There is news today that General Electric will be closing down their solar PV Electric Plant in the State of Delaware and it seems like a good time to go over how Solar Technologies can be put to use in our homes.
This is not in hopes of saving the company because they have been mismanaged to the point of failure and we will cover that in this howto but it is to explain how most if not all residential home owners could benefit today from installing systems if they were affordable.
Solar Overview
The fact is Solar PV Electric has been on the market and used in many homes, businesses and industrial settings for decades.
The reason no one is installing these systems is cost.
We would NEVER take the ideas of some who would place taxes on other types of fuel sources to help benefit the production of Solar. The fact is the technology is so simple in comparison to making Computer CPUs or Automobiles that are made in the Millions of units for less then a Solar PV and Hot Water system that there can be nothing less then a conscious effort to keep these units off of the market.
Cost
The average home uses a 100 amp service for their electric needs. During the day this use is limited to maintaining the homes heating system, lighting and refrigerator food storage. In the evening the use of electric rises as people return to their home and make use of the many electric products but at no time will the average home max out the 100AMP service that is connected to their electric company.
For this the average home owner pays in the area of $100 to $200 a month or $1,200 to $2,400 a year in electric bills.
The average cost of a GE Energy Brilliance Prepackaged Grid Tie 10.0 KW System that can provide 87 Amps Peak is $39,000.
To pay that system off based on home electric bills of $150 a month would take 260 months or 21.7 years.
This means the system would have to be installed and running for 22 years before you would get free electric.
Now if this technology was mass produced like Automobiles in the range of 20 million a year in the USA then the price may come down to 15% of that cost.
Meaning the average system would cost $5,850 and it would take the average home owner only 3.25 years to see the break even point and have free electric from that time forward.
Like we said the process for making Solar Electric Panels may require specialized processes but its technology barriers are no where near those found in producing Automobiles that include advanced computer controlled engines or highly precision made parts that have tolerances of ten thousands of an inch or smaller.
It is simply the fact that they do not want to mass produce these products and not that they can not produce good quality …. maybe not bleeding edge but good quality products for 15% of the cost if they do it in the millions of units a year.
The reason they do not produce these products at an affordable price is simply control over the consumer in the market of energy production.
If the average home could come up dead even after 4 years and then start selling electricity back to the grid at a profit for use in industry, schools or using that electric to charge electric cars at home then the Energy Industry would lose jobs and control over the industry.
What An Average Home Would Need
For an average home to be self sufficient they would need to produce both electric and hot water from solar technologies. In the day the electric would be sold to the Grid and in the evenings it would be purchased back.
Solar Hot Water would be used to supplement the homes heating needs by running the hot water through a radiant heating system or force air HVAC system. It would also be used for heating water for general use.
To provide that much energy would require approximately 20 to 25 panels for electricity and 5 panels for hot water.
You would need a grid tie inverter to feed surplus electric back to your electric grid and to provide standard electric for your home. You would also need a double sized hot water heater storage tank to store the heater water.
Additionally you will need a battery storage unit if you wanted to use some of the days electricity at night instead of purchasing offset electric. This is an option not a requirement.
Today this total system would run you in the area of $50,000 for the average 2,500 square foot home locate in almost every area of the country.
What About Government and Electric Company Rebates?
Yes in some areas of the country Southwest states mostly although many Northeast states also provide 100% discounts or buyoffs if you install solar or wind at your home.
For the rest of the country the average rebate can be in the 30% range.
The problem with rebates and buyouts is that you need to get on a list and if you are lucky you are one of the first. Most spots are taken just days after the signup period begins.
But if you are lucky you can probably get $15,000 off of your system that costs $50,000 reducing your time to free electric to 19.5 years rather then 27.8 years if you had no discount or rebate.
The Reality
No one will purchase a system for their home that takes 30 years to break even on when they can not justify that cost against their monthly expenses.
The only way that Solar will ever become accessible is when a business decides to ramp up production to millions of units a year.
The fact is this technology is simplistic however its costs to the consumer are not the only factor.
If homes can be built that do not require outside fuel sources or that can cut the use of energy 60 to 80 percent and result in a payoff within 4 years then energy companies will no longer control the individual.
Yes we will still need electricity for industry and commercial use but just like Oil is a finite resource there are only so many consumers of energy in the world.
Final Note
Eventually these products will come to market but not in the normal way.
The controls over the patents are too strong for any contender to enter the market so eventually decades from now we will see mass production probably in China that will become a new energy power.
As a matter of fact they are already ramping up production http://www.lucky-energy.com
If you want to install these products the YouRepair Store does sell them.