> less than 2.5 acres per megawatt
This is actually quite amazing. I wonder what the lifetime is for the panels.
This is actually quite amazing. I wonder what the lifetime is for the panels.
TBH, the part that lasts the least amount of time is often the inverter.
While the panels are indeed cheap this, along with the DIY wood gas combined heat and power generator, are measures taken for energy security, not profit.
In a few years, you might be able to buy a roll of PV film in a box and unroll it in your yard. The box it comes in would have all the gubbins to connect up to the house.
Not quite here yet, though.
Total cost is around $40k.
However, unless you're rural or somewhere with poor grid reliability it's probably not worth the expense of being off-grid. Generally speaking, due to generous feed-in tariffs you would be (financially) better off staying connected to the grid than spending the additional money required to handle periods of cloudy weather.