: KarlInOhio

The sun has to be pretty high in the sky to approach the peak power a solar panel is rated at. The usual method of taking that into account is to figure 5 hours of sunlight per day as an average over the year.

Current PV panels require about one square foot to produce a peak 10w. So if you need 1000kwh per month, you need 1000kwh / 30days = 33kwh per day / 5 hours per day = 6.6kw capacity = 660 square feet of panels.

At 30 cents per watt, the panels would cost $2,000. Batteries, inverter, installation, etc., however, would make it $10,000 for a home system. A grid-tie system would be cheaper because it wouldn’t need batteries. That would save $3,000 and eliminate the recurring replacement expense. Deep cycle lead batteries only last about two years. Even at $10,000 initial cost plus $1,500/yr recurring cost, it would be cheaper than my current annual electric bill in southern California.


57 posted on 11/20/2007 9:51:15 AM PST by Kellis91789 (Liberals aren't atheists. They worship government -- including human sacrifices.)
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To: Kellis91789
nice Solar Insolation Map gives the equivalent number of hours for various places in the US
98 posted on 11/20/2007 12:59:41 PM PST by PapaBear3625
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