I want a solar system for my house--any advice?

[Delarage]

I'm just looking into taking advantage of a State of Delaware incentive program (up to 50% off of the purchase of a PV system") and they gave me a list of contractors that install the systems.

Does anyone have PV systems on their roof and do you have any advice on brands of solar modules or the whole process.

Thanks for any info--I'm kind of new at this. I use less than 400 KWH per month, though (generally around 300-320, according to my electric bill).

[bbinacan]

1. Make sure you get

one with a sun and a few planets.:evilgrin:

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

[Caoimhe]

3. LOL i almost typed the same thing :)

[bbinacan]

9. Great minds......

[EstimatedProphet]

4. Makes for a HUGE house!

[Lefty48197]

14. I was going to say, 'get the milky way' it's worked fine for me so far.

.

[tsuki]

2. check solarbus.org.

[longship]

5. And the galaxy is on Orion's belt.

There ought to be many solar systems from which to select there, too.

Seriously, I have a passive solar panel on the south side of a building in MI. During winter days, when the sun is shining it does a fantastic job heating a room. Night is a different issue, but that's what you have the active solar for. This was a very simple installation, basically just trapped air heated by the sun.

It's possible to add something like this to a larger solar power system which might reduce system requirements.

[slor]

6. How awesome of Delaware n/t

[HysteryDiagnosis]

7. Link

www.HomePower.com

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. It's a lot more than just having a solar panel

you have to have a battery storage unit and inverters for your appliances, unless you are going to buy new ones with DC current. I have purchased solar units but haven't installed them-had to move closer to work because of gas prices and am renting now-but this place has a solar backup, using inverters to power appliances like the refrigerator, etc.

A lot of folks around my neck of the woods in northwest Arkansas use solar electricity, either as a backup or primary. If you are thinking of converting everything to solar, and not use it as a backup, go to a recreational vehicle place and get your DC lighting there. Stylish and it works. It is a lot cheaper to get an inverter solely for your AC refrigerator than to buy a DC unit unless you want a dinky RV sized refrigerator. We had a generator and inverters for when the power went out, and found that three inverters powered the refrigerator, TV, and computer respectively.

I hope this information has been helpful.

[NNadir]

10. Your average power demand is about 500 watts.

Solar systems in your area of the country (I live in New Jersey) have a capacity loading of about 0.2-0.25, meaning that they provide about 25% of their rated energy. Solar companies usually rate their system in "peak" watts, which is poorly associated with how much electricity they actually produce. Thus your system will need to be about 3 kw if you wish approximately to cover all of your electricity costs by providing power back to the grid during sunny days, and purchasing power from the grid at night or during periods with snow or rain. You should plan on spending a decent amount of change to accomplish this goal, even with the subsidy. The average price of solar systems is now $5.30 per "watt" and rising. http://www.solarbuzz.com/ This works out to more than You may find that you can do much better with some shopping however. You will also need an inverter and to pay for installation costs. I would guess that you should expect to pay a bill of between $10,000 and $15,000 minus the maximal subsidy available to you from the State of Delaware.

At 500 watts of average power, your home consumes about one half of the average American home. You are to be congratulated for your efficiency. You should also be applauded if you spend the extra money to produce your power via solar means.

[Delarage]

15. I re-checked--I acutally use less.

According to my electric bill for the last 12 mos., I used a total of 3306 KWH over the year. That's 275 KWH per month. 9.05 per day.

I'm pretty energy-conscious (every bulb is CFL) and I expect improvement since I just replaced my 1989 refrigerator (came with the house) with an energy-star one that uses 417 KWH per year (I'm guessing the old one used at least 1000, since it was pre-energy star).

Thanks for the compliment and advice on my "Solar System" (I can't believe I didn't notice that when I typed it! :blush:

[jpak]

16. PV panels are rated for their full-sun electrical output

Real engineers (who can add and subtract and multiply and divide and are scientifically literate) use NIST-traceable (ISO-9000 compliant) full spectrum xenon lamps to measure PV module output.

