Originally Posted By: Ors
16.9 Kwh of use per day. I'm not knowledgeable about such things, but I'm guessing that this 20W system, at around $500 would take about 823 years or so (just an estimate) to pay for itself.

Excuse my mediocre math and logic skills here, but if our daily usage was 20Kwh, and a solar panel was generating 20W per day, does that mean the solar is creating 1/1000th of our daily use?



Yes, a 20w panel will produce LESS than 1/1000 of your daily use. A single 60W lightbulb would need 3 20W panels, in full sun, to operate.

Solar is not a "payback" system by any means. Solar is what you use when you decide you'd rather just make your own electric.

You don't start seeing whole-house capable systems - and by whole house, I mean a whole house that uses highly efficient refrigerators, no air conditioning, CFL and LED lighting, no electric stove - until you start spending $15,000 or so.

You can start small. If you have a shed, or a utility area, you can light that with a 20W system and some LED's.

The thing to remember - it's not alternative energy - it's alternative energy sources - as in multiple things at once. We already do this - gas, oil, electric all are energy sources we use, you can still mix 'n match. I heat with wood, but still have an electric hot water heater. So we dropped the oil, but kept the grid-tie electric. And that's OK!

Best of luck.

Have a look at www.homepower.com for a LOT more.