|
Buildings:
Residential/Business
Q and A on home and small business energy systems
What am I buying or looking to buy?
Photovoltaic solar panels for my house or business.
Why?
To cut my energy bill (and possibly even get paid for contributing to the grid), to reduce my carbon footprint, and/or to gain energy independence.
Is there a cost and efficiency difference between solar panels?
Yes - basically there are three choices in solar panels.
What are they?
Cost and efficiency are based on the materials the panels are made of. They are:
Monosilicon – the most expensive and the most efficient in converting the sun’s energy into electricity
Polysilicon – somewhat less expensive less efficient in energy conversion
Amorphous Silicon – the least expensive and least efficient at energy conversion
What is the availability of each?
There are many companies that sell each of the three materials. If the vendors don’t do installation, they all have good connections with installers.
Are there other significant technologies which can help me lower my energy bills?
Yes – groundsource is certainly one worth investigating.
What is it?
Geothermal energy is based on the fact that ground temperature below the surface remains relatively constant. Most basements exhibit this by remaining cooler in Summer and warmer in Winter. A groundsource system uses buried piping attached to the building’s heating and cooling system to create cooler conditions in summer and maintain warmth in Winter.
It is obviously cheaper to heat a building from 50 ˙F to 70 ˙F than to heat it from 0 ˙F to 70˙F. Cooling, depending on location, is even less expensive due to this ground temperature constant.
What is the availability of groundsource?
There are groundsource vendors nationwide. The only confusing issue is the fact that many sellers of groundsource pumping systems are also in the central air conditioning and heating business independent of grounsource. The buyer must, therefore, be very specific in insisting on a groundsource system.
Can solar photovoltaics be combined with groundsource ?
Yes – it obviously requires greater initial cost and integration of different vendors, but such combined systems can be built successfully.
What other considerations are there in adopting either or both of these systems?
For solar photovoltaics – direct sunlight on the roof of the house or building.
For groundsource – depth of soil before hitting bedrock and overall ground area available for buried piping.
Maintenance issues and expenses to consider
Photovoltaics panels need to be clean to operate efficiently. Cleaning obviously varies by regional air quality. External connectors must remain intact – so an annual inspection.
The system that converts the solar electricity (DC) for home usage (AC) and that connects to the local utility company is known as an Inverter. Although they may last longer, inverters are not presently guaranteed for more than five years. Most solar panels can last 20-25 years — so planning for several inverter replacements over the life of the system is necessary.
This significant expense is much like brake replacement in an automobile. You need to do it to allow the system to work.
The good news about photovoltaics is the fact that many states and public utilities offer generous cash incentives for photovoltaic installation. During peak daytime load hours you may even be selling electricity to the power company.
Share Your Thoughts
We welcome your feedback!
|
|
