Home Solar Systems : Home Solar Panel Kits : Home Solar Kits

As you search for the Best Home Solar Panel Kits and Home Solar Panels ; you will realize there are so many variations :

Home Solar System Kits, Home Solar Powered Systems, Small Solar Powered Systems, Solar Powered Kits etc.

Different Types of Home Solar Panel Kits & Systems and Home Solar Panels

Lets begin the journey into the world of Home Solar Panel Kits and Systems and Home Solar Kits by understanding the various flavors of Solar Powered Systems and Kits. The links on the table on the right might also be worth exploring.

Home Solar Panel Kits and Systems are typically installed on Roofs. They are sometimes installed on the ground in your yard and are called Ground Mount Home Solar Systems.

Home Solar Kits as well as most Home Solar Panel Systems  tend to be expensive to buy starting at about $12,000 for a small 3KW system and going up all the way to a 100K for a 30KW System.

Home Solar Panel Kit – Incentives

Fortunately, incentives, a tax credit, financing and different offerings like Solar Leases etc have made Home Solar Panel Kits very affordable.

Home Solar Panel Kits qualify for a tax credit of 30%.  This incentive for your home solar panel kit systems will slowly be reduced from 2020 to 10% by 2022.

In addition many states have incentives such as Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC’s) which can earn additional income from your home solar panel kit.

You can check if your home is a viable candidate for a Home Solar Panel Kit by ordering this FREE Solar Viability Report.

And there is more your can read about the various financing options here. This article explores the technical aspects of Home Solar Panel Kits and Systems and Solar Powered Kits for Homes.

Home Solar Panel Kit -Basics

So, what exactly is a Home Solar Panel Kit? Home Solar Panels Kits  are powered by Solar Panels with output watt rating of 150 watts or more per panel.

Home Solar Panel Kit panel sizes span from 150 watts all the way upto 350 watts as of today. Most Home Solar Panel Kit Systems will have Home Solar Panels between 250 watts and 320 watts. The smaller Home Solar Panels are lower efficiency and thus not used as much.

The larger that 320 watt Home Solar Panels are manufactured by suppliers like SunPower and Panasonic. They tend to be top of line and very expensive. Usually best left alone.

Home Solar Panels in the range of 280 watts to 300 watts are the workhorses. They are simply the best value for money and are available from super premium manufacturers like LG, Hyundai, Hanwa, Boviet, Silfab etc.

Home Solar Panel Kits are powered by Solar Panels they are typically 60 cell solar panels with a median size of 65 inches by 39 inches. There are larger 72 cell solar panels which are best used in larger industrial and commercial installs. For the more technically oriented, the Energy Sage website is a good resource.

Home Solar Panel Kit and your Roof

Roof Installed Home Solar Panel Kits are relatively light as their weight is distributed across the roof surface. Typical loads of Home Solar Panels are less than the weight of a 5 year old walking on our roof.

So don’t worry about Roof and Roof Leaks when thinking about going Solar.  Home Solar Systems are always professionally installed by reputable National and Local Home Solar System installers and these systems will never cause a Roof Leak.

Most Installers will provide you with a Guarantee against Roof Leaks as a matter of course.

Smaller Solar Panels tend to be used in Solar Powered Kits and are discussed later in this article.

Home Solar Panel Kit Installation

Home Solar Panel Kit Systems are installations of Home Solar Panels on the roof or ground usually in Single Family Homes.

Home Solar Panel Kit Systems are professionally installed and need permits from the State, the Township and are usually installed by National Players like Tesla, Vivint, SunRun or by competent Local Home Solar System Installers.

Home Solar Panel Kit System sizes usually vary from a small 3KW Home Solar System going upto a 50KW monster Home Solar System. The 3KW or the 50KW refer to the size of the Home Solar System which is determined by the number of Home Solar Panels.

For example if your Home Solar Panel Kit System is built using 250 watt Home Solar Panels and if you have 12 such panels installed on your roof, then your Home Solar Panel Kit System size is 250 watts  x 12 Home Solar Panels = 3000 watts or a 3 KW Solar System.

A 40 panels, Home Solar Pnael Kit System with 300 watt LG Home Solar System is therefore : 40 Home Solar Panels x 300 watts = 12,000 watts or a 12 KW Solar System.

If you are curious about how many Home Solar Panels you could potentially fit on your roof, you might like this FREE Home Solar System Viability Report we offer at MySolarhome.us.

Home Solar Panel Kit Power Production

The power produced by your Home Solar Panel Kit System and the Home Solar Panels is different from the size of your Home Solar System.

For example the 3KW Home Solar Panel Kit System we looked at earlier might produce anywhere from 2500 kwh to 4500 kwh of power in a year depending on the location and the amount of solar access available. For example if you are in Texas the panels will get far more solar energy and thus produce closer to 4500 kwh of power a year.

On the other hand if your panels are in Alaska or if they are heavily shaded by trees around your home they might produce far less.

For example a 10KW Home Solar Panel Kit System is New Jersey is likely to produce about 12,000 kwh of power, whereas the same system in California might produce 15,000 kwh of power.

And to add further complexity to the equation, if your roof direction is not optimum, the same 10KW Home Solar System in New Jersey could end up producing 10,500 kwh of power. Factors like Trees and Shade also determine Home Solar System Production.

