Cool Passive Panels...
No question you've heard plenty about solar power but always thought it was too expensive, aside from minor uses in the now popular garden lighting systems. However, with fuel prices climbing and solar cells becoming more reasonable, adding solar power to your home is a great, long term solution to high energy bills.
That isn't to say they're cheap. Before rebates, it typically takes 12 or more years for a homeowner to realize their investment in solar panels back. That's a lot longer than the average person is willing to wait. Nonetheless, many states now offer rebates, so the final cost to the homeowner is much less than it use to be. The rebates vary from state to state, so it's impossible to say how much of an impact they receive overall. There may also be federal incentives.
Solar panels are also steadily becoming more efficient. They generate more energy than they used to. They require relatively little care, many of which you may be able to do yourself. This helps to make them very cost efficient.
Solar energy isn't only for making electricity. You can use it to heat the water in your swimming pool or heat your house. There are many alternatives available for those who are interesting in building an energy efficient home without sacrificing comfort.
Solar power is much, much cheaper than it used to be, as prices have gone down by 90% since the 1970s. That doesn't make it cheap - yet! - To install enough photovoltaic cells to power a house, but in some areas the incentives given to put in solar cells cut the overall cost to the homeowner about in half.
To determine if solar energy is right for you, take some basic figures into consideration.
- Determine your energy consumption. You need to know how big a system you will need to power your home. Make sure you consider your highest consumption levels and the possibility that it will grow somewhat.
- Find out how much a phphotovoltaicystem to meet your need will cost you. The size will depend both on your energy need and on the available sunlight (solar resource) in your area.
- Find out what rebates and incentives are available to you to help decrease your costs.
- Consider whether your system will be on the grid or off. On the grid has the advantage that you can sell when you have an excess and buy electricity when you don't have enough, while with an off the grid system you have a battery to store your excess.
- Consider what the environmental benefits are worth to you. This is a personal factor rather than a direct economic one. It won't save you money, but knowing that you're contributing a little less to pollution might change how you feel about the expense.
Choosing to use solar power in your home is an investment you can appreciate on many levels. Over a number of years it will save you money as you generate environmentally friendly energy. It's not cheap to get started, but when you combine the environmental benefits with decreasing your reliance on fuel costs you can certainly appreciate the possibilities.
