Solar Panel Facts

I’ll get back to my series on solar powered water heaters soon, but before I do, I really felt that I needed to post this. I think a lot more of us would get on the solar power bandwagon if it were cheaper. If your utility company made it easier and cheaper to make the change, how many of you would jump at the chance? I know I would.

The government (local and otherwise) is involved in a lot of things they probably shouldn’t be, but this is an area where they could actually be helpful. So, what is your city or state doing to encourage the use of solar energy? What is your power company doing?

Think it’s impossible for your area to have affordable solar? And certainly impossible for the power company to help? Companies like Austin Energy prove it is possible. They offer rebates that pay 40-60% of the cost of installation. I’m not sure whether you can combine that with federal tax credits, but even if you can’t that’s a significant savings. They also offer affordable loans.

Cities and states can get involved in making solar cheaper, as well. When cities start using more solar, the savings will eventually trickle down to the rest of us. Las Vegas has plans to add millions of dollars in solar panels to save the city money on electricity. Ten cities have been recognized for using the highest percentage of solar power.

1. Oakland, CA 17%
2. Sacramento/San Francisco/San Jose, CA 12%
3. Portland, OR 10%
4. Boston, MA 8.6%
5. San Diego, CA 8%
6. Austin, TX 6%
7. Los Angeles, CA 5%
8. Minneapolis, MN 4.5%
9. Seattle, WA 3.5%
10. Chicago, IL 2.5%

So, if you want to find out more about solar supply or solar energy sources in your area, you should talk to a representative from your city council or state representatives to see what their plans are. This will give you the details you need about urban planning in your city or state, and will let you know how much money is being spent on electrical energy and new construction.

This is the final post in my 3 part series on residential solar lighting. I’ve already addressed outdoor uses for solar lighting, such as security lighting and solar sidewalk lights. But how can you bring the power of the sun inside?

Of course we all know that you can put up solar shingles or residential solar panels, but a lot of us aren’t ready to take that leap just yet. So, what options are available if you want to increase your use of solar power without moving your whole house off the grid? There are some easy, cost effective measures you can take.

One of the easiest uses of solar lighting for your home is also the most obvious– so bear with me. They get better. Almost every person in America with a home has the ability to make some use of solar in your house, and it won’t cost you anything. Utilize your windows. Now, you do want to be smart about this. If it’s blazing hot or freezing cold where you live, you may not be able to leave your windows completely uncovered all day every day. But for great amounts of the day, many of us could turn off almost every light in our house and utilize the power of the sun to light our homes. So, be smart and use what you already have before investing one additional dime in solar lighting for your home.

Now, if you want to make better use of your windows, there is an option you can look into. Called a light shelf, it is primarily designed for tall windows that get a lot of direct sunlight. It allows you to better direct the sunlight and get less glare while still lighting your interior with passive solar lighting. There are internal and external light shelves that both serve different purposes, but if you have really tall windows in your house and are interested in improving the use of passive solar lighting, you should look into light shelves.

While light shelves may be a fairly new idea to many readers, the next solar lighting option has been around for quite a while. Skylights are familiar to most of us as a way to bring the power of the sun inside. You might consider installing a skylight in your bathroom or some other room that lacks enough windows to effectively utilize solar lighting.

While skylights have been around for quite some time, there are some new twists on this familiar method of solar lighting. The first is the solar tube. Basically, these utilize a skylight type system on your roof and reflective tubing to bring solar into rooms where traditional skylights would not work. They provide much better and often more focused lighting than a traditional skylight and lack many of the drawbacks of older skylights (such as glare and heat). They are also a relatively cheap solar lighting option, usually more inexpensive than skylights or even new windows. They can be professionally installed in about half a day and don’t require major renovation. Plus, they may qualify for a federal tax credit.

This is a video about solar tube lighting, so that you can better picture how they work.

These are several ways that you can bring solar lighting inside without installing solar panels. My next articles will address another popular solar application– solar water heaters.

You may be wondering, “What is the cost of solar panels?” Can I afford them? How long will it take before I save enough in electrical costs so that they pay for themselves?

Determining the cost of solar panels is a complicated issue. You have to take into consideration facts like where you live, how much sunlight is available, how much power do you use and more. While the size of your house might SEEM like a concern, what really matters more is how efficient is your home. A tiny home with no insulation might generate more electrical costs than a brand new, energy efficient large home.

So, in order to find out the price for solar panels, you will need to determine your energy usage, determine the average amount of sunlight, and use that information to find out how many watts of power you will need. You’ll also want to look into the current tax incentives that are available and subtract that from your cost.

But, really, you’re thinking, “How much does it COST?” It will probably run upwards of $30,000 dollars to install a 5 kw system, which is what most houses would need to cover all of their electrical needs. The amount will vary based on the kind of solar panels you choose, who does the installation, your location and many other variables.

So, the short answer is that if you’re not planning on staying in your house for quite a few years, you probably shouldn’t count on the system paying for itself. Of course, there are many other reasons to have a solar system, and prices do continue to come down as time passes. And the current tax credits available may allow you to cut the cost of installation in half.

If you’re not looking for whole house solar, then there are still ways that you can install solar around your home. If you have a swimming pool, you can install a solar pool heater, and it will probably cost you less than $5,000. Solar water heaters will run you even less than that and provide excellent savings.

So, whether you’re looking for a whole house system or something smaller, the cost of solar energy is a bit steep to begin with, but well worth it in the long run. In the future we’ll address ways you can save money on solar. Is it possible to find used solar cells? How about free solar panels? Check back with us for the answer to those questions and more.

What is Solar Power?

Solar power is the process of using light from sun and turning it into an energy source that can power everything from toys to your own house. It has become a reliable environmentally friendly (green)  alternative to regular power sources. It has even been used in outer space!

Solar power is used in toys, homes, lighting, architectural projects, cooking and pretty much anything that can run on electricity. It has become even more popular as the cost of oil and gas continues to rise and as people have become more concerned about the environmental impact of other energy sources.

Solar panels are designed to collect the power from the sun. Once solar energy is collected by the solar panels it has to be converted into energy. This can be done by a process called solar thermal application. It involves using the energy from the  sun to directly heat air or liquids. The process of photoelectric application involves the use of photovoltaic cells to convert the energy from the solar panels into electricity.

Solar power poses no harm to the environment. However, other threats to the environment may affect the ability to use solar power in the future. Global dimming is the result of pollution. It allows less sunlight to reach the surface of the Earth. A recent concern is global dimming, an effect of pollution that is allowing less sunlight to reach the Earth’s surface.

The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) is an organization of electric utility companies and the solar industry. They joined together to find solutions to meet our  energy needs. SEPA is a network of more than one hundred companies. Fifty are utility companies, twenty five are solar companies, and the rest are various types of businesses. They share experiences, knowledge, and information about solar energy programs. They also discuss policies and technology relating to their fields of interest.

Is solar energy right for you?

There are advantages to using solar power over other engergy sources like oil, gas, nuclear, etc. Solar energy is free. It can be used in areas where electricity can’t be set up easily. The sun is not a resource that is going to be depleted. Disadvantages are that it doesn’t work at night. The cost of creating solar power stations to store such energy is very expensive. In some area of the world, solar energy just isn’t an option because the climate does not allow for enough sun light to be used by solar panels. In most cases, solar power is an excellent environmentally friendly alternative to other sources of energy.