Many people still see solar power as an expensive alternative to something as cheap as electricity. What most home owners don’t know is that not only has the price of solar panels dropped drastically over the last few years, but they have also gotten much smaller and more efficient as well.

The last time I did some research (and it was a while back), solar panels ran up to five digits. Since we were a young family and looking at solar to SAVE money, we did not thing this was the wise path to take.

An even better incentive than the price is the transformation in the panels. I recently went to a beautifully landscaped house that had two HUGE white poles sticking up in the middle of the yard. “Those are for the solar panels when we can afford to get some.” Now they are even making solar panels that are built right into the roof tiles, solar panels that are flexible (and aren’t going to break) and solar panels that are inflatable (although these are more for usage in the woods than in the home).

The best comparison that I can think of is satellite dishes. Just 15 years ago, the dishes were the size of a compact car and cost about the same. Today you get a dish free with your service and most people won’t even notice if you have one on your house. As the solar technology continues to improve and the prices continue to come down it is likely that more homes will turn to solar power.