Builders find the savings from cheap power is making solar homes more attractive. [xfloat=left]http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/New_Homes_-_Solar_Panel_Install.jpg[/xfloat]Adam Aston – Business Week – Oct. 23, 2008 New Home Solar Panel install in progress. Solar’s time may have finally arrived. -- Ed. As global financial markets melted down in October, Congress handed a gift to America's green energy industry: It renewed and broadened a set of tax credits for wind and solar power, geothermal, tidal energy, and more. The move did little to prop up eco-energy stocks, which have followed oil prices down. But the news did send a positive jolt to one of the economy's darkest sectors: homebuilding. Or, more specifically, solar-powered homes. Consumers recognize that green homes "save money month in, month out," says Rick Andreen, president of Shea Homes Active Lifestyles Communities in Scottsdale, Ariz. Most of the sweeteners Congress conjured up will go to big projects such as wind farms. But aspiring buyers of green homes will benefit, too. The revised 30% one-time investment credit for solar means that a buyer who installs a typical $25,000 solar panel system on his roof will get $7,500 in income tax credits, up from $2,000 under the old standard… The fresh credits may mark a turning point for solar-powered homes. During the housing boom, when mortgages and energy were both cheap, green power was not a hot option; typical home buyers preferred granite countertops to solar panels. But even before the subprime crash, builders began to see rising interest in sun-powered dwellings. Ryness Co., which compiles sales data for homebuilders, found in a recent survey that homes with solar systems were outselling others by as much as 2:1 in 13 California communities… [rm]http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_44/b4106088155598.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis[/rm]
I didn't rtfa, but isn't the 20cent/kwh price where solar panels start to become viable alternatives to grid power? Last time I looked into solar I came out with the impression that spending $30,000 on a solar system for your house will pay back the same as having that $30k in a 5% interest savings account for 20 years.
Why isn't this under news? We need all the help we can get to make green options affordable for the masses that only look at the up-front costs and maybe payback but based on nothing changing on costs. Sort of like the people who wouldn't consider a hybrid at $1.999 gas but they clamour for it at $4.009 the only problem there is that it is much more expensive to get the housing than the transportation and it is much cheaper to get solar on new construction vs a retrofit.
Hi Kacey: ___We had 8 new News items up yesterday and I did not want to bump the oldest until some had the chance to read the Home Page. This one is great story but it falls off our message a bit so that is why I posted it in the Environmental forum instead. Given today’s lack of news, it would have made the Home page about four hours ago ___Good Luck ___Wayne
Good point, I get frustrated when items get pushed off so fast that I can't keep up. A lurker couldn't point out when it started to bug them either.
Another government gift than only benefits those that have plenty of money already. I use energy conservatively and therefore don't use enough to EVER get a pay back even with the current massive subsidies. Only those that have huge electricity bills and huge houses can possibly see a payback. Most simply get the government to help them look earth friendly. End this subsidy for the rich. Through a BS colorado mandate forcing utilities to provide a certain percentage renewable I can get a 50% credit, much more than the federal subsidies but still it makes no sense unless I have a electrical bill 5 times what I do now.
What about if you get a BEV ? That might make the deal a little sweeter wouldn't it? Of course it would depend on your miles traveled too.
Eight years ago, I researched this and I think 20-30K of the price was batteries to allow night use....just think about it - work during the day, come home at night. If you could sell power back to the utilities, that might be an incentive to go solar without being 100% stand alone.
and if you are linked and have a contactor that disconnects you from the grid during an outage you will be the only one on the block with power during an outage. If your home can't disconnect then you'll lose power even though the sun is shining.
The storage isn't even part of a normal system, that just adds more to the already expensive system. I live in a group of 5 4-plexes and we've looked into either a single central collection or 5 individual systems with FV on all roofs and it still doesn't work, as much as we'd like it too.
Solar probably pays back better in Scottsdale than in Seattle or, say, Boulder. If your whole development could use the same well field, geothermal might payoff for you if your geology is right. I periodically kick around the idea of renting some equipment and putting in a geothermal system at my place, but I don't do enough heating/cooling to cost justify it. The place that you would expect these installations to take off first would be at larger business and school facilities that have larger daytime power consumptions.
