[TEMPLATE]Renewable Energy[/TEMPLATE]
[TEMPLATE]Equipment & Tools[/TEMPLATE]
[TEMPLATE]home improvement store[/TEMPLATE]
The Cost And Benefits Of Solar Power Explained As Renewable Energy Becomes A Viable Alternative
Author: Jon Kelly
Yet as increasing demand for clean, renewable energy drives a growing market for solar energy products, many people are left wondering what such systems cost and where those costs come from. Sunlight itself is free to everyone, yet the types of technology used to harness the power of sunlight can be costly. If you are interested in purchasing solar power products for your home or business, knowing what you will be paying for can help you make the best investment.
Two of the main types of products that take advantage of solar energy are passive and active solar products. These two types of systems differ in how they are constructed and can also differ greatly in cost. Passive solar technology can be used to heat air or water using the sun's energy. Unlike an active solar application, passive solar set-ups accomplish their task without the use of additional electrical components, such as fans that need an external electricity supply.
Some solar space heating or water heating systems are active solar heating systems that have various components that require external power sources. Because of their simplicity compared with active systems, passive solar heating systems generally have the lower cost of the two.
In addition to these solar heating systems, there are also solar power systems available. Rather than using the sun's energy for heating applications, these systems convert solar energy into electricity. These products are often constructed from hundreds of a type of solar energy collection cell called a photovoltaic cell. The name of this type of cell makes reference to the fact that the cell generates electricity from light. As sunlight falls on a photovoltaic cell, the light's energy is converted into electricity that can then be used to power many kinds of electronic devices.
Because of the complicated technology involved, these kinds of solar power systems can be very expensive. However, the cost savings may eventually more than pay off your initial investment in the solar cells.
When considering what kind of solar heating or power system to install in your home or business, be sure that you are purchasing your equipment from a reputable manufacturer or distributor who will be able to help you with any necessary repairs, periodic upgrades or additional conversion from traditional systems to a solar-powered system.
The best service will often be the most expensive, but you may be able to find grant funding to help offset the costs of equipment or installation. Many states offer grants for conversion to solar power, and doing some research into the grant programs for solar power systems in your area will help you get a sense of the how much financial assistance is available.
About the Author
Jon Kelly is a published author who writes articles and reviews on solar power and its applications. If you would like to find out about solar power and learn more about solar panels.please visit: http://www.worldsolarpanels.com
[TEMPLATE]amazon search[/TEMPLATE]
You have a lot of variables – like the cost of these systems in your area, what builders charge, etc.,etc. – it would really be hard to say.
Also, there are less expensive ways to achieve the same goal, such as using passive solar heating and passive cooling (instead of panels). Geothermal tends to be pretty expensive to install, but if you incorporate other measures, you wouldn’t really need it.
Using all three sources is fine for your project, but I think it would be “overkill” in a real project. You would be producing much more energy than you would need for a house that size.
Also keep in mind that in some areas, excess electricity produced can be sold back to the power company!
You might also get some ideas from this page on energy efficient home design.. http://www.building-your-green-home.com/energy-efficient-home-design.html
Bottom line? I think it is feasible to build a green home for anywhere from 0 – 10% (or more) higher than a conventional home. There are all kinds of ways to save money on some areas, if you choose to spend more on others. Also, energy efficient homes (or LEED in some areas) may qualify for additional rebates on certain products.
And keep in mind that energy efficient homes will save thousands of dollars over the years in energy bills! This is often overlooked by those looking to build. It is really a case of “pay me now, or pay me later” – in terms of the environment, your health and your wallet.
Hope this helps!!
Hi Danrad. I’m also in Australia and do get 100% of my energy from renewable sources.
There’s basically two ways of doing it. The first is VERY easy but will never pay itself off, and the second is more expensive and involved to set up but will eventually save you money.