The Home Solar System Viability Report will give you an excellent approximation of how much power you could expect to generate from your Home Solar Panels.

Home Solar Panel Kit  System Components

The main components of a Home Solar Panel Kit System are :

A) Home Solar Panels : which we talked about earlier in this article.

B) Micro Inverters or Optimizers :  Home Solar Panels produce DC power. The most popular solutions for converting the DC output to AC for Home Solar Systems are Enphase MicroInverers and Solar Edge Optimizers.

Enphase MicroInverters are my preferred DC to AC conversion tool.  Each Solar Panel is connected to a microinverter and thus starts to produce AC power on our Roof. This is great because DC power flowing to wires is risky and I would always prefer AC power to run from my roof to my home.

This is also a future proof solution because Micro Inverters are very Home Solar Panel friendly. They work with a wide range of panels.  Replacement of Panels is easy and you can mix and match Home Solar Panels ( for example if sometime in the future your old panel manufacturer turns belly up) with other panels.

Solar Optimizers on the other hand are equally efficient as Micro Inverters, but they output DC power . This DC power then will come down from your roof to another Central Inverter which is installed on your wall.

Many Installers prefer Optimizers as they are slightly cheaper and are equally efficient in terms of output as compared to MicroInverters. However, Solar Optimizers are not as flexible and Home Solar Panel friendly as the Micro Inverters.

C) Balance of System (BOS) : This comprises of the Racking System which comes from companies like Snap n Rack, Unirac, Everest etc. In my opinion, it really does not matter what Racking system you use, they are all very good.

Looks and aesthetics are something you might want to consider.  The Racking System is usually attached to the Roof with specialized mounting hardware such as PV Quick Mount.

These are designed to withstand great damage and will never allow Roof leaks when properly installed.

D) Installation Team :  This is actually not a part of the Home Solar System per se, but I wanted to make sure you as a buyer pay close attention.

A certified Electrician with Solar experience must be a part of the Installation Team. Its important that the Install Team has good long experience and talking to a couple of references is always a good idea.

Don’t forget to discuss any hidden costs like Permits,  Trenching or Conduits Related Costs etc.

Small Home Solar Panel Kit Systems or Small Solar Panels for Homes

Small Solar Systems for Homes usually refers to Home Solar Systems which are less than 3KW in size. They are normally built using smaller solar panel sizes starting from 5 watt panels going up to 100 or 150 watts Solar Panels.

These small Home Solar Systems are used as power backups while going camping or going to your holiday cottage in the wild beyond. They are typically used with Batteries and are covered in great detail in the next section on Solar Power Kits.

Solar Power Kits for Homes

Solar Power Kits for Homes are a special category of solar power kits that are designed for the specific purpose of providing AC and DC power to a home. Solar Power kits for homes can range from the the smaller kits designed to power up a small cabin or RV to full size units that can power up a large single family home.

The size and type of kit you decide will depend on how much power you need and if you need to be connected to the grid. The decision to be grid connected or off grid usually depends on location and your preference.

If you are out in the wilderness, you will not be able to get grid connectivity and you will need a solar power kit which has a battery bank. If you are planning to use the solar power kit in your home where you already have electricity, it might be a good idea to look at a solar power kit which has grid connectivity option.

Solar Power Kits for Home & Batteries

Such solar power kits don’t require battery banks, in fact there will be no batteries, the grid will act like your battery storing power and providing back up power as and when you need it. Its important to know that such grid connected solar power kits for homes wont work when there is a power outage and the grid is down.

And if you are wondering, yes, all Home Solar Systems that you see today with Home Solar Panels going up on roofs, are custom built Solar Power Kits for homes with grid connectivity. Large companies like Tesla and local Home Solar System Installers design, get permits and install these solar systems on your roof.

These custom designed solar power kits for homes are usually available with zero down payment and a monthly payment for solar generated electricity. The price of solar electricity is 30 to 40% lower than the utility charges.

This is an attractive option if you are not a DIY person and also if you want a professionally installed solar system. The zero down and low monthly costs are attractive and worth looking into.

Various Solar Financing options are discussed in  detail  in this article.

What are “Solar Power Kits for Home”?

The solar power kits for homes are a collection of solar panels, batteries, a charge controller and an inverter all working together to provide AC and DC power to a home. There are two types of solar power kits for homes.

The off grid solar power kits for homes which are not connected to the grid/utility company and the second type are the grid connected solar power kits for homes.  Both the grid connected and off grid solar power kits for homes generate power using solar panels. These solar panels or solar modules in these kits captures the energy from the sun and convert that energy into electricity in the form of DC (direct current).

Solar Power Kits for Home – a peek inside

In the case of off grid solar power kits for homes , this power is used to charge a battery bank. Battery bank’s require to be charged in a manner that prevents over charging of the batteries and also prevents the batteries from being drained below a certain level.

The charging of the battery bank is controlled by a charge controller. These batteries serve as the primary source of power for the home. The DC power from the batteries can be used directly on certain types of lights, communication equipment and all kinds of electronic gizmos like your smart phone, laptop, Gopro camera or tablet.

