I'm thinking of setting up solar panels to keep down the cost of winter heating bills. Where do I start?

Question

Energy bills were so high this winter, I've been thinking of putting in some kind of solor power. But I don't know how to get started. Gas to run my dryer and furnace were so high I almost didn't have the money to pay my house payment. What can I do?

Answer 1

There are two main types of solar panel. One generates electricity and will help offset your electrical bill. The other type is used to heat water. If you have a gas water heater using solar panels to heat water will help lower your gas bill. There is a third type that can possibly help with space heating that is used to heat air, which can heat your house.

One thing that is very important about solar panels of any kind is that they only work well if they receive full sun during the day. If they are shaded by trees or do not point towards the sun they will not produce any useful energy. So the first thing you should consider is if you have good sunny places to put the panels on your house.

The most economical type of panel with the quickest pay back is the hot water panel. One great advantage to hot water solar panels is that they can offset the cost of gas or electric water heating all year long.

The air heating solar panels are not quite as good because in the winter when you really need the heat there is less sun so the panels cannot produce much heat. In the summer in many places you do not want the heat they can produce.

The electric type panels are also very good because they produce electricity all year long, much more in the summer of course, but with "net metering" you pay for the amount of electricity you use over the course of the entire year. You will use quite a bit in the winter when it is dark and the panels produce  less, but in the summer solar electric panels can produce more electricity than you use and so can offset that extra winter use.

I use solar electric panels on my house. They produce about 75% of the electricity that I use and have reduced my electrical bill by about $1000 per year. I plan to put solar panels up within a year or two also.

I bought my panels from the store in the web site below. That company offers a lot of good information about solar power and sells panels of all three types.  I did my own installation, but I recommend that most people use a qualified solar installer.

A good place to look for a local solar pro is the second site below. The Find Solar site is maintained by a couple of national solar societies and the Department of Energy.

If you are really interested in becoming informed about solar power and generating your own energy the Home Power magazine (third website below) is an excellent source for information and articles. You can subscribe on line and get the magazine as a PDF file or you can have a regular subscription and have it snail-mailed to you. Larger book stores may also carry it.

Answer 2

In winter? When the Sun's rays are at their lowest intensity.

Solar panels are expensive to instal and it will take you between 10 and 15 years to earn their cost back.

You should make sure that your home is as energy efficient as possible before embarking on any scheme to instal your own power generation.

Check out the energy saving trust for advice...

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/

If you are going to embark on your own scheme then some electricity suppliers will provide assistance. You should also check out CAT...

http://www.cat.org.uk/index.tmpl?refer=i...