How much do solar panels cost for a 1500 square foot house

 

1. How many solar panels do you need for your home?

Solar panels are an investment, and so you want to make sure you get the most energy production out of each panel. When you’re thinking about how many solar panels you need for your home, here are a few factors to consider:

1. the size of your home,

2.how much solar power your area gets,

3. demand, and

4. your utility. Some people make a copy of this spreadsheet to help with all of these numbers.

First, the size of your home or any space you plan to put solar panels in will determine how much solar power you need. The spaces inside of your home will vary, and some have more solar potential than others. However, there are certain factors that affect the cost of panels and the needed power produced. To determine how many solar panels you need per square foot inside your home, you’ll need to determine the square footage of each room.

Most people live in smaller houses with narrow hallways that fit a single large panel in. If your house has this configuration, you’ll want 1 large panel in each corner. In larger homes with winding hallways, you may want more panels for each corner. We’ll use the example of a 5000 square foot home with 1 large and 3 small panels.

Once you know how much solar power each room produces, multiply by the number of panels to determine how many square feet of solar panels you need per room.

If you are living in a small suburban home in an area with less than 20% sun, it’s unlikely that you will need more than 4 large panels per hall. This home has less than 2 acres, so if you have more than 4 panels per hall, you’ll need more solar panels in your house.

If you live in a ranch house in the middle of a farmland area, it’s unlikely that you will need 6–9 panels per hall.

2. How much will it cost to install solar panels for a 1500 square foot home?

Solar panels for a 1500 square foot home in the USA will cost about $16,000 to purchase and install, according to the USA Solar Industries Association. The actual cost of your installation will depend on the size of the system, the type of panels you choose, and whether you have a roof that is suitable for solar panels.

Solar panels are installed on roofs to generate electricity. Generally, they use a single metal panel on the roof with two to four horizontal integration panels costing around $4,000 while multi-terawatt systems (great big systems that use 6 to 11 panels) are up to $37,000. Solar panels are also installed on detached houses, where their installation can be much smaller since the electrician comes up from the bottom floor of the building to place the panels where the sun is or is available.

Usually, a panel will be placed in a solar trench in the ground, where the sun will strike it and turn it on. There are methods to minimize the solar trench, though, depending on the installer. Some install the panels underground. Some install them as high as possible, over a fence or other obstacles. 

Pre-construction costs will vary, but so will the ongoing maintenance costs when the panels require replacement. The panels are typically covered by homeowners insurance, which limits how much the homeowners have to pay for any issues with the panels. Structural and manufacturing costs are another factor to consider.

Buying the panels isn’t as simple as it will be when looking at traditional solar panel installation. In the USA or most parts of the world, you can purchase solar panels, or add them to your existing system, for about $7,500 and install them on your roof for about $4,500.

Depending on where you take it, installing solar panels will come with its own set of pros/cons. In my case, the panels would add about $300 to my roof cost, about 3% of my total roof cost.

3. How much money will I save per month with solar power on my house?

Solar energy in the US is offered by Solar City, and they have a calculator that will help you estimate how much money you’ll save per month and over the course of 20 years. But what if you already have solar panels installed on your house? Let’s look at how much, in dollars, they cost you and then some.

Using an estimate from a user on Reddit (who asked to remain anonymous), we constructed a rough calculation. It includes all the numerous upgrades (solar panels, hot water heaters, etc.), plus some recent upgrades (interesting tidbit: movers added a bunch more floor joists!). No utilities are involved and the size of the panels was limited to a 1500 square foot house where direct sunlight fell on it in the winter and summer.

People often overlap costs for different upgrades, so this is by no means an exhaustive list. But since these calculations are geared to understanding the monetary savings that could be achieved by investing more in solar panels, including all the factors already listed, we’ll spare you the math and data interpretation. Despite having the similar goal of saving money, we’ll start with an overview of what to expect, before delving into the nitty-gritty.

For this build, we started with a 10kW, 800VA inverter from RP Solar. It costs $15,000 with inverter and cabinet from Jobin, before any other upgrades. Since we want to put in panels, we need to buy panels.

For the price of an inverter and two panels, we could get two 4kW panels from a manufacturer such as unrivaled solar.

Solely based on assumed size and location, we picked unrivaled solar to manufacturer our panels. Their inverters are famous for their low cost (they’re important when you have two load followers), and their products are relatively new so there’s still a decent chance that they will have lower prices soon. We chose them to implement since they used to manufacture the panels Silex uses.

Conclusion: Solar panels cost a lot of money to install, but they can pay for themselves after a few years. This is especially true if you live in sunny areas where electricity is expensive. They're also good for the environment and help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

Solar panels cost a lot of money to install, but they can pay for themselves after a few years. This is especially true if you live in sunny areas

Anyone who has woken up in the morning to a sunny day knows how beautiful that white morning is. While most people don’t take it seriously, I truly appreciate this view when it’s sunny.

When the house I currently live in gets hot and humid, a few hours of sunlight can help out in the kitchen, living room, and any room that gets fairly warm.

In the summer months, especially, when the sun is shining all day long, there isn’t that much need for artificial light. During those times, it is smart to install some form of the solar panel system.