However, Household items like a refrigerators, regular lamps and lights and heaters require AC power. This is where the Inverter of the solar power kit comes into play. The inverter converts the DC power of the battery into constant usable AC power.

Solar Power Kits for Home – Inverter

Thus, Inverters are in integral part of any Home Solar System or Home Solar Power Kit.  Inverters are of two types – modified sine wave and pure sine wave inverters. The smaller solar power kits for homes may be paired with the modified sine wave inverters. Modified sine wave inverters work well with AC loads like lights and fans, but may not work well with electronic and audio equipment, either producing a hum or sometimes not even running on the output produced by this type of inverter.

This is because the AC output is slightly distorted.  The pure sine wave inverters on the other hand produce pure AC output which is good for all AC devices.

Inverters for Cars and Trucks are extremely useful gadgets to have in your car or truck. Check them out here.

Home Solar System / Home Solar Power Kit Setup

SET UP of Solar Power Kits for Homes  – Please be very careful when you connect your home solar panels to your charge controller and the charge controller to your battery bank and your battery bank to the inverter.  If you connect the positive and negative terminals incorrectly you will likely damage your solar panels as well as the charge controller and inverter. Be very careful and follow the kit manufacturers instructions. Here are some general guidelines.

Start with the solar charge controller – connect its positive and negative output terminals to the positive and negative terminals of the battery bank using the AWG tray cable.

Next step : Connect the inverter to the battery bank with care to match the positive and negative terminals. If your kit does not include an inverter, connect to the load i.e. the device or devicess you plan to charge using the batteries.

Finally make sure the solar panels are covered or are not exposed to direct sunlight so that they are not generating power.  Now, connect the  MC4 Adaptor kit to the solar panels. Then carefully connect the positive and negative ends of the adaptor kit to the solar charger controller’s positive and negative input connection terminals.

Solar Power Kits for Home – Grid Connected

In the case of grid connected solar power kits for homes the Home Solar Panels are connected directly to the inverter. There are no batteries. The DC power from the solar panels goes to the inverter and is converted into AC current. The AC current is now fed into the main panel of the home.

The solar panels act as a second source of AC power into your home. The primary source of power is the utility company. The solar panels produce power during the day when the sun is shining and this powers the home during the day. In fact solar panels will produce extra power during the day which is fed back into the grid.

In the case of grid connected Home solar systems, the electric meter is replaced by an new bi-directional electric meter which keeps track of how much power the solar system is giving back to the grid. The power that is given or banked with the grid is then available for use during the night or during cloudy days when the solar panels don’t make enough power for the home.

Off Grid Solar Power Kits for Homes 

Starting with the lowest solar powered kits for homes and going up to the power ladder.

Renogy 50 Watt 12 Volt Polycrystalline Home Solar Power Kit

Price from Amazon : $78.73
See on Amazon

WHAT can this Home Solar Power Kit power?

This Renogy starter solar kit comes with only 1 Renogy 50W Solar Module, a 10A PWM Charge Controller, a 20 feet 12AWG MC4 Adaptor Kit,  8 feet 12AWG Tray Cable, and a set of Z-brackets for mounting. Just the starter kit will not be enough; you will have to invest in one 12V car battery. A standard 12V 50 AH or higher AGM battery will do very nicely.

With the battery and single solar panels you now have a solar panel kit which will be able to provide a days power for the following items in your home :

1     5W LED lamps
1     Smart Phone
1     Tablet
1     Laptop

This off grid solar power kit for your home only produces DC current.  It produces enough power to keep the 12V battery fully charged every day after a full days use of the items mentioned above. This is the smallest possible solar panel kit for a home. It produces about 50W of power at 2.9 Amps.  This is enough to for a few cabin lights, a VHF radio and a GPS terminals. Perhaps a small DC fan as well.  Start your solar adventure with this Renogy Starter Kit.

The list of appliances or devices is suggested  based on a daily power usage of 125 Wh. 

And here is a link to this Home Solar Kit on Amazon.

Renogy 100 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Home Solar Power Kit

Price from Amazon :$139.99
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WHAT can this solar power kit for your home power  ?

This is Renogy’s next level starter solar kit. This one comes with a larger solar module a 100W Solar Module, a 30A PWM Wanderer Charge Controller, a 20 feet 12AWG MC4 Adaptor Kit,  8 feet 12AWG Tray Cable, and a set of Z-brackets for mounting.  Once again just the starter kit will not be enough; you will have to invest in two 12V car battery for this kit. Two standard 12V 50 AH or higher AGM battery will do very nicely or you could go for one 12V 100 AH AGM battery as well.

With the two batteries and the larger solar panels you now have a solar panel kit which will be able to provide a days power for the following items in your home :

3     5W LED lamps
1     Smart Phone
1     Tablet
1     Laptop
1     Small 50W Refrigerator

This off grid solar power kit for your home only produces DC current.  It produces enough power to keep both the 12V batteries fully charged every day after a full days use of the items mentioned above. This solar module will produce about 100W of power at 5 Amps.  With your batteries output you will have some extra power to add a few items to the basic lighting and communication devices in the home.

The list of appliances or devices is suggested  based on a daily power usage of 575 Wh. 

And here is a link to this Home Solar Kit on Amazon.

