Does anyone know the approximate cost of installing solar panels?

There are so many variables it is impossible to estimate the cost.

You need to learn as much as possible about solar systems, and the expected performance in your area. I live near San Francisco. My 6 kW rated system averages about 4 kW, and I get around 24 kilowatt hours per day. Your electric bill will tell you how much this amounts to in dollars per month.

California has what is called net billing. If in a year I use more than I make, I pay regular rates for the overage. If I make more than I use, it goes to the utility as a gift. However, I make more than I use during the day, I get credit for it at the regular rate. Not as a lower rate as one responder suggests. At night I get it back at night at the regular rate.

You could consider a heat pump, and perhaps a ground source system. It should reduce your heating and air conditioning bills by about two thirds.

Sorry, haven't kept up with it. New advances make them much more efficient and less costly too. It won't be cheap. I would not bother with wind devices unless you are in a rural area where you can put them up without neighbors complaining. There are many of those to choose from, from those that work best with low speed winds to some newer ones designed for high speed winds. You need to know what the average speed for winds around your area is and buy accordingly. Installation will not be cheap either. It takes someone that knows what they are doing to hook them all up and tie into the power grid with a reverse meter that tells you how much you are sending down the grid. the electric companies are not usually very helpful, as they lose money when people do this. There is a law on the books in the US that says they must buy any power you can produce, but at wholesale rather than the retail they charge you.

Hard to tell you because it depends on the square footage of your home and how many panels you would require as a result. I'm in SoCal where it is not heating, but AC that will bankrupt you. For my two story, 3000 square foot home, it would cost me around $30,000 to install solar panels. I am not allowed to put up wind turbines on my property so I couldn't get an estimate because our city code doesn't allow it. Start like I did and get educated first. Then start calling the companies in your area for estimates. I didn't expect that it would be three months after I called to even get the first company to come out to assess our needs and give us an estimate. Then, contact your CPA to determine whether it is a cost effective option for you. It simply was not for us.

Unless you're in the southern hemisphere, the sunlight comes from the south. If you've got a large south facing roof area that gets good sun, a solar grid-tie system might pay for itself in about 10-15 yr.s. It may be 'green' but it just doesn't make economic sense quite yet.

Build Solar Power Easily - http://solarpower.siopu.com/?iaY

your local solar panel installer can tell you