PV Economics:
PV electricity involves a large up front cost with a gradual payback (Fies, 2001).
To compete with conventional power generation the cost of the PV system needs to be one to two dollars per peak watt (the max power output of the cell) (Ashley, 1989).
For a home it can take an average of 15 years for a PV system to pay for itself (Fies, 2001).
Payback time for a commercial system can be anywhere from five to ten years (Fies, 2001).
PV systems typically have a 25 year warranty, and can last for several decades (Fies, 2001).