Bangladesh is currently faced with challenges arising from climate change and inadequate energy. The energy situation is in confront since the major power stations are run on natural gas, whose reserves are now on the verge of depletion; if no new mine fields are identified. To reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and increase the energy access in the rual areas of Bangladesh, renewable energy sources, like solar home systems (SHS) could play a vital role. In this paper, the cost, energy and

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... rbon dioxide emission of solar home systems installed in Bangladesh are analyzed. It has been found that around 1.4 million solar home systems are already installed as at the end of January 2013. 40~85 W p systems are mostly used in the rural areas. The cost of a 40 W p system was around 24,000 Bangladeshi Taka (BDT), whereas that for a 85 W p system costs about 45,000 BDT. The average payback period was found to be 4.2 years and varied between 3.1 and 6.5 years. On the other hand, Net Present Values (NPV) varies between 34,500 BDT to 14800 BDT. The total primary energy requirement for a 50Wp in its total life of 20 years is 4593 MJ th. This gives around 253 kg of CO 2 emission. A 50 W p SHS on the other hand supplies around 11773 MJ th of Energy in 20 years. Energy payback for the same module was found to be 7.80 years and the total CO 2 emission reduction compared to kerosene cosumption of the users' was 11604 kg in 20 years.