How to compute the cost of a solar panel

There are various types of solar panels with varying capacity of power generation. The efficiency and size of a solar panel are the two aspects that greatly affect their prices. To give an insight of the costing process of solar panel it is imperative to keenly look at different types of solar panel and their rating. After all, the decision to harness solar energy and depend on solar power should be economically feasible as well in order to avoid regrets at a later stage. There are several approaches that one can use to get an average cost of solar panels. One can use the output based approach, the number of photovoltaic cells in a panel or by type of solar panel being installed. Every approach has its own pros and cons and hence must be adjudged in terms of the amount of solar power which it generates in proportion to the financial investment incurred. The output approach involves computing the cost of solar panel based on the number of watts a panel can generate. The cost of a one watt solar panel ranges from 3 to 5 dollars meaning a 50 watts panel can cost you anything from 200 to 250 dollars. A big sized system with up to 10 watts can cost about 35,000 dollars. This cost may include installation and batteries power storage. The good news is that experts predict a downward trend in the cost of this variety of solar panel with time as more efficient technologies of making solar panels are likely to evolve. A different approach of this concept is to look at the number of photovoltaic cells present in a solar panel. This can be looked into in terms of square inches. A square inch of photovoltaic cells is capable of generating 70 milliwatts. A 500 watt solar panel has around 35000 square inches. Such a panel may go for an average cost of 16,000 dollars. This concept brings out one fact, that the size of a solar panel determines its cost and that these two factors are directly proportional to each other. The bigger the panel the higher the performance and so is the price. Different types of solar panels perform differently depending on the quality of photovoltaic cells that it is constituted with. Mono crystalline, multi crystalline and amorphous cells are the different types of photovoltaic cells that make up solar panels. They all have different performance rates. Mono crystalline is made up of superior silicon crystals and is more efficient. A 125mm by 125mm solar panel is capable of generating 2watts and would cost you 300 dollars at most. Multi crystalline is made from a less quality silicon than mono crystalline. It is less efficient and generates less solar power and therefore costs less. Amorphous solar cell is least on the line and so the cheapest. For a 5 inches by 12.5 inches solar panel giving 2 watts of solar power on an average the cost would be an average of 16 dollars. The source of solar panel may also influence its cost. Imported solar panel may have an element of transportation factored into the final total cost. The cost may be slightly lower in countries which encourage solar panel manufacturing firms and provide incentives to manufacturers and buyers alike. While some manufacturers import panel’s parts and assemble them locally others import ready for sale solar panels. This also may differentiate the cost as import duties which are levied might cause the cost to shoot up.