WindyNation 100 Watt Solar Home Solar Power Kit

Price from Amazon :$155.02
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WHAT can this “solar power kits for homes” power  ?

The Windy Nation 100 Watt Solar Charging Kit is almost the same specifications as the Renogy 100W kit. This unit also comes with a larger 100 W solar module, a 30A Solar Charge Controller with LCD display, 40 feet 12AWG wires with MC4 connectors and mounting hardware.  Like the other smaller kits; you will need to buy either two 12V standard  50 AH car batteries or one 12V 100 AH AGM battery in addition to the kit.

Again this unit with the two batteries and the larger solar panels  will be able to provide a days power for the following items in your home :

3     5W LED lamps
1     Smart Phone
1     Tablet
1     Laptop
1     Small 50W Refrigerator

This off grid solar power kit only produces DC current.  It produces enough power to keep both the 12V batteries fully charged every day after a full days use of the items mentioned above. This solar module will produce about 100W of power at 5 Amps.  With your batteries output you will have some extra power to add a few items to the basic lighting and communication devices in the home.

The list of appliances or devices is suggested  based on a daily power usage of 575 Wh. 

And here is a link to this Home Solar Kit on Amazon.

Renogy 200 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Home Solar System Starter Kit

Price from Amazon :$271.14
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WHAT can this Solar power kit for a home power ?

The Renogy 200 Watt Solar Charging Kit comes with two solar 100 W solar panels. The two larger 100 W solar modules require the 30A PWM Wanderer Solar Charge Controller. The other items in the kit are a 20ft 10AWG MC4 Adaptor Kit, an 8ft 10AWG Tray Cable, and a set of Z-brackets.  This kit is capable of producing more power and you will need to buy two 12V standard  100 AH car batteries and not the smaller 50AH variety of batteries.

This 200W unit with the two batteries and the two solar panels  will be able to provide a days power for the following items in your home :

7     15W LED lamps
2     Smart Phone
2     Tablet
2     Laptop
1     Small 50W Refrigerator

Once again this off grid solar power kit only produces DC current.  It produces enough power to keep both the 12V batteries fully charged every day after a full days use of the items mentioned above. This solar module will produce about 200W of power at 18.9V and  10.6 Amps of steady current in full sunlight.  With your batteries output you will have some enough power to run a small home comfortably.

You could even consider investing in a small inverter to convert the DC output of the solar panels into AC output for your home.  A good choice would be the modified sine wave ERAYAK 1000W Power Inverter which has  3 110V AC  outlets and two 3.1A USB outlets. This unit can be directly connected to your  battery.  And now you are ready to run more powerful AC equipment like power tools, kitchen appliances, TVs, radio, computer, blender etc.

The list of appliances or devices is suggested  based on a daily power usage of 1175 Wh. 

And here is a link to this Home Solar Kit on Amazon.

Renogy 400 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Home Solar System Starter Kit with Wanderer

Price from Amazon :$516.45
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WHAT can this “solar power kits for homes”power in your home ?

With its four 100W solar modules, this solar panel kit can be considered  to be the first  solar panel kit to take a small  home completely off grid.   The kits with less power are really for emergency back up use or as starter kits for an RV or small cabin not for a proper home.  The Renogy 400 Watt Solar Charging Kit has a 30A PWM Wanderer Solar Charge Controller. The other items in the kit are a 20ft 10AWG MC4 Adaptor Kit, an 8ft 10AWG Tray Cable, and a set of Z-brackets.  This kit is capable of producing more power and you will need to buy four 12V standard  100 AH car batteries and not the smaller 50AH variety of batteries.

This 400W unit with the four batteries and the four solar panels  will be able to provide a days power for the following items in your home :

7     15W LED lamps
2     Smart Phone
2     Tablet
2     Laptop
1     Regular 200W Refrigerator

Once again this off grid solar power kit only produces DC current.  It produces enough power to keep all 4 12V batteries fully charged every day after a full days use of the items mentioned above. This solar module will produce about 400W of max power at 18.9V and  21.2 Amps of steady current in full sunlight.  With your batteries output you will have some enough power to run a small home comfortably.

As a solar panel kit with significant output, an inverter is mandatory. Only then would you be able to take advantage of the enhanced output. In the “what will it power?” section we have added the refrigerator which is likely to run on AC, hence the inverter is certainly desirable with this solar panel kit.  In the previous kit we covered the modified sine wave ERAYAK 1000W Power Inverter. For this kit we would suggest the pure Sine Wave Inverter the MicroSolar – 12V 2000W (Peak 4000W) Inverter.

This unit connects to your battery bank and in addition to the refrigerator you can even run other AC equipment like power tools, kitchen appliances, TVs, radio, computer, blender etc. Make sure you run the AC appliances singly or if you have two running at a time, their power requirement should not exceed the steady wattage output of the solar panel kit.

The list of appliances or devices is suggested  based on a daily power usage of 2375 Wh. 

And here is a link to this Home Solar Kit on Amazon.

WindyNation Complete 400 Watt Home Solar System with 1500 Watt VertaMax Power Inverter

Price from Amazon :$759.98
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WHAT can this power in your home ?

