Solar Empire – Endless War

1. 

   BenFebruary 25, 2010 - 8:48 pm #1

   This might be more complicated than you want to handle. Depending on state and incentive structure, you might need to set up a business or partnership between you so that you can share the money flow and the tax credits.

   To find out the incentives and tax credits, check out the DSIRE homepage: http://www.dsireusa.org/
   References :
   http://www.dsireusa.org/

2. 

   roderick_youngFebruary 25, 2010 - 9:33 pm #2

   The sharing the cost part is not hard. The cost would include the [hopefully professional] install, including permits and fees. And you would share in the rebates. As far as any tax credits, most likely, only one person would take them, and would pay the equivalent of 1/4 of the amount each to the other two parties.

   Now, the hard news. Solar is not a big moneymaker. It can save money, but it is more of a money *saver* than maker. In most states, the power company doesn’t write an actual check for the electricity generated – all they do is measure the net energy usage, and bill for that. So if a bill used to be $100 a month, and is now $40, it’s hard to determine how much of the difference was due to the solar panels’ input, and how much was due to plain old conservation. To be fair, you would need a separate meter to measure the solar panels’ output. Also, it is normal for solar panels not to break even for 5-10 years. And in some places, the panels will never break even.

   I’m a big fan of solar, and we even have our own panels on our roof, but I would be leery of getting entangled with relatives over the revenues from a photovoltaic system. I would say, if your mother doesn’t have the cash to pay for the system herself, she should get a home equity loan. If no one will give her such a loan, I don’t think it’s a good time for her to get such a system. If she can get a loan, you and your sisters could loan her the money at below-market rates, with the solar system as collateral. I would guess that you would each be putting up on the order of $4000, and expect to get paid back perhaps $10 a month.
   References :

No trackbacks yet.

No post with similar tags yet.

Posts in similar categories

1. How can i build a solar panels on the roof of my house?

   How can i build a solar panels on the roof of my house? ...

2. With solar panels, what is the difference between price per watt and the total cost of the panel?

   When you are purchasing large quantities of photovoltaic solar panels, they are priced as the overall cost, and then a price per watt. What is the difference, and how does the price per watt relate to the overall performance? The price per watt is a figure of merit, but is not how the panels are sold,...

3. How many solar panels with one wind generator would you need to power a pop up?

   I am looking at buying a pop up and would like to make it run off of deep cycle batteries but charging these batteries I would like to use a combination of solar panels and 1 wind generator. How many batteries would I need how many solar panels and what wind generator should I buy....

4. Are solar panels more effective than using the heat energy of the sun to power a turbine?

   Practically all you ever hear about is solar panels... are they really so much more effective then other methods, such as using energy from the sun to power a steam-powered turbine enclosed in a system with a vacuum so that the water evaporates at a much lower temperature to power a turbine? It's a good idea...

5. How many kilowatt hours of electricity will the solar panels generate in 20 days?

   A house with a south-facing roof has photovoltaic panels on the roof. The photovoltaic panels have an efficiency of 10.3 % and occupy an area with dimensions 3.35 m by 8.55 m. The average solar radiation incident on the panels is 305 W/m2, averaged over all conditions for a year. How many kilowatt hours of...

6. What is the probability that none of the houses have solar panels to generate electricty?

   Using a survey conducted in Winter 2009, it was estimated that only 1% of New Zealanders have solar panels on their houses to generate electricity. Consider a random sample of 20 New Zealand households. a) What is the probability that at least one of them has solar panels to generate electricity? b) What is the probability that...

7. How many solar panels do you need to run a house?

   How many solar panels do you need to run an air conditioned house? To be exact, an 3,4000 square foot house? And how much would the total cost be? My guess is that your real interest is in saving money? If you are thinking long term, solar electricity can save money if you live in...

8. Can you solder solar panels together to get more power?

   I have getting solar panels from these solar lights at Walmart. Well some of them are broken, but the solar panels are still in good shape. So I wanting to put the together to maked a large solar panel big en ought to power a laptop If you can how do you solder them together? Do...

9. How many solar panels do I need to run a pump?

   I plan to buy solar panels of the following configuration: Sun Force 39110 / 123 watt - 7 amps To run through an inverter, to produce the 110v I need to run the pump during the day. The pump is 110v / 7.5 amps / 0.5 HP My question is, how many solar panels would I need to run...

10. Where can I buy a portable solar panels for my home in the Philippines?

    With the power crisis looming in, I think it's better to have a solar panel than buy a portable generator which eats up petrol. Philippines must have the costliest fuel per liter in Asia. Problem is, solar panels can't be bought as easily as generators. the endless world of the internet...