So you want to go solar
One of the questions most frequently heard by Conservation staff at Chelan County PUD is how much it costs to set up a home solar-power system. Randy Brooks, owner of Brooks Solar in Chelan, says $10 to $12 per watt installed is a good estimate for a grid-tied system without batteries. With batteries for storing power, costs go up by about 30 percent.
“There really is no ‘average’ system size and cost. Each situation tends to be different. “
- Randy Brooks, Brooks Solar Inc.
Brooks adds, “The estimated cost for off-grid is a little vague. I usually tell people if they are more than a quarter mile from the grid, they can install their own power system for the same cost as extending the grid. This depends greatly on their energy use, though.
“There really is no ‘average’ system size and cost. Each situation tends to be different. However, I usually recommend grid-tie customers get a system that will earn about as much in incentives annually as they pay for electricity. That is usually a 1.5 kW (about $15,000) system. The smallest system I recommend is 700 watts (about $7,000) because that is the smallest grid-tie inverter available.
“The largest system would be based on how much space and money customers have, up to 100 kW (the maximum allowed by the state net meter law).”
Brooks notes that for off-grid situations, a load evaluation must be conducted and the solar system sized to meet that need, “so it all depends on how much power customers use.”
For more information:
Brooks Solar
Sustainable Natural Alternative Power (SNAP)
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