This Windy Nation 400W  Home Solar System kit with four 100W solar modules is equivalent to the Renogy 400W kit with one big difference. The Windy Nation kit has the inverter as part of the kit.  This is definitely a plus as the inverter is matched to the solar panel kit and you are ready to produce both DC and AC output from the get go.

This kit comes with four 100 Watt Polycrystalline Solar Panels. The VertaMax inverter generates 1500W of power at 120V  AC.  The output is not pure sine wave AC and may not 1500W VertaMax 12VDC to 120AC Modified Sine Wave Power Inverter with inverter cables , 30-Amp P30L Solar Charge Controller, 40 ft of UL Listed 12 AWG Solar Cable, all necessary MC4 Connectors for wiring, and all the necessary mounting hardware. This kit is capable of producing more power and you will need to buy four 12V standard  100 AH car batteries and not the smaller 50AH variety of batteries.

This 400W unit with the four batteries and the four solar panels  will be able to provide a days power for the following items in your home :

7     15W LED lamps
2     Smart Phone
2     Tablet
2     Laptop
1     Regular 200W Refrigerator

Its 4 panels are able to generate an average  of 1600 Watt Hours (Wh) or 135 Amp hours of charge per day under good conditions of sunlight.  Its able to provide surge wattage of about 3000 W. With your batteries output you will have some enough power not only to run your boat, RV but even a small home quite comfortably.

For this kit we would suggest the pure Sine Wave Inverter the MicroSolar – 12V 2000W (Peak 4000W) Inverter.

This unit connects to your battery bank and in addition to the refrigerator you can even run other AC equipment like power tools, kitchen appliances, TVs, radio, computer, blender etc. Make sure you run the AC appliances singly or if you have two running at a time, their power requirement should not exceed the steady wattage output of the solar panel kit.

The list of appliances or devices is suggested  based on a daily power usage of 2375 Wh. 

And here is a link to this Home Solar Kit on Amazon.

Eco-Worthy 1000W Off Grid Home Solar System

Price from Amazon :Price not available
See on Amazon

WHAT can  this Home Solar System power in your home ?

The EcoWorthy 1000 W Home solar System Kit is a full sized home solar panel kit that is good to power a small home and keep it off grid. The kit comes with 6 large solar panels, each with a size of  approximately 57 by 26 inches. The individual solar panels or solar modules are rated at 160 W each and can produce about 4.5 Kwh daily under good conditions of sunlight.  You will have to have the panels installed on the roof of your home or cabin. Another option is to have them installed on the ground but that requires additional materials and will need professional oversight.

This kit is capable of producing serious power and you will need to buy five 24V standard  100 AH AGM batteries. It can handle lighting, fan cooling and even heating for a small home. This 1000W with its six 160W solar panels will be able to provide a days power for the following items in your home :

8     25W LED lamps
2     Smart Phone
2     Tablet
2     Laptop
1     Regular 200W Refrigerator
1     1200W Heater

This is a higher powered solar panel kit and it requires a larger inverter. Solar power kits for homes with high power need a more power full inverter. Our suggested inverter is the Solar Epic 1000W grid tied inverter which produces pure sine wave output.

This unit connects to your battery bank and in addition to the refrigerator you can even run other AC equipment like power tools, kitchen appliances, TVs, radio, computer, blender etc. With its high power output you should be able to simultaneously run most of your appliances.

It is important to follow the  correct connection order: FIRST connect your 24 volts battery pack (not part of this kit – you will have to buy them separately) to the 45A charge controller, then connect controller to load (if there is no load, go on to the next step), lastly connect controller to the solar panels or the PV (Solar) array.

Make sure you connect the The 45A charge controller correctly. It has 3 pairs of 2 terminals: Solar, Battery and Load. The battery connects to the Battery terminals, the DC loads to the Load terminals, and Solar Panels array to the Solar terminals.

The list of appliances or devices is suggested  based on a daily power usage of 2375 Wh. 

And here is a link to this Home Solar Kit on Amazon.

Grid Connected Solar Power Kits for Homes 

Now for the solar power kits for homes which are directly grid connected. Grid connected solar panel kits are much larger and have no battery banks as part of the kit.  Standard off the shelf grid tied kits are not commonly available. You will have to work with a local solar installer to get a grid tied kit. To get these solar panel kits operational, you will need to interconnect to the grid and also obtain necessary town permits. Finally the solar panel will be inspected and passed by state and town inspectors.

Eco-Worthy 1200W Grid Tie Home Solar Panel Kit System

Price from Amazon :Price not available
See on Amazon

This is Eco-Worthy’s large 1200 Watt Home Solar System Kit. Unlike all the kits described till now – this one is GRID TIED. The kit comes with 8 large solar panels, each with a size of  approximately 57 by 26 inches. The individual solar panels or solar modules are rated at 160 W each and can produce about 6 Kwh daily under good conditions of sunlight.  You will have to have the panels installed on the roof of your home or cabin. Another option is to have them installed on the ground but that requires additional materials and will need professional oversight.

The panels come with a 25 year transferable power output warranty. They are rated to produce 95% output in the firt 5 years, 90% in years 5 to 10 and 80% by the 25th year. Each solar panel comes with 1 pair of 35 inches cables with MC4 Male/Female connectors for quickly setting up.

