Comments on: I want to power my new home I am building on solar power alone what will the cost be roughly?

By: Jonny 5

Jonny 5 — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:56:59 +0000

I had a similar issue and found a great guide to help. You can actually make your own solar power system and do it for a very affordable price. I made my solar system for just under $300.00 but it all depends on how much you really want to power. For this price you can conceivably power all of your household appliances. I highly recommend this guide to check out. http://www.EasyHomeSolarPower.com
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By: Rebtl

Rebtl — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:36:59 +0000

There are lots systems available out there, and the price range is huuuuuge.

I built one solar panel for my house just to see how well it would work and now I am powering a couple of lamps and a TV from it.

Seems to me like you could build enough of these to power your whole house.

It cost me about 200 bucks to build and took most of a Saturday.

Here are the plans I used:

http://energyfromhome.com/link.html
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By: more slack

more slack — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:18:59 +0000

TV, lights and small appliances, yes. Washer, maybe. Dryer, not likely unless it's gas – consider a clothesline. Electric range or oven, no. Hot tub, no unless it's converted to a gas heater.

The raw panels are about $3-8 per watt. So for 6Kw figure about $18k for the panels. The charger/inverter and batteries, figure $2-3k more. Figure about $30k including the installation.

You might also consider a generator. The off-grid houses I've seen tend to have them, even if they have batteries too. Add $3k for that.

Do you have a creek? Consider small-scale hydro too.
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sold and installed hot tubs, specialized in converting them to propane heat for off-grid folks (Mendocino County, CA)