Can You Install Solar For A Good Price On Your Own?

Before you became a freelance sports journalist, you tried your hand at construction.  You spent countless hours trying to perfect the art of stud finding, sans the electronic stud finder.  You had a mean hammer swing, and never once used the nail gun for any project.  You know the insides and outsides of a paint roller.  You are an artist.  So, after the last 2 decades of covering high school wrestling matches and father/son dart competitions, you're urged to build has reared it's handy head.  You are pondering installing a low-cost solar system on your home.  However, there are some things you should consider before you get to work.  Let's have a look at some DIY solar panel information and let's together figure out if you're craftsmanship is the way to go.  

Contracted Solar Installation

Pretty much any professional solar contractor or experienced builder can install a prefabricated solar kit. If you choose to hire a builder to install your solar kit, you should expect to pay about $1.00 per watt for labor, wire, conduit, fittings, breakers and other miscellaneous electrical elements to complete the solar system installation. For a 5kW (kilowatt) system, known as 5,000 watts, you can expect to pay $5,000 for installation.

Solar Panel Contracts

DIY installation might bring more permitting and inspections for a solar installation.  For example, if you do install solar panels on your own as a DIY project, remember that you must also gain permits and inspections from both your utility company and your local authority of jurisdiction. The required paperwork is slightly different in most states and counties. However, companies are starting up now that will do this paperwork for you for approximately $400, or .08 cents per watt.

A complete DIY solar panel installation project will possibly require costs in the range of $2.49 to $2.96 before incentives such as tax rebates, etc.

You might consider that buying a fully installed system might be slightly higher, but more problem free than a DIY installation.  A solar system installed by a professional solar company will most likely be looking in the range of $3.10 to $3.40 per watt.  That's a decent price. 

Cheap Or Good Solar Installations

Look out for DIY pitfalls on your way to glory. Some years ago when solar companies were making more significant gains on the margin, we recommended people look into it, but there are not adequate savings now to justify the hazards. With a DIY project, your house is a one-time job for the installer, so you have to know idea if they are a good installer or not. You have the additional issue that if ever the material fails that no-one will want to help you. The soundest that you may be able to get is to get a replacement if you organize to take the equipment off your roof yourself and prepare to ship it back to the manufacturer.

Read The Fine Print

Another consideration when opting for a DIY or contracted install is how extensive the warranty is. The fundamental concern is that the warranty on the equipment will not be from the solar panels kit website you buy from, but from the manufacturer. The manufacturer may not even have an agency in the United States, and although some companies, regardless of location, respond better than others, many are not be arranged up to deal with singular complaints from consumers. If you go through a reputable solar company that sells and communicates regularly with individual consumers, they are more likely to replace equipment.  Working with HahaSmart ensures that you will never need these headaches.  

If you want to move into the future and join the solar revolution, or if you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years. 

For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.