That is their rated capacity. Thus, a 120 watt module will produce 120 watts under peak sun conditions (1000 watts/m2).

In the Northeast US, peak-sun conditions (on average) occur for 3-4 hours each day - but the modules will produce power under below peak-sun conditions (module output tracks a bell-shaped diurnal curve)

PV does not work in the dark - that's why they are called "solar energy" systems. The "0.2-0.25 capacity loading" statement is just plain laughable nonsense. It is a lame attempt to obfuscate and dissemble and should be ignored by anyone with a real interest in solar energy.

[NNadir]

18. Right. And people who understand misrepresentation understand "peak"

and why that word is used so regularly in solar ads.

Were it not a fraudulent intent, the industry would simply state the average power in a climatic zone, or better yet, the number of kilowatt-hours represented by the system, not some crap about an evanescent peak. This is a case where measurement and accuracy is certainly available, but the marketing choice is to do otherwise.

As always, I have no problem with people installing solar systems when they can afford them.

Apparently though most people can't afford them, since residential solar energy as tallied in 2003 represented 0.058 Quadrillion BTU's of energy, less than 1% of the already tiny "renewables" market: http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/rea_data/table2.html#fp

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=37086&mesg_id=37086

It's data. Tough shit.

If solar PV power were a serious energy option, given 40 years of carrying on about "it's potential," it would represent a much greater fraction of the renewable market.

The person seeking to install the system is seeking to perform an individual action, and is to be applauded as already stated. The environmentalist in question has, apparently done a great deal of work in the area of conservation as well, also to be applauded. But this individual action addresses none of the needs of the billions of individuals for whom such an action is not possible.

I know that an element of PV worship is to ignore the poor and their needs. I, however, am not comfortable with that and I do not accept it. The poor matter to me. I am a liberal, not some isolated self absorbed Repuke.

[Dead_Parrot]

19. Not necessarily fraudulent.

There has to be some measure of how well a particular panel does under optimum conditions. Since any one installation is going to have a fairly unique combination of terrain, latitude, and orientation (assuming it's roof-mounted), and is subject to time of day, time of year and weather at any one moment, it's impossible to say how well it's going to perform until you measure the output.

I'd equate it to car manufacturers giving a "top speed": You're never going to actually reach it, but it gives you some idea of performance. My elderly rustbucket has a theoretical top speed of 105 mph, which tells you it's no Porsche turbo. The speed it actually goes at is dependant on which part of which road I'm on, the weather conditions, what mood I'm in and how badly I need to pee.

[jpak]

21. Fraudulent???? LOL!!!!!!

There are more than 250,000 American homes equipped with PV systems - and tens of thousands more with small wind turbine and solar hot water systems.

All are happy customers that did a lot of research into their domestic electrical requirements and their prospective PV (or wind) systems before they purchased them.

No one has been scammed.

Some people should put down their latest issue of 21st Science and Technology and read Home Power magazine instead.

[Massacure]

23. Of course individual owners aren't scammed.

But they only use them to offset their own demand. A big electricity provider cannot only generate power when the sun is high in the sky and there are no clouds. Hence they need to measure them in kilowatt-hours per year instead of peak kilowatts.

[One_Life_To_Give]

20. What do you think ISO-9000 gives you?

I c an understand having a Calibrated Lamp tracable to a national standards body like NIST. But why reference ISO-9000? I would think ISO 17025 would be more appropriate.

[skids]

11. Wow, only 400Kwh?

That's a nice light load. My only advice is to go through a professional contractor, but to shop around among contractors since some of them overcharge. You definitely want the experience on your side, but you don't want to be paying through the nose for it.

Oh, and I'd check and see, if you don't have it already, whether solar heat/hot water is also covered by incentive. Those systems pay you back faster. Also note there are federal tax credits in place this year for both.

