I am in the process of designing and quoting a solar electrical system for a house I recently purchased.  This is a ‘Split Level’ Home of approximately 1900 sq feet.  The heating systems is electric baseboard.  I researched several local companies that provide a soup to nuts service and installation.  Some sites to find a solar installer;

http://www.findsolar.com/

http://www.getsolar.com/

Once you have selected a provider, the first step is usually a quick suitability review from the installer.  With an address, they can pull up google maps and get a view of your house, determine the orientation and roof structure.  From that initial review you get some immediate feedback about solar applicability on your house.

A site review is usually next, some firms will charge for this survey.  I imagine in their mind it is a way to determine the seriousness of customers.  The survey in my case, consisted of a 90 min review of the house.  The technician was looking at potential places for the installation, roofing and support structure, trees and shading issues, sun orientation, location of the inverters in the basement – a vented cabinet size area is needed for that and finally a review of my electric bills for the past year. This cost me $100.

About 10 days later, I received a detailed proposal.  The proposal contained pictures of the proposed installation, it’s orientation, any trees or shading that would need to be addressed, estimated energy production on my specific installation, savings and the most importantly the state and federal credits available.

A well structured ROI ( return on investment was included), and a cash flow over the life of the system were included.

The details of this installation;

Rooftop Solar Array:
Azimuth (Direction of array): 240º
Inclination: 22º (flush with roof)
Solar Access: 92%
Derate factor: 0.708
Size of solar installation: 4.94 kW DC. (26 solar panels model ES-190)

Price of Solar Installation (all costs) $35,243
Instant Savings (Commonwealth Solar Rebate) -$20,995

Upfront Cost to You $14,248

Recovered costs in year one: (Tax Credits)
State Income Tax Credit1 -$1000
Federal Income Tax Credit2 -$4274

Cost to you after rebates and tax credits $8,974

Estimated savings over 25 year life of solar panels: $85,600
Estimated increase in home value $22,500 – (based on a study by the Appraisal Institute)
Payback including increase in home value Immediate
Payback not including increase in home value 5 years
Usable life of solar panels 25+ years
Estimated annual energy production 4900 KWH
Carbon Dioxide emissions displaced per year 4510 lbs

I know that I would believe in the increase in home values in today’s economy, but the payback without that is still only 5 years.  I also don’t know if I believe the 25 year life of the panels.

I am meeting with the installer to review the proposal and get more details on what I would need to do ahead of time.  They are recommending I remove some trees, and also replace the roof prior to installing the units.

The panels are from Evergreen, which is a quality company.

Some initial questions;

Review the tax credit and or rebate process, income level qualifications, paperwork process, and timing, when does paperwork need to be submitted when would I see a check

Part guaranty and installation guaranty.

Licensing and insurance of installers

Maintenance needed

Snow and ice

What else should I be asking?

I am a big proponent of vertical axis wind turbines.  I believe they have more real world uses than, their ‘bigger is better’ horizontal cousins.  Across the windy plains of the Dakotas, or Texas, the large turbines will work fine.  When you have acres and acres of land that can be dedicated to generating electricity, or where farmers can lease their land, these behemoths make sense.  But what about the rest of us ? What about the more than 70% of us that live in and around towns, and cities?  We have neighbors, we have limited space and we have costs to consider.  I think vertical will be the only way to go.

This company has made substantial progress in the market place for both wind farms, commercial and residential installations. Helix Wind, www.helixwind.com .  Unlike my previous posts on early entrants into the vertical wind market, see http://mygreensuit.com/2007/09/10/vertical-wind-turbine/ .  Helix has built products that are quiet, efficient, and look good.  I could see this is a back yard, knowing that it was producing energy and helping our environment.

See their video

Look for costs to continue to come down, as lower cost materials are used and mass production starts.  Believe it or not the height required for most of these units in a residential setting, is 30 feet above the tallest trees in your surrounding area.  Clearly, many people could get away with a simple, lower cost installation and start going green.

The idea, which is being proven effective every day by companies like Climatemaster and Waterfurnace is a real choice for new construction, public buildings and upgrading your home system.

The earth absorbs almost 50% of all solar energy and remains a nearly constant temperature of 50°F to 70°F depending on geographic location. Working with an underground loop system, a geothermal unit utilizes this constant temperature to exchange energy between your home and the earth as needed for heating and cooling.

In winter, water circulating inside a sealed loop absorbs heat from the earth and carries it to the unit. Here it is compressed to a higher temperature and sent as warm air to your indoor system for distribution throughout your home.

In the summer, the system reverses and expels heat from your home to the cooler earth via the loop system. This heat exchange process is not only natural, but is a truly ingenious and highly efficient way to create a comfortable climate in your home.

Horizontal Loops are installed in areas where the soil conditions allow for economical excavation. Taking up more land area than any other loop type, they are used where space permits. Trenches are normally 5 feet deep. Normally, several hundred feet of trench is required.

Vertical Loops
Vertical Loops are used extensively where land area is limited. A pair of pipes with a special U-Bend assembly at the bottom are inserted into a bore hole that averages between 150 to 250 feet in depth per ton of equipment.

Some cost comparisons;

I love this idea. The problem with many wind turbine installations has been the NIMBY it fosters in local communities. The large turbines, destroy the view, make too much noise and cost too much. Those are the usual complaints. We have a major wind project held up along the cape cod coast for exactly these reasons.

Well what if commercial buildings incorporated the vertical designed turbine described below ? What if cites incorporated these units into there power systems (think electrical distribution poles), or into there signage throughout the city? What if billboard owners put these units on there billboards (especially the display units with leds)?

These seem much less obtrusive than other wind turbines, they can capture the wind from any direction, they are quieter than traditional. Yes, they produce less energy than many of the bigger units, but this is a volume game here. Hopefully with mass production would come lower per unit costs. Some Specs on the big selling unit;

Some cool examples of installations at their site http://www.quietrevolution.co.uk/