How much does a solar system cost?

Let's start by asking how much does electricity cost? At pge.com on the ResElecCurrent spreadsheet the average E1 cost is 18¢  per kilowatt hour (kWh). See example (1). 

The cost of solar electricity is 16¢  per kWh. See example (2).

In this example utility company electricity costs 11% more than solar power.

1. So, what's the kilowatt-hour cost for utility company electricity? If your electric provider is PG&E and your cost is $180 per month your usage is 1,011 kWh. Therefore the cost of utility electricity is 18¢ per kWh.
   

2. Then, what's the kilowatt-hour cost for solar power? That is the cost of the installed equipment divided by the kilowatt-hours generated over twenty five years. A typical three kilowatt solar system in Fairfield will cost about $18,000 after incentives and will produce 112,000 kilowatt-hours in 25 years (18 / 112 = .16 ) . Therefore the cost of solar power will be 16¢ per kilowatt-hour.

That is a simplistic but fair way to compare the costs and you can clearly see that even for moderate utility bills, the cost of solar power is less than utility electricity.

Ok solar power costs less than utility electricity, now that home values have dropped and  equity financing for solar is rare, how can we get a solar system for our home?

The good news is that Talbott Solar now offers a variety of equipment finance and lease programs for the highest quality "Sunpower" solar electric systems.