The kit also includes a central inverter rated at 1200W which converts the 24V DC output of the panels to 110V AC. This MPPT Function Waterproof Grid-Tie Micro Power Inverter protects the system from overload, low voltage, over voltage, over current, reverse polarity and generates pure sine wave output.

IMPORTANT : Most Solar Power Kits for Homes are not grid tied – This Home Solar System kit is  grid-tied unit and is thus a traditional Home Solar System.  You will need to be connected to the grid for this Solar panel kit to work.

In most towns in the United States you would need to get a permit from the township as well as a permission to operate from your utility company.  A professional electrician with solar experience might be your best bet to have this installed and permitted.

PRIMER Home Solar Panel Kit Systems

So, your neighbor has gone solar. He says he’s got a great deal ….. Saving a boatload of money.

Should you go solar? What exactly does going Solar entail?

Let’s get real about Solar Systems. FIRST …. There is no FREE Solar. That is marketing junk.

There are 2 ways of going Solar – Lease or Purchase – just like buying a car. You might have heard other terms like PPA, Solar Loan ….. They are all flavors of either Lease or Purchase.

First let’s look at the Lease. If you want to read about Purchase, you can skip this and go direct to the Purchase section.

Solar Lease aka Lease, Solar PPA , Power Purchase Agreement

Lease – The Solar System will be installed on your Roof or in your backyard. There are no upfront Costs. However, you are locked into a Lease for 20 years. You have fixed or escalating monthly payments to make for the next 20 years.

You don’t own the Solar System. It is usually owned by a Solar Company like Sunnova or Tesla or SunRun or Vivint.

You pay the Solar Company a Lease Rental every month – your Lease Payment. For 20 years.

All Solar Releated incentives , like Federal Tax Credit or State incentives like Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC’s) etc. all belong to the Solar company.

So where am I saving ? What the heck is that great deal my neighbor talks about?

Savings when you Lease a Solar System

Ok, when you get your new Leased Solar System installed, your existing Electric Bill magically goes away. Assuming the Solar Company designed and installed a correctly sized Solar System – your Electric Bill after Solar should be $10 or less per month.

Thats a huge saving. If your bill was $200 a month, it’s now down to $10 a month. You are saving a whopping $2280 a year. Whoooopeeee….

But Wait ! Its a Solar Lease remember. You now have a new Lease Bill from the Solar company. If your original electric bill was $200, after Solar your new Lease bill will range from $90 to $120 depending on where you stay and your Solar company.

So you are really going down from $200 to best case $10 on your electric bill. But you have a new $90 bill for the Solar Lease. So you are saving $100 a month, or $1200 a year.

So it’s a pretty good deal. That’s what your neighbor was crowing about. With no initial investment or out of pocket, he cut his monthly electric costs by anywhere between 20% to 50%.

What to watch out for in a Solar Lease?

How much are you actually going to save. Get a committed number from the Solar Installer. How much will you reduce your costs. Will you go down from $200 to $100 or will you go down to $160.

If you are only paying $100 a month for electricity – the Lease may not look all that attractive. You might end up reducing your electric costs from $100 to $80.

Is it worth your while to lock yourself into a 20 year lease for just $20 bucks of saving. Perhaps not.

And make sure your lease payments are fixed. If they are escalating, you are going to regret going solar very soon. The lease payments will be up in the stratosphere after 7 or 8 years. You will have no savings, in fact you might actually be losing money in the future.

So say NO if you hear escalating payments. FIXED Lease payments are GOOD. Savings of 30% or more are GOOD, negotiate hard to get 40% OFF.

The Solar companies need your business – if you promise to sign up, they bend over backwards. So if you are thinking Lease AIM for 40% off your electric bill. And FIXED lease payments.

Finally and this is very IMPORTANT. You solar system must be correctly sized. Many Solar companies will promise to reduce your bills by 40% but they install a smaller Solar System and you end up saving much less.

Make sure you understand how much power your solar system is supposed to produce. Unless it produces at least 95% or more than your usage in kwh you will not see SAVINGS.

You can read more about Solar System Sizing here.

Purchase – Cash Purchase or Loan Purchase

As in the world of buying a car, you can buy a Solar System outright by paying a cash price right upfront.

Or you could take a loan and pay off your purchase over the next 5, 10, 15 or 20 years by making a monthly payment toward the loan.

There are two BIG ADVANTAGES of buying a Solar System.

The Federal Govt. will give you back 30% of the cost of your system as a GUARANTEED Tax Refund. The only exception is if you don’t pay Federal Income Taxes. Then you get nothing back.

You will be able to claim any STATE Solar related incentives being offered in your location. For example in New Jersey, all Solar owners get income from selling Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC’s).

CASH PURCHASE

Cash is King – You will get the best prices when you are willing to buy the solar system right up front by paying in cash.

Read my thoughts on what is a good price to pay if you are buying a solar system in cash right here.

LOAN

Loan – The price you pay for your Solar System when you take a loan is usually slightly higher as the Bank’s take a slice. So expect prices to be 5 to 10% higher when you are taking a Loan.

That, does not include the interest cost you will have to pay. So the base price itself of your Solar System will be higher and you will have to pay interest on the Loan.

Tip – Sometimes the Solar Companies take a hit and give you the same price while doing Cash or Loan.

