Home Solar Power Systems Analysis - Is My House Right For A Home Solar Power System?
Are yIu looking for thO right home solar pIwer system to suNt your needs? Well you are not alone; mny people arO nIw looAing to the sun to provide cheapOr moe environmentally friOndly Iays tI produce energy to run their houNeholds.
TI fNnd the rigOt homO sola power sOstem to save you money and help the environment Oou need tI consider certain factors. Here re fOw poNnters to Oelp you maAe a more educated decisNon whOn it comeN to sIlar energO and yIur homO.
IN The Tie Right For A HIme Solar PIwer System?
Solar power is now n affordable optNon for peIple to considOr when it comeN to poducing Nower to run their homeN. The solar industry haN matured over the laNt decade and the cost If solar pnels has dropNed considerably. In the last 3 yOars the priNe haN drIpped y 40%.
The tie is right to consider sIlar energO because the initial cost of installation is sucO that the svings involved eans that you will recIver the initial outly wNthin 1-3 Oears. Below we will discusN whether solar iN the rNght choice fo you.
Is YoIr HIme Suitable For A HomO Solar Power System?
Frequently Asked Questions
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QUESTION:
Can Solar Panels Power My Whole House-Including A/Cs?
Hello, I'd really appreciate some input on the subject of solar power panels. I've ready a lot and I've learned a lot in the recent months by Googl'ing and I realize it's a big undertaking and in order to generate a small amount of KWH it takes a lot of hardware/installation. I've been very interested for some time in this subject, not so much for my needs here in California (where my average monthly electrical bill is roughly , even when I run the A/C in my studio from time to time), but more for the time I spend in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where electricity is about 10 times as expensive and where the price per KWH increases every 2 months.My question is; how realistic would it be to attempt to power a house in Brazil using solar panels? Of course it would be preferable to completely power the house with solar power, though partial solar power would also be helpful. It is hot in Rio 9 months out of the year (sometimes even all year long), and when it's hot there is plenty of sun. The cost of electricity is so high in Brazil (roughly 6 times higher than the US...and it goes up every 2 months or so) making it unaffordable to run A/Cs for most people.
1. Is there any way that I could run between 3-5 wall A/C units in a house, or one central A/C unit for the whole house (all day and all night) as well as to run the rest of the house's appliances (fridge, freezer, TVs, computers, lights, etc) using solar panels? I realize I'm asking a lot and I'm not sure how many KWHs it would require to run all of the above-mentioned, but is there a chance it could be done by only using the roof of the house as the resting area for the panels? If so, how much would it cost in hardware/installation to generate that much electricity?
2. I've seen solar panel systems on TV shows that apparently generate DC and then it gets converted to AC and then something else happens so that it can be used directly for the house...and when there is an excess of electricity, it feeds that solar-generated electricity back into the city electricity which turns back your meter. I have also seen systems that have battery arrays that are charged from the solar panels and then the house is run off of the batteries. Which of these 2 methods is best? (In my case, there may be one month where we're not at the house and one month where we are...could the "off months" be used to store generated electricity?)
3. Does anybody know if it would be better to seek to purchase solar panels in Brazil, or cheaper to import them from another country?
4. Has anyone heard of the SolCool Solar-Powered A/C? http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/07/16/solcools-solar-air-conditioners/ could this be a solution for those of us seeking to power A/Cs from solar panels?
Thank you for taking your time to read this. Looking forward to your answers!
Thank you to all for your good answers and input. Is there any way that I can add answers (to your answers) or further comments to this thread?-
ANSWER:
Woah...way to much info for a question...so I'm going to write my answer based on JUST the question and not the book of additional information you posted.
My understanding is no, solar power isn't there yet. However, you could greatly reduce your energy costs by supplementing your home with solar power. How much really depends on where you live. For example, in the arctic Minnesota area where I am from, solar would not be the greatest thing. We get a lot of snow fall in the winter (thus covering the solar panels till they could be cleaned off) and we have some very short days in the winter with a lot of overcast days (thus reducing or eliminating the effectiveness).I think it would still be a worthwhile investment if you plan to live in the home long enough to allow the solar panels to pay for themselves.
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QUESTION:
How much will a solar panel system cost to run a whole house?
I am wondering about the average cost to put solar panels on the average size home. (I know it takes a 3 to 4kw system, I think)
Would this power the home all the time?
Will there be power left over to sell back to the power company?
Just trying to get a clear understanding of solar panels from people that run their homes with solar?-
ANSWER:
I have a 3.74 kw dc system. The full cost to have the system installed was K. I got a K rebate from my utility and a fed tax credit (it has been increased to 30% of the total cost so it would be 00). Not all utilities will allow your meter to run backwards, mine does. It was estimated my system would pay for it's self in 6.2 years. My city just passed a 20% rate increase, so I should break even much sooner. My system is tied to the grid so I sell them my excess and buy what I need when the sun isn't up. I don't have a storage system. I create about 90% of my summer usage and about 75% of my winter usage. My bills went from about 0 down to about for the summer. In the spring my bills are closer to .I highly recommend getting a quote from a local installer, because local rebates and incentives can have a big impact on the over all costs. Where you live, the angle of the panels, any shade issues etc. can all have an impact on production. Any quality company should be able to tell you how much it will cost, a fair estimate of production and an estimate of how long before you break even. It helps if you can give the installer a usage history, I was able to get 2 years history from my utility.
