As consumers struggle to cope with the rising costs of operating their
homes, green-minded homeowners are turning to the sky for solutions. All
the energy stored in the earth's reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas
is matched by energy from just 20 days of sunshine. Homeowners
considering utilizing sunlight to reduce energy bills have two primary
choices available - solar thermal water heating and photovoltaic
electricity generation. The photovoltaic process uses the sun to
generate electricity and solar thermal uses the sun to heat water. Both
are good, but solar thermal often is the technology of choice for
homeowners primarily due to lower initial cost, greater efficiency, and
faster payback for the investment. Kevin Hughes came to that
conclusion before installing a solar thermal system in his San
Francisco home. "Solar electricity is expensive to purchase and
install; it has a long pay back period; it converts sunlight to usable
energy fairly inefficiently, and because of that, you need quite a lot
of roof space or land to put up enough panels to power your home. I
prefer solar thermal, specifically solar hot water, a much older
technology. It is much cheaper to install, much more efficient, and has
a much faster pay back."
Jim Cika, manager of solar products for VELUX America, recommends that
consumers do their homework on the technologies, as well as
calculations for how solar-friendly their homes may be, factoring in
geographic location, orientation of the roof for solar collectors,
costs, tax incentives and rebates that may be available to arrive at an
economically sensible and environmentally sensitive decision. A
number of Web sites can be helpful with analysis and with locating
products and installers. Findsolar.com and nabcep.org list certified
installers by state. Solar-rating.org lists certified solar-equipment
manufacturers. Eere.energy.gov/consumer includes a calculator for
initial cost, annual operating costs, determining payback, and a
consumers' guide to solar thermal while nrel.gov offers a consumers'
guide to photovoltaic. Federal and state tax credit information, by
geographic area, is available at dsireusa.org. According to the
Solar Energy Industries Association an average-sized, 4.5-kilowatt
residential photovoltaic system costs $40,000 to $50,000, before tax
credits or rebates. Cika says that the average solar thermal hot water
system would range between $7,000 and $10,000. "On average," he says,
"if you install a solar water heater, your water heating bills should
drop 50 to 80 percent - not an insignificant sum when you consider that
the Department of Energy says that water heating can account for
14%-25% of the energy consumed in our homes." While a solar thermal
system usually costs more to purchase and install than a conventional
water heating system, it can save you money in the long run. How much
depends on factors including the amount of hot water you use, your
system's performance, your geographic location and solar resource,
available financing and incentives, the cost of conventional fuels and
the cost of the fuel you use for your backup water heating system. If
you're building a new home including the price of a solar thermal
system in a new 30-year mortgage amounts to between $13 and $20 per
month. The federal income tax deduction for the solar system reduces
that by about $3 to $5 per month. If your fuel savings are more than
$15 per month, the investment is profitable. Cika says that solar
water heating represents a logical first step for homeowners who want
to harness the power of the sun because it is relatively simple
technology compared to generating electricity from the sun. "The
technologies accomplish different objectives," he says, "but they both
will pay increasing dividends to homeowners who utilize them now and in
the future." For more information on the benefits of solar water heating, call (800) 283-2831 or visit veluxusa.com/solar. Courtesy of ARAcontent
