If you are interested in the conservation of the environment and want to install Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, the following guidelines can be of great help to you. The choice is yours, you can use commercially manufactured or you can build your own, the investment depends upon the level of your participation with the installing process.

The investment will be more if you pay full retail cost of the solar panels and the installments. You can save lots of money if you use do yourself method and install PV panels, the DIY home solar manual will guide you for installing your own solar panels.

Factoring Kilowatt Hours and Kilowatts

You can also use term kWh for kilowatt hour, this the average quantity of energy used by an average America home. In a typical 31 days month, you will have 744 hours.

Factoring each hour of energy coming from the grid may be 20 cents; it means a consumption of power worth $148 per month. There are several factors which have direct effect on your monthly power bills and this will be certainly different in different households. This will help you to arrive at the total consumption of power in your home.

Commercial Bought PV Panels & Professional Installation

The most costly equipment is the solar panels when you purchase it from the market, it may cost of lot of money. Many experts have arrived at figure of $7 to $9 per watt when the panels are installed by a professional.

It means that solar panels that are rated at four kilowatts should cost around $28,000 to $36,000. The big question is after spending so much of money, what will be the amount of power produced by four kilowatt solar panel installation.

To answer this question is quite difficult; it also depends upon the availability of sunlight and also for how many days in a year. It will also depend upon the longitude, this is a complex situation. There are some estimates available for California, San Francisco; here an average residence can get 2000 kW every year from one kilowatt solar panel system.

The common estimate for the Bay area is that a residence consumes 8,000 kWh per year, this means that four kilowatts generation capacity is quite sufficient. You can research it on Google and can calculate the expected power output at your location.

You may also be eager to know about the recovering your investment, commercial installment done by the professionals, assuming the 4kWh, getting less power does not match with the investment. This means that it will take twenty years for you to recover the cost.

Many professionals offer special incentives which include tax breaks and other subsidies given by the Government. Such specials can help you to recover your investment in almost 15 years. This is the cause why many people shy away from the installation of solar panels. The great option is to do it yourself (DIY) which will save you lot of money, building your own is the most viable option.