Solar Homes – A Long Term Investment?
Solar homes have some additional values that will benefit the owners in the long term; however installing the solar kits should be done only after you check some important factors to avoid spending money that does not give you the maximum benefits that the system promises.
A. Cost Calculation
What is Your Monthly Bill?
If you spend less than USD 100 then maybe solar panels electricity is not a right choice considering the initial cost you have to pay vs. the cost saving you will make with the panels. Solar homes may need around $20,000 to $60,000 – depends on the power needed – for the initial investment. Calculate how much energy you use every month and how much energy you actually need. If you can save money by reducing the power consumption such as turning off the TV sets or AC when you’re not home it will save you some bucks as well so you don’t need to go with the solar option. However if you are eager to do your DIY solar project there are some e-books that can explain better how to make cheap solar panels.
If every month you spend more than USD 100 you can get some solar companies to calculate how much you have to pay for the system.
The Dream of Going Green
People understand that fossil fuels are not renewable and therefore they are looking for solar electricity as an alternative energy source because sun energy is free and renewable. A lot of people take this as a perfect substitution to the fossil fuels and they want to switch to solar electricity completely. What they forget is going solar will cost them the initial investment which is quite expensive. You have to pay upfront in order to get the free energy and leaving the utility grid is not a wise decision. The best way is you have the solar electricity integrated with the grid electricity. By doing this you can store your solar electricity in the grid and get credit from the utility company. You can plan to substitute 15%, 25% – any value you can afford – of the fossil fueled electricity. Once the solar cost is more affordable you can gradually expand the home solar system to the amount you are comfortable with. Substituting 15% of the fossil electricity may look small but if all of us do that it will significantly reduce the fossil fuels consumption. The good news is solar cost is becoming less expensive and by 2010 according to some experts the price will be 40% to 50% cheaper than what we have to pay now. The government also gives 30% federal tax credit and local rebates that differs from one state to another. Both rebates can chop the price up to 50%. Renting solar panels is also possible now. The rental company will take care of the maintenance for you periodically.
B. The Area You are Living in
Solar cost may differ greatly between states. If you are living in a sunny area you will need fewer solar panels. Cloudy areas need more panels to generate the same amount of electricity means you have to spend more money.
The Southern Exposure
Since we are living in the northern hemisphere the best place to mount the panels is on the roof or yard facing to the south. This position will allow your panels to get full sun exposure which leads to more electricity produced. If this best place is not available you still can go with other orientation but again you may have to spend more money for more panels to compensate the power loss.
Shading
Even with the southern exposure sometimes you don’t get maximum electricity during a hot sunny day if the panels are under shade. Make sure there is no object that can block the sunbeams from reaching the solar panels.
C. Other Consideration
Some components such as solar inverter, solar charge controller and solar batteries (if you decide to have them installed) may need renewal after the first installation. It is always a good idea to put all of these components into cost calculation to predict how much money you can actually save with this system in a long term.
the Solar Cost Admin
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Here’s another point to consider. Make sure you don’t relocate to another place any time soon. You will need some time to recover your investment. Moving house a year after you’ve installed the solar power system may not be a good idea.
Thanks for the post.
‘Will