Solar And Wind 4 Me

Some things I found out that work are?

Door bells, eliminating a power packs.

12v fans used to boost registers to a furnace.

12v LED lighting.

Cordless telephones.

Radios.

12v TV’s

Battery chargers

Cell phone chargers

Any other suggestions would be great, what else would work? I need to cut back on energy.

Anything can be run off of solar, it just depends on how big your panels are and how long you want to run them etc. A small panel that costs $150 might run a TV. Solar is great as a back up or charging system. I want to get one of those solar car batt chargers to keep your batt charged always.

I understand you pay the price for the solar panels once and then use them for like 20 years - but are there any other expenses? Such as…charging the battery, maintanence, etc.?

10x!

yep
batteries, inverter, wiring, switches, photo cells, knowledge to hook it all up,
solar isn’t, what its all hoped up to be,
solar lights are a better deal, you can put them to work, but to power a home ? forget it,
buy a 13 K generator for total home power, all that cost is fuel ,
use propane powered stove,s fridge,s freezers, [ the amish do ]
there still for sale, in cross ville, tn
there is a lot of other ways to be self sufficient, solar is a gimmick, for now

My siblings and I all live in different parts of the country. Both or our parents are dead. they have a home in the country. To pay utility bills for this home as well as our own is expensive. If enough electricity could be generated to keep the pipes from freezing in the winter at little or no cost to us it would be great. I was wondering about solar. Can anyone give me any pointers?

The initial installation of a solar electric system is expensive. If it is a quality unit the regulator/converter unit will hold up for a long time with little or no maintenance. You will also have a bank of batteries which may require some maintenance depending on the type. The system will have to be matched to the expected load, in your case heat tape on the pipes. The panels on the roof will have to be cleaned and keep clear of snow and ice. For more specifics you should contact a solar contractor. The contractor will determine the system that best meets your needs and estimate the cost.

I’ve seen a couple homes around my town that have solar power and I live in the Desert, where the sun is shinning and it gets really hot during the summer. We run our air conditioner a lot making our electricity bill high.

So I just wanted to know if anyone has or knows anyone that has solar panels? are they worth getting and is it the same as having electricity?

I have been doing my homework on these for a couple of years now and have decided that for me, they aren’t worth the investment at this time because a huge area needs to be dedicated for the panels in my particular situation and you can easily spend the equivalent of the cost of a luxury car on solar panels. The problem comes in when they don’t pay for themselves as "quickly" as many people say they do, which happens a lot. Spending up to six figures and waiting for the expenditure to "pay for itself" can be very frustrating when you find that will happen 20 or 30 years down the road and not the 2 or 3 as is sometimes suggested.

Also, some people find that they have problems with their roofing that needs to be addressed before the panels are installed. Things such as leaks, sagging roofs, etc., can lead to greater issues after the expense and labor of panel installation has taken place. Then, you’ll be looking at more costs to remove panels, repair the roof, and re-install the panels. Typically, you would have people that are knowledgeable enough to thoroughly inspect the roof (or any area the panels will be installed), but that is not always the case and you could be left holding the bag.

If you go all out to include whole house service from the solar panels, you will not notice much if any difference between solar power and your electric company. If you’re in the desert and have plenty of room for the panels, you should be okay. However, there are lots of ways to attack that electric bill without spending thousands on solar panels.

Have you installed the new energy saving lightbulbs throughout your home? Have you switched to a tankless water heater? Have you got at least double, if not triple paned windows? Energy efficient doors and appliances? Have you tried using portable solar panels for certain appliances? Is your home insulated well? Are all the holes and cracks plugged and insulated? Is your HVAC system an energy efficient and well maintained one?

After you have done ALL of these things, you will see a difference in your electric bill and will likely have spent no more than, and likely LESS, the cost of buying and installing solar panels. However, the difference is that all of these things work in concert to increase your comfort and the home’s efficiency without paying for the equivalent of a hot new Mercedes convertible.

I am having this home built on 9.31 acres:http://details.coolhouseplans.com/details.html?pid=chp-38478&FoundID=2&sid=chp23&ordercode=C101

I want my homes electricity to come from solar panels I have a meeting with the company that is building my home about a week form how but I want opinion of others.
How many panels and how many watts per panel would I need for a 5,003sq.ft. home?

Without details about your location and usable roof space I can’t give you a concrete answer. Those 2 main factors will dictate how much of your energy consumption you may offset. I would however recommend the company I used when I went solar- Global Solar Center. If you visit their site @ http://www.globalsolarcenter.com/ you may request a free solar quote that includes a feasibility check, a break-even analysis, estimated annual savings, projected return on investment and a breakdown of all the incentives you will be eligible to receive. They educated me about everything involved with a solar installation and made the decision making process very simple. Good Luck with your project!

I’m curious what the average household spends to install solar panels in California. Also for those of you that have installed them, how much would you say you saved in the first year? The second?

Thank you for your time answering this.

Solar systems can be a "Hefty" investment. But there’s a great return. If you were to install a system the federal government will give you 30% of what you spent. Many utility companies will often give you an incentive/rebate.

And last of all, your electricity bill will be much less then you are spending now. You could even receive a credit on your bill each month if you produce more energy with your panels then you use. You can read more about it on the Sungate Energy Solutions website and blog:
http://thesungate.com/blog/?p=49
http://thesungate.com/sungate_products/howsolarworks.cfm

So we will be moving to a home out in CA, the desert part where its usually 100* Degrees. So we definitly want to get solar panels to reduce energy costs considering we will have AC all day and heating in winter. But we only to plan to live there about 2- 3years. Can you move solar panels to another house?

Sure you can! They don’t have to be mounted to the house, that is where they are usually put to take up less space and not be shaded by buildings, but if you have a large property, they can be mounted on stands. Alternately, I am sure they can mount them on the roof in a way that minimizes the damage and can easily be removed and the roof repaired.

I think the system is a great investment and the cost of moving them can be minimal, depending if you can haul them yourself. Anyways, I just wanted to include a link to some more info on solar panels http://homepower.com/basics/solar/

My home is 10,200sq.ft. and I was wondering if solar panels really are energy efficient, can lower your energy bill or if you can sell some power back to electric company because of the solar panels.
I have found some good and bad things about panels so I wanted to know if they are good or bad?

it depends on what you want. Heating water or electricity. It also depends on whether your home is ideally situated - not all of them are. Email me for more help if you like.

With the power crisis looming in, I think it’s better to have a solar panel than buy a portable generator which eats up petrol. Philippines must have the costliest fuel per liter in Asia. Problem is, solar panels can’t be bought as easily as generators.

the endless world of the internet

I’m thinking of having solar panels to generate electricity. The drawbacks are that I’m afraid if it needs repair, I won’t be able to find anyone. Also I’m afraid that the roof is not very accessible. If it is a new house, should the roof have a roof hatch? What can make the system not work?

Modern solar electric panels rarely fail. Because of this, if you would be installing them over a roof that only has a few years left on it, it would be better to redo the roof, first. In the unlikely event that a panel needs to be changed, this can be done in 30 minutes or so, because the panels are mounted on racks, with everything simply plugging together.

I have never personally seen a solar installation go bad, but from what I hear, the inverter (a box that goes in next to your electric service panel) is usually what burns out after 15 years, assuming the install was done right in the first place.

If you were to call roofers to repair your roof, they would somehow be able to get to your roof, by ladders, or a special truck. Solar installers use the same kind of equipment. They won’t have a problem getting up there.

A solar electric system is actually a very straightforward thing. No matter who installs it, if there is a problem, another installer should be able to diagnose and fix it.