Jun
Is It Time For Solar Energy To Get Hot? By Tim Phelan
Solar energy has been around for quite a while and most people
don’t think about it much except for the ones who are already
into renewable sources of energy. Environmentalists have always
loved the idea of solar energy but what has kept it from going
more mainstream, being more widely used and looked upon as
something someone wants to spend money to install on their
property? There have been improvements in the technology of
solar energy, but has there been enough? Isn’t the war on terror
and the desire to be independent of foreign energy sources
enough to persuade people to use solar energy? At what point
will solar energy become the great and never ending source of
energy many of envisioned many years ago?
Well, I, for one, think that the time has just about come for
solar energy to really take off because of one reason: it will
be economically the right and smart thing to do.
Last year I was driving to Las Vegas from San Jose and when I
was just about three quarters of the way to my destination I
passed a sign that said something about a “solar farm.” I
glanced over and saw row upon row of solar panels sitting in the
middle of the dessert. This is about the only farm that could
survive in the dessert I thought to myself. Then I thought ”
Wow. Why can’t I do that?” In a smaller fashion of course
because of my limited resources. But I thought why not rent some
land and buy some of these panels and start my own little farm?
It made sense and actually it still makes sense to me.
I went home later and looked into the solar energy industry. I
wanted to see if this was possible now and I thought if these
people put all those panels out in the dessert and sold the
energy to others why can’t a small businessman?
Well, what I found out is that it isn’t quite possible to do
just yet. Why? Because the cost of the panels, property, labor
etc.. wasn’t low enough to make a profit for what you can sell
the energy for. The solar farm was more than likely subsidized
by the government. So I looked into the possibility of using
them on homes. This thought has been around for decades and you
do see the panels on more homes than you used to so I was
wondering if this was possible now. I found out that it just
takes too long for the average consumer to get their investment
back to consider putting solar panels on their homes.
The average time for a homeowner to get the money back on their
investment is anywhere from 12 years to 20 years. For this
industry to take off that figure I believe will have to go down
to around 5 to 7. Not that far really. It could actually go
below that.
Three things have to happen for the solar energy promise to
become a reality and for homeowners and entrepreneurs to decide
in large numbers to use solar panels to create electricity:
1. The price of the panels will have to decrease. 2. The panels
will have to improve and produce more energy. 3. The cost of
energy will have to increase.
Actually just one of these factors can happen to a great degree
and the other two stay constant and the point will be reached
where the solar energy industry will explode. But more than
likely, all three will come closer together and at some point
people will decide to start buying the panels in record numbers
and we will see this way of creating energy from a clean and
renewable source be common place.
Here is why I think the time is very near for this explosion to
happen.
1. There is a bill in the state legislature in California now
that will spend on rebates for solar energy. The
governor wants to show that he is in the front of this movement
and wants to be aggressive. Some don’t like the way the bill is
written, but there is a good chance it will pass. Click here for the
article
2. The panels are becoming more and more efficient at producing
more energy.
3. The price may go down dramatically if contracts with China to
produce the panels are put into place. Normally I don’t like our
jobs going oversees to people who only get fractions of what the
US worker makes but in this instance it will also create many
jobs here to install the panels, sell them, warehouse them
etc… Plus this is something the country needs I feel. Clean,
renewable energy that makes us less reliable on foreign oil and
gases.
Also, some companies are producing these new generation flexible
solar energy panels that come in sheets and can be rolled up and
then out onto surfaces. These may bring the cost way down and
make the instalation much more easy and cost efficiant. Here is
an article about this new product: Click Here
At what point will these three variables merge?
I predict in the next two to three years this industry will take
off like so many of us were hoping it would many years ago.
If you want to know how to install a solar electric panel system
to your house here is a inexpensive e-book that shows you how.
Click
Here People can act now, and many already are by buying and
installing these solar panels. With the war on terror looking
like it could last decades many look upon this investment as not
only a clean green solution and a smart investment on increasing
the value of their home, but as almost a patriotic gesture in a
way to free us from the dependence on middle eastern oil and
natural gas. Here is a link to a terrific site where you can get
these panels at wholesale prices. This site has all sorts of
renewable energy sources at great prices.
