It took me a while to know how to compare between solar panels. There are lots of parameters that can be taken into consideration like lifetime, power generated in watts and so on. But when it comes to cost, I thought it was a bit misleading to compare the prices of solar panels taking into consideration the power and size of each one. I came up with a simple idea by simply dividing the cost of the solar panel by its wattage, this way I can compare solar panels apple to apple. For example; if a solar panel “A” costs 100 USD and delivers 150 watts, and solar panel “B” costs 80 USD and delivers 100 Watts, to be able to compare them divide each cost of each panel by its wattage as shown below:
Solar Panel “A”: 100USD / 150 Watts = 0.667 USD per Watt
While, Solar Panel “B”: 80USD / 100 Watts = 0.80 USD per Watt.
Conclusion is total cost of ownership of Solar Panel “A” is better than Solar Panel “B” as I will need less solar panels of “A” and will pay less to earn more wattage.
