What Do Solar Panels Require Financially and Practically?

This is the primary question surrounding the solar PV industry. It’s very changeable.  Various factors must be considered such as your roof area, azimuth, pitch, resources, and desire.  We will discuss all of these and outline some general prices for solar panels in Alberta.

You might be wondering how the azimuth/pitch affects the price of solar panels, isn’t it just one lump sum cost?

It is one lump sum expense to buy a solar energy system, but how much energy the system produces over 25+ years will affect your overall economics which is arguably much more critical.  I will break it up into two separate sections:

The first category is the price to buy solar panels (i.e., the initial investment required) for systems of various capability (size).

The second section is more in-depth and will outline the long-term economics of solar power in Alberta.  This is remarkably important for calculating your ROI, and payback period.  In this category, we will work through a real example with current metrics for 2017.

Solar Panel Purchase

There is no conventional way of assessing the cost of solar panels for every individual’s home without giving a free site appraisal.  This is set to change as new technology becomes accessible, such as Google’s Project Sunroof, but for the time being, to accurately assess the potential for solar panels on homes we must do so on a case by case basis. 

Naturally, we won’t move it on such general terms, and we will get into the how of how much different solar power systems require.  But in this beginning, let’s realize what goes into a solar installation in Alberta.

Installation Labor Cost

Naturally, this breakdown will vary from job to job, but this should give you a good sense of where your money is going. 

Residential Solar Power Cost 

Solar is typically evaluated in Dollars per Watt ($/W) which provides a fair representation of the value of your investment aka your “bang-for-buck.”  This value is comparable to $/sq ft. in the flooring or painting industries. 

Low $/W = Good.   High $/W = Bad.

Like most things you buy, the economies of scale play a significant role in the cost of solar panels.  This urgency is due to 1) Fixed baseline prices such as permitting and engineering and 2) Connection time. 

Baseline prices are pre-determined, meaning the more solar energy you can stack on top of them, the lower your $/W will be and the better value you will receive for your investment in solar panels. 

Installation time presents a significant role too. There will always be a set amount of fixed installation time for setting up, unloading materials and cleaning up.  The time it takes to install 24 solar panels is approximately equal to the time it takes to install 22 modules which means for the same quantity of fixed/ labor cost you get more power and a lower $/W. 

Just make sure, and promise us here at HahaSmart you will have a look at what we can offer you on the cost of solar panels and cost of solar installations. We will strive to find you the best prices available. Follow the solar experts. Try our price checker tool. It tells you how much solar power you need and how much you can save on your energy bills each month.
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