Solar Empire – Endless War

1. 

   roderick_youngNovember 28, 2009 - 3:37 pm #1

   Those guides are unrealistic. Making your own panels is really not as economical or practical as they suggest.

   Our house uses about 500 kWh a month, but we have no air conditioning. Could that be the big drain for you? Ask your power company about getting an energy audit. You might benefit from just insulating your house better.

   An ancient refrigerator can draw 10 kWh a day, while a modern one can take only 1 kWh. However, even at 10 kWh, that’s only 300 kWh a month. There must be some other big drain in your house. Do you have a pool pump or well pump? No electric heat, right? Even an electric oven or stove doesn’t use that much, because it’s not on for long periods.
   References :

2. 

   SilentDoGoodNovember 28, 2009 - 4:17 pm #2

   If you don’t have a solar hot water heater, that is the big electrical drain. Consider a thermosyphon hot water system. It requires no pump, no moving parts and no electricity. Check with your State to see if you can get a rebate for a new solar system. It might be worth your investment.
   References :
   http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/water_heating.htm#Thermosyphon

3. 

   winterrulesNovember 28, 2009 - 4:43 pm #3

   A solar water heater will give a better return for your investment than solar electricity. If it wasn’t for tax credits solar electricity would be a terrible investment. It wouldn’t generate enough power to pay for itself before it wore out. A solar water heater is much less expensive to build and install. By reducing the power consumption of your water heater it would save more electricity than a similar priced photovoltaic system could generate.
   References :

4. 

   whsgreenmomNovember 28, 2009 - 4:59 pm #4

   If you look at the over all cost of solar panels you may be surprised at how soon you would break even. I wouldn’t dismiss it until you have had a real quote. In that quote there should be info or rebates, tax credits and ROI (the amount of time before you get a full return on investment). My system which produces 90% of my summer usage and 75% of my winter usage has a ROI of 6.5 years. However that was anticipating a 5% annual rate increase, we have been averaging 8% and our next 2 years will be almost 10%.

   However, conservation can lower any bill. It is impossible to tell how to best conserve energy. Many utility companies will come to your home for free and give you an audit, there are also companies that will do more extensive audits for a fee, they average $1 per square foot. So, a 1500 sf house would be $1500.

   Insulation, window coverings, dual pane windows, weather stripping and caulking around windows and doors are very helpful for reducing energy costs. Standby power is often another area. I use power strips with a switch for my tv, dvd, game system and stereo and another for my computer, monitor, printer and speakers, so I can shut them all the way off when not in use.

   You can buy a watt meter or Kill a watt gadget that can tell you exactly how much energy an appliances is using. Energy star also has a place on their website that will let you know if it’s cost effective to replace appliances.
   References :

5. 

   ?November 28, 2009 - 5:12 pm #5

   You should consider solar water heating before looking into solar electric. It is 85% efficient, as opposed to < 20% efficient for electric. That translates to a lot bigger bang for your buck.

   http://www.altestore.com/store/Solar-Water-Heaters/Climate-freezes-Closed-Loop-Systems/Closed-Loop-Systems-for-1-4-People/Closed-Loop-PV-Powered-w-Tank/AET-PV-w-80-Gal-Tank-64-SqFt-Collectors/p172/ (A thermosyphon system is not appropriate for your location, you need more freeze protection than it can offer. A solar powered system like the this also uses no electricity, or more accurately, it makes its own)

   You should also get an energy audit to see why your bill is so high, that is a lot of energy you are consuming. Many utility companies will offer them for free or at a discount.

   Also get a Kill-a-Watt meter that you can plug devices like refrigerators into to see how much power it is consuming. http://www.altestore.com/store/Meters-Communications-Site-Analysis/Meters-Battery-Monitors/Power-Meters/P3-International-Kill-A-Watt-P4400-Kill-A-Watt-Power-Meter/p932/

   If you have older fridges and freezers, they could be using a ton of electricity, it may make sense to replace them with a new energy star appliance.

   Tenn doesn’t have a rebate for solar, but the federal tax credit will save you 30%. There are also tax credits for improving your energy efficiency, http://dsireusa.org/.
   References :
   AltE Store – http://www.altestore.com/store/

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