Quote:
Originally Posted by jyl
How much is installation, typically, for a single family house? Do most people do it when they need a new roof, rather than have to reomve the panels later?
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It is not trivial -- a friend of mine installed solar panels on his home, and even with rebates and 'energy coupons' he still had a lot of up-front costs. Figure spending ~ $50k for a solid setup.
There are several elements to solar power that most folks don't understand. For example:
1. Utility charges -- there are two main parts of electric charges on your utility bill: actual utility costs( kilowatts) and delivery costs (infrastrcuture & grid).
2. Most homes use the most electricity at night.
3. Solar power 'freeds the grid' during the day. IE: if you have solar panels on your roof, during the day, that power not only powers the minimal electricity you use, it also send the additional electricity back into the grid. Basically, your electric meter spins backwards.
4. If you make 100 kilowatts of power during the day, and you use 100kilowatts of power at night, you will NOT break even, since you have to still pay the delivery costs. (infrastructure & grid -- see #1 above).
5. Thus, the best way to take advantage of your own solar power is to maximize power use during the day to reduce the amount of delivery costs overall. So -- doing your laundry and dishes during the day while you are making electricity makes sense. Your meter won't spin backwards as much, but you will pay less for the delivery of electricity.
6. My understanding of NJ rebates/incentives was that corporations were required to either implement green energy methods, or to pay private individuals who have implemented green energy. Ex: If I have a solar panel on my roof, a company can give me $$ for that panel, and 'claim' that panel as part of their 'green energy' initiative. I believe this program will soon end. (So get your solar panels up before it all ends!!)
As always, YMMV,
-Z-man.