When assessing whether to buy photovoltaic panels or not for your home, there are always few items or factors that you must consider. These are about the cost that you will incur, savings as well as the maintenance works needed for this kind of technology. It is in this light that this article will discuss these basics factors in the following sections.
How Much Photovoltaic Panels Cost?
On the one hand, it is very critical to think about the nominal and initial cost that you need to spend for when planning to install it. In this regard, the price of a typical 3kWp is around £7,700, inclusive of 5% value added tax. This is according to the assessment of the Department of Energy and Climate Change of United Kingdom in May 2012. This cost has significantly decreased already in the past years.
Aside from these, there are also other factors that may dictate the overall cost for installing such system. Some of these aspects are the following:
- Generation electricity – a system that can generate more electricity efficiently usually nominally costs more expensive. However, since they are more efficient, they can offer more savings too in the long run.
- Systems with large capacity are more cost-effective compared to smaller ones. Systems with at least 4kWp are advisable.
- PV tiles are what make the prices vary.
- Roof-mounted panels are more expensive compared to those that can sit on top.
How Much Will You Save from Using this System?
On the other hand, a typical system of photovoltaic panels can actually generate electricity of more than 2,500 kilowatt hours a year. What this means is that it may already be enough to supply for around 75% of the energy consumption of a typical household. In other words, this also means that a household with this kind of system will only pay 25% of what they are spending for their bills on conventional electricity consumption.
Moreover, the reduction on carbon emission shall also be taken into consideration when it comes to accounting for the savings from this system. This is because a household can benefit from the Feed in Tariff scheme provided by the UK government.
Required Maintenance of PV Panels
Regular cleaning of the photovoltaic panels is a necessary part of its maintenance. This is in order to sustain its best performance in generating electricity for your house. According to some studies, hiring someone to clean it may cost around $30.
This article was written by Enviko.