[jrd200x]

12. There are several excellent boards on Yahoo

Just go to Yahoo groups and search for "Solar" or Alt Energy." I learned a lot from them.

[jrd200x]

13. You also get a new Federal tax credit on top of State

For Solar and more insulation/better windows. Thanks to GWB's energy bill. It's not enough but it's the only good thing in the bill.

[happyslug]

17. Passive Solar systems are more efficient

Examples of passive systems are windows pointed in the direction of the Winter sun (with eaves to cut out the Summer sun, which tends to be higher in the sky). Other examples are replacing window with specially designed windows that keep out ultra-violent Light (Which normal class change to infrared red light which heats up air on the inside, this is the reason your car in the summer is hot when after you leave it out in the sun with the windows up).

One person advocated having people paint the their Roofs white in Summer to reflect heat, and black in Winter to absorb heat (Or if your higher costs is winter heating keeping it black, but if the higher cost summer cooling painting the roof white). Paint is cheap.

Another method is having a delicious tree on the south side of the house, it the Summer its leaves reduces the sunlight hitting the house, thus keeping it cool, bu tit winter with the leaves down, more sunlight hits the house helping it heat up.

The reason I mentioned passive solar systems is they tend to be cheaper than Active Systems AND more efficient.

Second Comment: Look into Non-PV systems, often these are more cost effective than PV systems. The Classic example are Solar Hot Water Systems. Thee use South ward facing glass to heat up copper piping containing water (Or glycerin in areas where you have freezing weathers). This HOT water is stored in a tank till needed (Or if glycerin is used, used to heat up water stored in a Hot Water Tank). These tend to be more cost-effective than Electrical Solar panels, providing more energy applied directly to heat Water (Which is a high cost item in most homes).

For more information:
http://www.realgoods.com/renew/shop/product.cfm?dp=2202&ts=1045508&kw=Solar%20Water
http://www.solarroofs.com/
http://www.solardirect.com/swh/swh.htm
http://www.apricus-solar.com/index.htm

[phantom power]

22. You might consider solar hot-water.

I think it has a faster return-on-investment than PV.

[philb]

24. most cost effective solar is solar hot water & swim pool heating

passive solar hot water is simplest and most cost effective if the orientation is possible
the collector has to be below the level of the hot water heater for passive. (you have to have a reliable method to deal with freezing- can be self cut off but you have to have consistent system)

but solar hot water is cost effective for those who use a good bit of hot water, and solar is most effective way to heat a pool
having a good installer is important in any such

Do it your self types:
simple solar air heating systems(window box,etc.) Mother Earth News past issues can also be effective
attic air collector can be effective if you have a lot of mass in the house to carry the heat over into the night
or box collector along south wall and fan in house for distribution

solar air heating works best if you can combine it with some type of storage- concrete mass in house, tile floors, water containers, painted blocks, etc.

[philb]

27. Solar water heat system costs about $3500 in N.Fla depending on circumstan

ces and might save about$40 to $50 per month for an average family; currently there is a 30% tax credit I believe. With that
it would pay off in 4 or 5 years, though the external costs of the options compared to aren't considered here.

Solar poor heater costs about the same, the panels are much larger but lower tech. Solar pool heaters pay off much
faster compared to other options. And plastic pool covers of some type make a big difference also. Their effectiveness
greatly influences the size of collector needed. Some are much easier to use than others, and its important to pay attention
to ease of use when purchasing- pay a little extra to get something you don't mind using.

[4dsc]

25. What about Batteryless solar systems

I've been reading about this batteryless solor system and that has less cost's than battery backup ones..

http://www.homepower.com/files/featured/111_36.pdf

Comments??

[Sven77]

26. some links

http://shop.altenergystore.com/
http://www.sustainabledesign.com/sdg-proj.htm

i love the homepower magazine, they have a free download every couple months. many examples of homes using renewable energy. cost, materials, installation diagrams, etc.