DIY Solar Installation in Vermont

Use a thin film array (easy install) and a micro inverter (cheaper, lighter and works better in cloudy location).



http://www.solartown.com/store/product/global-solar-powerflex-300w-module/

$900.


Micro inverter
http://www.solartown.com/store/product/enphase-m215-micro-inverter-with-tyco/

$159


So how much electricity will this produce?
So if your have your 300W solar panel in New York (where solar irradiation = 4.49kWh on average annually according to the table), it will generate (4.49kWh x 0.3kW =) 1.347kWh for the day.

So I could in a month produce 30 x 1.347kWh = 40.41kWh

GMP charge $0.14959/kWh so each month I would in theory be generating $6 worth of electricity.

Investment $1200/$6 = 200 months / 12 = 17 years to pay back :-(

The total cost of the system would have to fall to around $500 per each of these to be worth it in my opinion.