The cost of a new Solar Hot Water System is parallel to the cost of paying utility bills for about
5 years in your home.
Solar hot water systems can cost between $5,500-$8,500 installed, depending on the size and requirements.
North Carolina offers a generous 35% tax credit for the systems, which means you can get reimbursed
between $1225 -$2100.
Are you a good candidate for a solar application?
In order to obtain optimum results from a solar thermal or photovoltaic system, your home
or business should get at least 6 hours of sunshine, between the hours of 9AM and 3 PM on the southern
exposure of your home or land. This area should have unobstructed, unshaded exposure. The solar panels can be
mounted either on the building itself, or pole/rack mounted on land.
Solar Thermal Hot Water: This is the most popular and widely used form of renewable
energy. Solar hot water can be produced by using solar panels to heat hot water for use inside homes and businesses. The
hot water is usually stored in hot water tanks and then circulated through piping for use. It can be used for the following
applications:
- Domestic Hot water
- Space heating
- Radiant floor heating
- Pool heating
Photovoltaics: Solar cells are arranged together to form a solar module.
Modules are arranged to create an array which could create an electrical system of solar energy. Installation can run from
$10-$12 a watt, installed.
Three options of using photovoltaics are grid connect, grid connect with battery back-up, and off-grid. A grid-tied
starter system can be designed to supply a small portion of electricity while the remainder can be purchased from you utility
company. Future expansion of your solar system is relatively simple, and can be added on at your own financial pace.
To start, get a rough estimate of your home's energy use, look at your electric bill's KWH usage
over the last 12 months. That should give you a rough idea of how much energy was used in the last year.
Passive Solar And Daylighting:
Today, more buildings are being designed to take advantage of a natural resource called passive
solar. This occurs when the south side of a building is used to absorb and store the sun's heat. This
energy can be harnessed by using large, south-facing windows and materials that are built into the walls and floors to
help absorb the sun's heat during the day. When this occurs, the heat is slowly released at night, which is a form
of passive solar design called direct gain.
Daylighting is the use of natural sunlight to brighten up a building's interior, and is usually part of the
passive solar design.
Another passive solar heating design involves sunspaces and trombe walls.
A sunspace is much like a greenhouse and is built on the south side of a building. It lets sunlight pass through windows or
other forms of glazing, which warms the space. A trombe wall is a very thick, south-facing wall which is painted black and
absorbs a lot of heat. There is a single pane of glass that is installed a few inches from the wall and holds in the heat,
which heats up during the day and is slowly released at night.
If you
are thinking about using Solar Energy, let Energy Earth provide you with a comprehensive consultation to
assess what the best options are for you !