So no harm in negotiating hard for a cash price and then asking for a loan. They might not be able to do the same price, but no harm in asking.

Savings when you Purchase a HOME Solar PANEL KIT System

Cash Purchase – Let’s go back to my earlier example. Your average electric bill per month is $200 and you are looking to go for a cash purchase.

First, how much power am I using in kwh. Read more on how you can find out your power consumption here.

In New Jersey, a $200 a month average electric bill usually translates to an average consumption per month of about 1000 kwh or 12,000 kwh a year.

Sizing a HOME Solar PANEL KIT System

That means you will need to buy a 10KW solar system.

Why 10KW? Because in New Jersey a 10KW solar system is likely to produce about 12,000 kwh of power in a year – so that exactly matches your consumption to the solar systems production.

If you were in California, the calculation is different. You have more sun, you would need a smaller solar system. An 8KW Solar System will produce 12,000 kwh in California.

There is a lot more to sizing your solar system.

Okay back to Jersey. You have a $200 electric bill. You have to buy a 10KW solar system.

Your solar system’s cash price is $29,000 ( Read more about this calculation here)

When you file your taxes, you will get a guaranteed TAX REFUND of 30% of your Solar systems cost.

So you will get back a check for $29,000 x 30% = $8,700 from Uncle Sam.

Your NET out of pocket is $ 29,000 – $ 8700 = $ 20,300

Now, New Jersey has a state incentive program called (SREC’s) Solar Renewable Energy Certificates. The amount you earn from this State Incentive depends on the size of your Solar System and the amount of power it produces.

On average a 10KW system in New Jersey will earn about $2400 a year in SREC income.

In addition the $200 a month electric bill will go down to about $10 per month.

So the total yearly savings for the New Jersey homeowner is :

Yearly Savings from reducing Electric Costs $ 2280
Earnings from SREC every year $ 2400

TOTAL Annual Savings $ 4,680

IN SUMMARY

Net System Cost $ 20,300
Savings from Solar every year $ 4,680

Time in years for homeowner to recoup his initial investment 20,300 / 4680 = 4.33 years

This is quite typical in New Jersey. If you buy your solar system, you will get your money back in about 4 to 5 years.

After that you will still continue to earn from SREC’s and still continue to save on Electric costs. So its an excellent excellent decision to go solar in New Jersey by buying your system outright in cash.

The payback periods will differ in different states. The amount you save on electric and the amount your state offers in incentives will determine the payback period.

In my opinion any payback of less than 8 years is a great investment.

Savings when you buy using a Loan

When you buy your solar system by borrowing money, you have a monthly loan repayment cost.

In states like New Jersey the loan repayment cost every month can be offset by the SREC earnings.

For example in the 10KW home solar panel kit system purchase we looked at earlier – the numbers might look like this.

Let’s say we negotiated really hard and the Solar Installer sells you the System at the same price as the earlier Cash buyer

Solar System Price $ 29,000
Less 30% Tax Credit
Net Solar System Cost $ 20,300

Assuming the homeowner takes a loan for 10 years at 5% Interest (Loan Calculator)

Monthly Loan Payment $ 215

Monthly Earning from SREC’s $ 200 *

Monthly Electric Bill After Solar $ 10

Net MONTHLY COST $ 25 a month

*** Srec Earnings are volatile and market dependent. They could go up and down. This is an estimate based on current market prices as on the date of writing this article ( Feb 2018)

How much should you pay for a Home Solar Panel Kit System if you are paying in cash?

As of my writing this primer (February 2018) a good price point is about $2.9 per watt for a solar system using premium panels like LG, Silfab, Boviet, Canadian Solar, Jinko, Trina, Yingli, Hanwha or SunPower.

There is some variation across the different states. But, it should not be more than 10 to 15% higher than $2.9 per watt.

What? What the hell is $2.9 per watt?

Ok so your solar system has a System Size. That usually is something like 7.2KW or 4.5KW or 20.6KW.

Ask your Solar vendor – what is my system size. System size is always a number followed by either KW or W.

A 10 KW system is the same as a 10,000 W (att) system. Everybody refers to system size in KW. So you are likely to hear a number like 5KW or 8.4KW etc.

So what price is good for a 8.4KW system. Easy, if your price is less than 8400 x $2.9 = $24,360, you are in good shape.

Another example – if your system size is 5 KW, your price should be 5000 x $2.9 = $14,500 or lower.

Home Solar Panel Kits – FAQ

Is going Solar a viable financial decision, will I really save money?

If you are paying 12 cents or more for each Kilo Watt Hour (kwh) of electricity you consume, then BUYING a Solar System is a great investment and you will recover your money back in 6 to 10 years. See an example here.

What if I dont have the money to buy a Solar System, Am I out of luck?

Not to worry, if you don’t plan on buying there are other options like the Lease or PPA which required no out of pocket and you will end up saving some money every month. Read more right here.

I have bad credit. Will I qualify for Solar?

As of the date of writing this article ( February 2018) a credit score of 650 or more should be good enough to get you qualified for a Solar Lease or Solar Purchase Program.

How much will Solar Save me?

You can expect to save anywhere from between 20% to 90% on your monthly electric bill depending on the type of Solar product or program you go for. For an in depth look, read here.

