subject: Help Eliminate Your Power Bill With Solar Energy Benefits [print this page] I used to believe the installation of solar was too expensive, however now I understand that solar energy benefits make the whole exercise good value for money.
You know only too well that the cost of energy has been continuously escalating over the past several years. Now the media tells us that the electric provider has managed, yet again, to squeeze itself another price increase. Since fleeing civilization and taking up residence in the woods isn't really a feasible option, I am seriously thinking about starting to use solar power. Is it truly plausible for me? My cynical spouse has warned me that this is too challenging an undertaking and that the expense may be greater than the solar energy benefits. So strong is my desire to prove her wrong, that I started a quest to determine if it is really possible as well as cost effective to build a solar panel.
I've heard about wealthy homes which were so well equipped with solar, the owners created revenue selling electricity to power companies (I wonder if the homeowners could vote themselves a price increase?) Picture my surprise to discover this is becoming a really workable business. We now have actually dozens of books out there helping individuals get around reselling electricity back to the electrical company.
I discovered that there's a world of difference between using the sun to produce heat, like warming the swimming pool, and taking advantage of the sun to create energy. Solar power generation is called photovoltaic, or PV, but harnessing the sun to create heat is known as thermal. Thermal is much more straightforward in comparison with photovoltaic, but it doesn't have the capacity to create electricity. What it is capable of doing is heating your house or swimming pool, which has been occurring in Europe for quite some time now.
President of European Solar Thermal Industry Federation (ESTIF), Olivier Drcke, says European countries have been capable of utilizing this kind of solar technology to substitute 15 percent of their home's heating and cooling. This is quite an achievement due to the fact 50% of European electrical power is employed for heating or air conditioning. This statistic will probably increase over the next two decades. Public credits can make the entire idea more attractive.
Are solar energy benefits similar here? According to the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency, "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allows taxpayers entitled to the federal renewable electricity production tax credit (PTC) to take the federal business energy investment tax credit (ITC) or to receive a grant from the U.S. Treasury Department instead of taking the PTC for new installations." The credit would work out to roughly 30%; however, taking into consideration solely heating expenses, the amount spent on solar power generation might quickly return to you within the few a few years (3 to 5 is actually typical).
Due to the fact that a good deal of these grant programs have an expiration date of October 2011, producing solar panels is not something to sit back and spend too long thinking about. Besides, exactly why would you want to continue forking over hundreds of dollars to your power company when doing your own solar power generation might keep that money in your pocket instead?
