Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
It%26#039;s a conspiracy, a conspiracy I tell ya. it seems that every one is just out to make money off from us.And it used to be that you could direction off from the internet on how to build solar panels, solar water heaters, solar ovens, and stills to make Alcohol, and other things.
now everyone wants to make money off from you.
what ever happened people helping other people without expecting to get paid for it? jcms 50% 4 Votes
Other Answers (10)
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Because it%26#039;s a business. Let%26#039;s turn it around - if your company reduced the price of its product and therefore had to cut your pay, how would you like it? The engineering, manufacturing, and marketing processes are rather involved therefore costs more. Demand is still relatively low making it a %26quot;luxury item%26quot; on the pricing scale. Not every joe schmoe electrician has been trained on installation, so those that know how can charge more for their expertise.
But really, what is affordable? If you had to replace your standard electrical system would that be affordable? Most people would have to work it into a home renovation budget somehow, couldn%26#039;t expect any help from the local governement / utility, and it wouldn%26#039;t have a long term savings impact. 13% 1 Vote -
Maybe I%26#039;d like a 72%26quot; 1080p TV. . . why aren%26#039;t they making that affordable for me?
Just like big plasma TVs, solar panels are not cheap because the technology is complex. As we get better at making the things, then the price goes down. Demand is pretty low at this point since the price is high and it can be more fun to get set up and accustomed to vs. just calling the electric company and having them hook you up. . . so there%26#039;s not exactly a ton of push to develop lower-cost systems and push them to the market like there is with the TVs I mentioned earlier. Give it another few years, though, and maybe a system *will* be within your price range. 13% 1 Vote -
The manufacture of solar cells is a very labor intensive process. It takes a long time to make these, and the materials used and the labor to make sure they turn out right is what makes them expensive.
And if this %26quot;going green%26quot; thing takes hold, it%26#039;s a sure bet they%26#039;ll cost even more. Ironically, I%26#039;ll even bet the manufacture of them isn%26#039;t Earth friendly. Uncle Al is probably trying to figure out if he can get his %26quot;carbon taxes%26quot; out the industry. 0% 0 Votes -
Most people can afford a system of some kind. The smallest system can be as simple as a few of those solar powered sidewalk / patio lights that cost maybe $5. A small one panel system that make about 100 Watts (One or Two Light Bulbs )of power will cost around $2000-$3000. A full blown Off the grid system will be more like $25,000 - $50,000.
Another Option is the organization Ed Begley Jr. supports that installs the entire system for just about free, then you just pay them for the power it produces and they guarantee your same rate forever.
Like Wind Power, Solar power is wonderful, but not always dependable because it probably cannot produce power about 60-70 percent of the time overall. This is why it makes our electric costs go up. We must still maintain other forms of energy to back it up for 24/7 reliability. 0% 0 Votes -
it%26#039;s a matter of cost efficiency... solar energy batteries are not very efficient and the cost of materials and building them is high and cannot be taken down even with mass production so even if compared with other sources of environment friendly energy if is way too expensive to get same amount of energy.
0% 0 Votes
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ummm, so you%26#039;d like them to give you electricity, and you%26#039;ll decide what to pay?
maybe we should do cars and gasoline that way too.
i mean, people really need to get to work.
and houses also. we really do need a place to live.
heck, water and gas too, and garbage, don%26#039;t want that piling up, now do we.
hmmm, but that brings up, who%26#039;s going to pay the utility company employees?
i mean you%26#039;re going to only want to pay for the coal or oil that the company needs to buy to generate the electricity.
i guess all those folks just need to work for free.
and the people that make cars.
and the people that build houses.
or, maybe you%26#039;d rather live in the USA that exists today, where people get paid for the value of their work. 13% 1 Vote -
its getting more affordable all the time even though it i still expensive it cheaper than it was 10 years ago it will go down in time
korkie 13% 1 Vote