Is the Lease better than Purchase?

On a pure financial basis the Purchase is better as you get your money back and after recovering your initial investment in 5 to 10 years, you can enjoy free power thereafter and you might even earn from local state incentives.

However, if you dont have a large chunk of change to buy Solar or if you cant get a loan at a good interest rate, then the Solar Lease or PPA is a very attractise option.

You can easily save upto 40% on Electric costs with the Solar Lease.

However, it is a long term contract – usually 20 years. So if you sell your home, the new homeowner will have to take over your lease payments. That usually is not a problem.

I am a Renter can I go Solar ?

Sorry, but only Homeowners can go solar as of today. But, things are changing fast and we might have a product for you sometime in the near future.

I live in a Condo, can I go Solar?

At present Solar is only viable for Single Family Homes. Some Townhomes allow solar, but some communities don’t. So if you live in a Townhome, you will have to check with your association.

I have a lot of Trees, can I go Solar?

Solar really needs a full day of sunlight to be economical. Even if you have a little shade, say with just one big tree, solar may not be feasible.

If you have a lot of trees, you will not be able to go solar, unless you cut those trees down. ( I hate that)

How do I know if my Roof is good for Solar ?

Your solar company should be able to tell you. Alternatively, we have an free service which would provide a complete report on solar viability for your home.

So, how much will Solar actually save you?

First we need to find out how much we pay for Electricity….

How much are you really paying for electricity

It might not be what you think …. Power companies have made it an art to disguise their charges and making consumers think they pay a really low rate like 9 cents or less.

You really need to look at your electric bill with a fine tooth comb to find out how much you actually pay …. Ok if you are familiar with this and you want to head straight to the savings section, click here.

Pick a recent electric bill. There will be a total amount that you paid for electricity for the month. Write that down … Make sure the total amount is for Electricity only.

Some utility companies bill you for Gas as well as Electric, for e.g. PSEG in New Jersey sells gas and electric to homeowners. Make sure you are looking at the amount you paid for electricity and not for Gas.

Next you need to find out your electric consumption. Just like you use say 70 gallons of gas in a month, you could use say 2000 kwh of electricity in a month.

Usage can vary wildly depending on the size of the home and the month …. Use a lot more when you run your AC’s in the summer …. Or use a lot during winter if your heating is electric … small home … big home…. Insulation …. No of people .. so many factors which affect consumption.

The usage or consumption could vary from as little as 300kwh to 5000 kwh.

Somewhere in your bill you will find your total usage for the month. Look carefully for the total usage for the month. Electric bills usually break up your usage into Supply and Delivery. You should look for the total usage. And remember it will have a kwh at the end.

Careful – don’t look any figures which end in just kw ……. That is not what we are looking for.

We are looking for kwh , big difference so be careful.

Look for the total usage or consumption for the month in kwh. Let’s say you used 1000 kwh in the month and you paid $200 for that.

So your rate for electricity for that month is 200 by 1000 = 0.20 or 20 cents.

Power companies are very clever and break up the price of power into supply and delivery or transmission and generation.

Then they cleverly refer to your Rate of Electricity for Supply as 9 cents per kwh. They conveniently don’t talk about the other 11 cents you pay for Delivery.

Many third party companies sell you the delivery or transmission part of your electricity. So you will have 9 cents for supply and an additional 11 cents for delivery adding up to 20 cents.

Most folks are happy seeing the 9 cents figure and lead happy lives thinking they have a low rate of electricity.

Here is a map of average electric rates across the United States. Remember if you are paying more that 12 cents for power – you should consider Solar very carefully.

Solar Savings – an example

Let’s say you are paying 16 cents per kwh for electricity.

Your average monthly usage is 1000 kwh

So your monthly electric bill would on average be 1000 x 16 cents = $ 160 per month

Electric companies tag on some additional charges and you will end up with a bill of around $170 a month.

Let’s look at what the savings would be :

SAVINGS – Cash Purchase

To offset your usage you will have to buy a 10 Kw solar system.

The Net Cost of that system would be around $ 20,300

Your savings on Electricity would be $160 a month. The additional S10 charges that the utility tags on will still continue after going solar.

Annual Savings = 160 x 12 = $ 1920

Add any State Incentives such as SREC’s = $ 2400 per year
Total Savings per year $4,320

Payback Period ( Time to get your initial $ 20,300 back) = 20,300 / 4320 = 4.7 years

If your State did not have any incentive then the payback would be longer.

Total Savings without State Incentives = $ 1920 a month

Payback Period = 10.57 years

SAVINGS – LEASE or PPA

You will have no up front costs with the Lease or PPA option. You will only have to pay a monthly rental that is called the Solar Lease payment or Solar PPA payment.

The Solar Company will install a 10 Kw solar system.

Your monthly Lease Payment could be anywhere from $100 a month to $ 130 a month.

Your savings on Electricity would be $170 – $ 100 = $ 70 per month with the $100 monthly lease payment.

Or $ 170 – $ 130 = $ 40 a month with the second option.

So The Lease or PPA would save you between $40 to $70 a month – if you are currently paying about 16 cents per KWH for power.

There is a lot more you can do with solar. Check out these articles. Thank you for visiting MySolarHome.us.

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