Okay, the first is to simply buy 100% green energy. Very easy, as all you need to do is to ring your energy provider and ask them to switch you over. Origin has probably got the best green energy. 100% renewable energy like this costs around 5c more per KW/h, and an ‘average’ Aussie home uses about 6,000KW/h per year, so it should cost something like $300 per year to be 100% renewable. Easy and cheap. But the catch is, you keep paying that money to stay 100% renewable.
There’s a lot more to Green energy than that too of course, like the politics involved (the government’s climate policy that was rejected last week would’ve pretty much killed off any environmental benefit of green energy…), so you’d want to look into it a bit more before signing up.
The second is by generating your own energy, and again there’s really two main types – Grid connected and off-grid supply.
A grid connect in effect trades energy to and from the grid to get the overall net 100%, and to generate 6,000KW/h per year you’d need to get something like a 4KW system which would cost about $45,000 without rebates (the best rebate we’re ever likely to see ended a couple of months ago, and the new rebate system is FAR inferior from both a financial and environmental perspective). With some rebates you’d get that down to around $38,000 or so. This will save an ‘average’ house about $1,000 per year, and with a Feed-in Tariff (assuming your State has one yet), you’ll earn about $1,500 per year with that, for a total annual benefit of something like $2,500. After 15 years the system will be paid off.
The bottom line for this system is that a grid-connect system should NOT be fitted to an ‘average’ house from a financial point of view. That house is MUCH better off spending money halving its consumption first and then spending $20k or so instead.
An off-grid system needs batteries instead of a grid connection, and will cost about $60,000 – $70,000 mainly because of the batteries needed. This sounds like a lot but is often far cheaper than getting powerlines into a farmhouse in a remote area. The used to be a $25,000 rebate available across Australia for this, but that’s only for WA now.
Hope that helps
It is kind of pricey. But in the long run you will be saving more more. Plus some states actually pay you for your energy.
It’s not so much how much it would cost, it’s the fact that fossil fuels would always be cheaper because most of the true costs of fossil fuels isn’t accounted for.
Hydroelectric is renewable, and cheaper than coal. Unfortunately, there is a limited supply of rivers.
I believe wind is about double the price of coal for a centralized plant. But only certain places are good for wind.
Natural gas, a fossil fuel, is comparable to wind. Same for diesel powered generation of electricity.
Photovoltaic (solar) is twice again as expensive as wind for a centralized plant. It used to be 3x, but panel prices have come down considerably.
But here’s the catch. If you’re an individual homeowner, the economics are different. You will pay retail for electricity, and even solar is comparable or cheaper in many areas. Electricity may cost 5 cents a kWh to generate, but by the time it gets distributed and taxed, it costs the homeowner 15 cents. That’s why we see homeowners putting up solar, but no big centralized solar plants.
cost of renewable energy?
I am in high school doing a project for science. I am designing a house (blueprint form) that takes advantage of renewable energy sources. It is an average sized home, 2 floors, and I am including wind turbines, solar energy panels and geothermal heat pumps. Does anyone have any idea what the price of this would be around? and how it compares to the price of a normal house that uses nonrenewable energy sources?
I would appreciate any info you have on this
thanks.
changed it to one story, about 900 square feet altogether.
How much does renewable energy cost?
For domestic and industrial sectors , what are the round figures of renewable electricity rates?
Where can I find such prices on the net?
Thank you all.
Whats the cost of 100% renewable energy for an average home?
I live in Australia and Im wondering how much would it cost (in australian dollars) to have all my household energy come from a renewable source?
how much money would renewable energy cost?
to get rid of fossil fuels how much would it cost?
how much is now spent on fossil fuels?
I NEED LINKS PLEASEESSEEEE!!!
I really need help on a paper.
what is the cost of renewable energy?
What is the cost of the different types of renewable energy?
How does the price compare to that of fossil fuels?
Pingback: Forex Volume By Country – The Fundamentals and the Technical | BZEE FOREX
Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!