Is
cheap solar power available? It depends on your definition of “cheap.”
Even though using solar power can be a wise investment, it is an investment
that few people can afford to make.
This is because these systems can costs tens of thousands of dollars
to buy and install. And although it certainly can save a homeowner
money years down the road, most middle-income homeowners simply cannot
afford the initial costs associated with the system.
The typical solar power system that is installed in a home in a place
like California can cost the homeowner between $20-30,000, and that’s
even after the incentives and tax credits kick in. These incentives
usually take care of about 50 percent of the total cost.
The same story holds true for other states like California and Arizona.
Although incentives are in place, many fear that the initial cost
is so much that they wouldn’t be able to afford to keep their
home after these initial costs.
While there are less expensive systems available, they produce less
energy and it will take homeowners even longer to see a return on
investment since the less energy used, the lower the rate is.
However, with the rate of fossil fuel energy consistently rising and
becoming more scarce, there is no guarantee that normal electricity
rates could not skyrocket in the next several years. If this is the
case, those who have installed cheap solar power system will see a
return on their investment sooner.
Because of this potential lack of fossil fuel energy, the federal,
as well as state and local, government bodies have budgeted billions
of dollars to the development of solar energy.
That means that the price for installing a solar energy system could
be much cheaper now than it will be in the future. So, theoretically
speaking, right now may be the best time to start to use cheap solar
power.