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Tim Phelan
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/is-it-time-for-solar-energy-to-get-hot-1280.html
8 Responses so far to "Is It Time For Solar Energy to Get Hot?"
June 14th, 2009 at 12:21 AM
does it make any economic sense( short/long time) to power my house with solar energy?
i am buying my first home and considering solar energy. Plus what advantage does it have over regular electricity?
am buying my first home and considering solar energy. Plus what advantage does it have over regular electricity? what will the cost be for a 4bed/3bath house?
June 14th, 2009 at 12:23 AM
You have to consider the pay off over time. If your paying x amount of dollars how long will it take you in savings to make that money back? If you are considering doing this for natural reasons and conservation then the pay back is immediate. You can always give back energy to the grid which is money in your pocket.
References :
June 14th, 2009 at 12:25 AM
The initial cost will be VERY expensive. but yes, the extra energy you use the power company will buy from you, but you will need special(Expensive) insurance for all the panels as well as all the money it costs for maintenance. Which maintenance fees will be a lot since the technology is new and only highly skilled specialists will be able to repair them for you.
References :
June 14th, 2009 at 12:27 AM
Would need to know where you are to see how much sunlight you would get per day and also what incentives there are in your area. (you can look this up at the first site). Also does your state have net metering laws, have you worked on conservation to cut your daily usage yet? Do you plan on being on or off the grid? (batteries/no batteries) Do you plan on installing yourself or contracting? The second site lists numerous people and their stories about doing the work as a homeowner.
Advantanges would also depend on what type of system if you have batteries there will be no power outages from the utilities, along with most panels are covered for 20-25 years so when you compute your energy costs they will stay the same utilities most likely will go up. Another advantage if you are totally off grid when most people pay their electricity bill there are usage fees taxes etc. you will have none of that.
References :
http://www.dsireusa.org/
http://www.homepower.com/home/
June 14th, 2009 at 12:29 AM
It depends on SOO many things. Firstly it depends on the amount of power you're likely to use. It also depends on what government purchase rebates are in your area (if any), as well as feed-in tariffs (if any), and it depends on the actual sun hours you can get (non shaded).
For example, if you had…
* NO government rebate or FiT
* Consumption of about 20kw/h a day
* Average sun hours were 4
You'd need a 5kw system which would cost something like $40,000 – $50,000. The savings you would make per year would be around $1,100 (your whole powr bill), and the system would take 40 years to pay off – basically never as the system is likely to last less than that.
And on the other hand, if you had…
* Good rebates (I can get $8,000 here) and a decent gross FiT of about 80c per kw/h
* Consumption of about 5kw/h per day
* Five sun hours per day
Then you'd only need a 1kw system which would cost you about $3,000. You'd save/make about $1,300 per year and the system would be paid off in a bit over two years and save/make you another $30,000 over it's life.
So as you can see, VAST differences. Both of these scenarios are legitimate too. I know where the second is reality (Canberra, Australia).
References :
June 14th, 2009 at 12:31 AM
All very good answers here. At my age (older), it almost wouldn't had been worth installing a very expensive commercial system. Although, I would have obviously been helping reduce my carbon footprint.
I started building my own solar panels one at a time. At first I just used them and a single deep cycle battery to recharge my many electronic devices batteries, but I've slowly built a decent system that would have cost many thousands of dollars. I've probably got roughly $170-$190 in each panel. I did buy a charge controller, inverter and additional batteries though. I've still saved a bundle!!
References :
http://RenewableSolarAndWindEnergy.com/
June 14th, 2009 at 12:33 AM
It will be expensive at first cause you have to pay off the solar power systems first. Take the website I am attaching to my answer, the home kits are $8669.99. Can you say ouch?
But as soon as it is paid for, the money saved by not paying for dirty energy will be built up. But let's say you are only spending $250 a month on your electricity bill. To pay off the say $8500 solar power kit at the same rate you pay off the solar kit, it would take 3 years to pay off the solar kit, then you would be saving yourself $250 a month.
References :
http://www.solarhome.org/
June 14th, 2009 at 12:35 AM
If you live in an area that gets lots of sun all year long, like the southern portions of the US, it can make sense.
But go for solar hot water first, that usually pays back faster, and is lower in price.
For solar electric, usually, you would stay connected to the power company and get credits for extra electricity you generate. You would not use batteries in this case, and you would still have full power at night, or at times of low solar production. It wouldn't be a matter of choosing between solar and regular electricity, just a matter of choosing to add solar. If you call up a local solar installer, they will explain how it works to you, and give you a free quote.
References :