With solar panels, what is the difference between price per watt and the total cost of the panel?
Question by Cameron: With solar panels, what is the difference between price per watt and the total cost of the panel?
When you are purchasing large quantities of photovoltaic solar panels, they are priced as the overall cost, and then a price per watt. What is the difference, and how does the price per watt relate to the overall performance?
Best answer:
Answer by roderick_young
The price per watt is a figure of merit, but is not how the panels are sold, any more than a gallon of gas is sold by how many miles you will be able to drive with it. You buy the gas at a certain price, then how many miles you actually get depends on what car you drive, and other factors.
In the same way, a certain model of panel is sold for an agreed-upon price. Let’s say it’s a 200-watt panel, and sold for 0. If the panel was rated in accordance with established standards, that means the panel will deliver 200 watts under ideal sunlight and temperature (that only happens about an hour a day, if that). So you can calculate that the price was 400/200 = per watt.
If the strong sunlight shines on the panel for 1 hour, then the energy produced is 200 watt-hours. This is where many people get confused. A watt is different from a watt-hour. A watt is a unit of power, like how strong a man is. A watt-hour is a unit of energy, like the work accomplished by that man in 1 hour.
The watt-hours or kilowatt-hours delivered are what light the rooms, run the appliances, or are sold to the power company. Getting those is a matter of having a good geographic location and installation.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
I know if its a 4500 watt system that the cost per watt would be $6. and the cost for the installation would be added to your mortgage (
A solar power system includes, Solar panels + grid inverter + new power meter + installation.
Solar panel cost is not linear as you go up in size of solar panels.
Solar panel efficiency can be worked out by size and power output.
Price per watt does not relate to overall performance.
Total solar panel watts, your location e.g. average kWh/day solar radiation, the aspect of the solar panel and their angle is important. Solar panels should be facing the equator (N or S) and pitched at your latitude angle.
Some of the solar losses include grid inverter efficiency, cable losses, temperature coefficient (power output efficiency falls slightly at higher temperatures) and cleanliness of the solar panel surface.