Saving Money with Solar Power
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
One of my neighbors has a solar power system on his roof. I've talked about the installation process because I've been considering it for my house here in Los Angeles. It's not just the "green" incentive either... well, money is green, I guess. And you can save a lot of it switching to solar power.
My neighbor had it installed a few years ago and he told me it was in the ten thousand dollar range (plus installation) to have the panels put up. It might cost more now, but I haven't looked into it. He said that the company that installed it helped to arrange a loan and the electric company provided incentives along with multiple tax credits. His house faces west, so he had to put them on the front of the house which doesn't look great, but... he said he rarely pays an electric bill anymore.
A typical 2 kilowatt (kw) residential rooftop PV system produces about 3,600 kw hours per year. This is about half the electricity usage for an average LA home. By substituting sun power for fossil fuels, this system avoids the need to make electricity by burning 3.7 tons of coal. In turn, approximately 10,000 lbs. of global warming greenhouse gases do not enter the atmosphere. Which is good.
You stay a part of "the grid." When the sun shines, you should be able to generate more power than your home consumes and your electric meter will spin backwards generating a credit. At night you'll draw on utility company power, essentially using the electrical grid as a giant battery.
But the incentives are nice, too. For a quick example, LA is offering a $2000 tax credit. There are incentives that provide "buydown" assistance to cover up to half of the installation costs. And the payback period (the time it takes to pay back the investment) is usually only a few years.
Check and see if you city or state has any solar power programs.
