Solar power for homes?
Q. I’ve learned a lot from your articles about the costs and benefits of home solar electric systems. I agree with you that costs have come down considerably, but they’re still too much for my pocketbook. I recently read a news story that Google has put a large solar system on their roof, so I’m thinking that these systems are really only cost-effective for big businesses and not for homeowners. Do you agree?
A. I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t think you should give up on a photovoltaic (PV) system for your home yet. As you might imagine, a big company like Google uses a tremendous amount of electricity at their facilities in Northern California. I read that their new PV system, which consists of more than 9,000 solar modules on the roofs of nine buildings, is offsetting about 30 percent of their peak power needs. It’s also estimated to keep more than 2.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air every year by replacing a significant amount of burning of fossil fuels.
Sure, huge systems like this are very cost-effective for companies that use a big amount of energy, but that doesn’t mean that a homeowner like you won’t find a small system very worthwhile on your home today.
The most obvious cost-effective use of residential PV systems today is for homes located in very remote areas or otherwise far from existing power lines. There are thousands of people today who live in rural areas not being served by the electric grid. Thousands more have vacation or weekend cottages or cabins in the middle of woods, mountains, next to lakes and other isolated locations.
And then there are the many people who live on large properties, farms and other places where electricity is needed but is not directly available.
Asking the utility company to run their lines to homes in these places can easily result in costs to the homeowner that run into thousands of dollars per mile for grid extension, along with related costs such as maintenance of the lines.
In cases like these, where the home’s occupants want to enjoy a modern lifestyle rather than adopt a more rustic standard of living, the solar system is often the only viable alternative to providing the power they need. The PV system will be quieter than operating a gas or diesel generator, will operate reliably, and will eliminate the air pollution problems of fossil-fueled power sources.
Second, if you’re thinking about buying a system for your home that is located in a more residential area currently served by a utility company, it’s hard to believe that there’s going to be a better time from a financial standpoint to do this than there is now.
There are federal tax credits (available until the end of 2008), tax credits in about half the states, many utility company incentive programs, and a whole host of state programs ranging from sales tax exemptions on the equipment to no increases in property taxes from the home improvement.
Even if you can’t afford a system big enough to power your entire home, these credits and other incentives will dramatically lower the cost of a small system that can help reduce your reliance on electricity. And because PV systems are modular, you can always expand your system over time for bigger energy savings.
And because PV systems are modular, you can always expand your system over time to get even bigger energy savings.
Recent news out of some research laboratories finds that solar cell efficiencies are continuing to increase, and manufacturing costs should keep coming down as demand for the products grows in the coming years.
Why wait? The significant financial incentives available today make installing a residential PV system a smart move for homeowners who can afford them.