Are Solar Panels Cost Efficient?

by Lora
(Pa., USA)

When we bought our house (about 3 years ago) it was prepared to be fairly self sufficient.

The previous owners had anticipated doom with the coming of Y2K, so they sort of went ballistic.

They had three wood/coal stoves installed, stocked the pond, had at least thirty years of walnuts packed away (yeah, from the walnut trees) and a good sized solar panel installed on the back porch.

Unfortunately for us, the panel was not in operation. It was in need of several new batteries, and come to find out, these batteries are expensive!

We have yet to replace the dead batteries mostly because of our lack of understanding.

Would the solar panel replace our current electricity source, or would it only supplement it, say, as in the summer time when the sun is strong - or just in case of a power outage?

I like the idea of a power source in case of emergencies, but it sure would be best if it could also save us money as an energy replacement.

Just wondering about the ROI when it comes to the cost of those batteries!

Thanks,

Lora