Alternative Power sources - Getting Started with Solar Panels for residential use

Author

Getting Started with Solar Panels for residential use

oscar.velasco@gmail.com

2007-05-30, 3:25 am

I'm building a house and looking to learn about Solar Power , from the
stand point of a consumer. I'm interested in initial *investment
costs* to get panels on my house and perhaps some more useful info to
actually start making use of this technology.

I've searched Wikipedia so as to bone up on the technology part of it,
now I'm looking to actually implement something. Perhaps someone on
this group can start me off with some pointers?

Looking for:

* Ballpark Cost to install 1700 sqft home (materials, labor,
modifications to exsiting infra)?
* List of components neede {panels, bracing, inverter, etc.}
* Pointers to trusted retailers
* Pointers to installers in the Fresno, CA (San Joaquin Valley)

The house will be located in the Central Valley of California, where
we get a LOT of sun.

I'm also interested in harnessing hydroelectric power from the rain
gutters, but perhaps that's a different group :P

many thanks - o.s.C.A.r.

nicksanspam@ece.villanova.edu

2007-05-30, 9:25 am

<oscar.velasco@gmail.com> wrote:

>I'm building a house and looking to learn about Solar Power...

Will it need heat?

Nick

George Ghio

2007-05-30, 9:25 am

oscar.velasco@gmail.com wrote:
> I'm building a house and looking to learn about Solar Power , from the
> stand point of a consumer. I'm interested in initial *investment
> costs* to get panels on my house and perhaps some more useful info to
> actually start making use of this technology.
>
> I've searched Wikipedia so as to bone up on the technology part of it,
> now I'm looking to actually implement something. Perhaps someone on
> this group can start me off with some pointers?
>
> Looking for:
>
> * Ballpark Cost to install 1700 sqft home (materials, labor,
> modifications to exsiting infra)?
> * List of components neede {panels, bracing, inverter, etc.}
> * Pointers to trusted retailers
> * Pointers to installers in the Fresno, CA (San Joaquin Valley)
>
> The house will be located in the Central Valley of California, where
> we get a LOT of sun.
>
> I'm also interested in harnessing hydroelectric power from the rain
> gutters, but perhaps that's a different group :P
>
> many thanks - o.s.C.A.r.
>
As it stands now there is no ball park in your post, without a good idea of the load you wish to
supply it is near impossible to arrive at a meaningful figure for cost.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

2007-05-30, 5:25 pm

Hi:

For what it is worth...

Here in NJ, PV systems are going for around $8.10 - $8.40 per installed DC
watt for a grid-tied system, probably similar to CA. NJ is presently
rebating about $5.00 a watt up to 10KW and California also has incentives.
Did you check out http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/ ?

As far as I know, as a home-owner with a PV system, grid-tied is the most
cost effective way to go; I am told that batteries are expensive and don't
last as long as the PV panels. A grid-tied system needs the PV panels (they
run around 160-210 watts per panel), something to mount them to (usually an
aluminum rail type system on the roof of your house, garage or barn),
inverter(s) (can be outside or inside), disconnects for both the AC & DC,
conduit and wiring to connect everything and usually a special electric
meter so you can sell power back to the utility (called a "net" meter).
Also the panels need to be where there is a lot of un-obstructed sun for
most of the day.

As for us, our 9.7 KW system last year saved us over $200 in electricity
costs, taking everything into account including the $300/month loan for the
installation, the electricity generated by the system and the
Solar-Renewable-Energy-Credits that we can sell on the open market
(presently around $230/megawatt) but the best part is that we will prevent
about 8 tons of CO2 from going into the air every year. (One note about the
CO2, I have heard that, because of the energy use to make the hardware in
the first place, it takes 2 or 3 years to break even on the greenhouse
gasses.)

We used a local installer who gave us a solid warranty on the equipment and
the installation, and our contract only required us to pay the cost of the
system AFTER the state rebate. That way if, for some reason, the
installation was not acceptable to the Board of Public Utility inspector, it
would have been the installer's problem, not ours.

Good Luck,
Steve

<oscar.velasco@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1180511724.637337.59480@g37g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> I'm building a house and looking to learn about Solar Power , from the
> stand point of a consumer. I'm interested in initial *investment
> costs* to get panels on my house and perhaps some more useful info to
> actually start making use of this technology.
>
> I've searched Wikipedia so as to bone up on the technology part of it,
> now I'm looking to actually implement something. Perhaps someone on
> this group can start me off with some pointers?
>
> Looking for:
>
> * Ballpark Cost to install 1700 sqft home (materials, labor,
> modifications to exsiting infra)?
> * List of components neede {panels, bracing, inverter, etc.}
> * Pointers to trusted retailers
> * Pointers to installers in the Fresno, CA (San Joaquin Valley)
>
> The house will be located in the Central Valley of California, where
> we get a LOT of sun.
>
> I'm also interested in harnessing hydroelectric power from the rain
> gutters, but perhaps that's a different group :P
>
> many thanks - o.s.C.A.r.
>

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