It always helps to begin with conservation.
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QUESTION:
Question About Solar Energy For My Home?
Hello I am looking into purchasing a solar power generator for my home. I want to prepare for a time if electricity were to ever be cut off from my house.I'm not trying to power my whole house, just two freezers located in my garage to keep the food frozen at night. I would also like to be able to charge a laptop, use a radio, and charge flashlights. Not all at the same time of course.
So my question is what solar power system would suit my needs. I am also under a budget. Thank you guys
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ANSWER:
the freezers will use 99.5% of what you are asking ( charge a laptop = .5% )You need to go look at the data plate of the freezer. It will say something like Volts ( 120 ) Amps ( 14 ) Watts ( 1680 ) Watts = Volts x Amps ) .
You need to figure how many hours a day the freezer runs.
You only get about 3-5 usable hours a day of sunlight at best no matter where you are.
Say you need 3 hours run time on the freezer. 3 x 1680 = 5,000 watts a day. 2 freezers, 10,000 W
a 150 Watt panel gives 450 watts a day.
Each panel costs 400-600 dollars.
You need 10 of them
You need batteries to store the charge and then an inverter to take 12v to 120 volts to run things..
The short answer to all those complex calculations is:
around ,000 to run the freezers.
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QUESTION:
Solar power for hot water use, worth installing?
I have radiant heat throughout my whole house. My whole house is run off propane gas by a wall hung gas boiler. The amount that I am spending in gas per year is about 00. I live in Maine where winters can be long and cold. My house has great exposure to the sun from sunrise to sunset. It just seems to make sense to have a solar system installed to run my hot water and my heat and have the gas as a back up. I know the cost is somewhere around ,000 for a system. My question on here is does anyone have a solar system like I am describing and if so what are the pros and cons associated with it?-
ANSWER:
There is some confusion when we refer to "Solar panels" and even some who operate commercial installations may not be aware that "Solar panels" can be Photovoltaic panels that produce electricity and Solar thermal panels used to capture heat. While photovoltaic panels are more costly they are at best around 24% installed. Solar thermal panels are cheaper and may be up to 80% efficient. It makes no sense to use photovoltaic panels to heat your home.The numbers you give suggests a potential 2 to 21/2 year payback period on your investment. Most would consider this very worthwhile.
Solar thermal panels are part of an active system and can be designed to produce hot air or hot water. In general the hotter your base operating system is the more likely is loss due to outside temperatures. Solar thermal flat panels are cheaper but radiate some heat back into the environment which lessons efficiency but gives an advantage in environments with a heavy frost or snow load. Solar thermal vacuum tube collectors are better suited to higher system temperatures, cloudy days, and higher extremes in ambient temperatures. Some systems will mix both types of collectors with the vacuum tube collectors in series after the flat panels.1
I envy your choices. Radiant heating is the ideal distribution system for a solar heated system. It is ideal because it uses a lower distribution heat which may not be much hotter than your standard domestic hot water temperatures of about 120 deg F. As a good portion of any heating system is the distribution system you will have some savings in money there. If you had access to a pond or stream I would encourage you to examine geothermal heating as this is another system that works well with radiant heating and the water source makes it very economical.
The main difference between your present system and a solar heated system is the type of energy storage. Propane is a fuel that stores energy. A solar heated system requires some energy storage and this is usually in the form of an insulated tank of hot water. Sizing the tank and the panels relatively to your heating demands is very important. The tank can be reduced in size using a slurry of phase change materials but this is generally considered more trouble than it is worth. The tank is normally pressurized to equal your domestic water pressures but it would also essentially be an atmospheric pressure insulated "pond."
Systems that attempt to provide more than about 80% of the demand might include a ground loop. This is a loop in the Earth used to keep the solar panels from getting too hot in the summer. It may also be possible to generate electricity with excess thermal energy.2
It is possible to air condition using solar thermal panels but the system is an absorption system not the typical electrical/compressor/refrigerant system that is common elsewhere today. It is not practical to simply cool the house using the same radiant distribution system as condensation can be an issue so some form of separate air handling is generally required. I have provided a sampling of material to digest below.
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QUESTION:
Solar power using a solar panel or solar panels.?
Does anyone have any good information on how to build a system that could run your whole house which doesn't cost a arm and a leg to build ? I wanna get away from the high cost of the electric company and run my whole house on its own with no help from the power company.-
ANSWER:
Cost is a matter of perspective. I have a system that cost K, That was less than my pool. I also got a K rebate and a fed. tax credit. I should break even in my 6th year. With rates increasing about 5% a year we will likely be paying double in less than 15 years, without my system that would be ove 0 in the summer, with my system it will be more like . I should save well over K over the life of my panels.All that being said conservations is key. I was able to cut my usage at least 25% before getting my panels and I was pretty conservative before that. I know my neighbor uses more than twice the electricity I use and we have the same floor plan.
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