December 30, 2009 - Posted by Tony - Comments Off
Well, had a really interesting chat with Joshua Ross at the RossSolarGroup.com and learn’t a little bit more about solar-systems. I was surprised to find out that most solar installations typically only produce 40-80% of your total electric requirements. This is two fold. If you produce over 100%, any surplus electric is sold back to the grid at wholesale instead of a higher ‘market’ rate. I’m not quite sure why you’d want to do this anyway, since the primary reason is to be entirely self-sufficient. Anyway, another interesting factoid is that most building codes and mortgage lenders still require a backup heating system anyway.
Another important factor in influencing your total percentage of eletrical output is sq.ft. Obvious when you mention it, but something you tend to forget about. If you’ve only got 10 sq.ft. of usable roof, well, unless you install some ground mounted solar panels you’re a bit out of luck.
Depending on your current electrical consumption you may require quite a substantial amount of panels to get anywhere near 100%. Most conventional homes require about a 5KW system that typically runs at $30k – $40k to install. A fact confirmed by Joshua. This will usually provide enough energy, coupled with your existing energy systems, to power a modern home.
Now the $30k to $40k price tag sounds a little steep, but couple this with an up-front $7k – $8k Federal Rebate and a further 30% Rebate when you next do your taxes and your looking at around $20k which is a slightly easier pill to swallow.
I’m quickly learning that the cost really all hinges on what solar modules you buy and how-many. At an average of $1000 p/module for a decent branded module you can quickly see how the costs mount. For us this exercise may prove cheaper as the majority of our heat is still, unfortunately, oil driven, and without substantially renovating our heating components it won’t be easy converting to 100% electric heat and thus ending our dependency on oil. In theory our electrical consumption is very low at the minute so we may be able to get away with just a few panels, which in turn should drastically reduce the cost.
Still think the price is too high? I’ve found there are a couple of other incentives to ease the transition to solar. Solar Leasing and Solar Loans.
Maximum 20-year term (with five-year optional renewal at the end of 15-year term). Available to owners of one- to four-family homes with a household income up to 200% of the area’s median income.
- http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=CT51F&re=1&ee=1
Unfortunately the leasing application deadline is Dec 31st, 2009 so this is something that isn’t really an option anymore, but like “Cash for Clunkers” The CCEF (Connecticut Clean Energy Fund) may be doing something in the future, but who knows?
Solar Loans
There are a couple of funds offering low-interest loans to qualifying projects.
So, if like most people you don’t have a spare $20k floating around you can source funds elsewhere at very competitive financing rates. With your monthly savings, ultimately, the system will pay for itself and selling excess back to the grid you could even turn it into a small residual revenue making it a very worthwhile asset.
I’ll be getting an assessment done at the house over the next couple of weeks. Based on our current monthly electrical consumption I’m hoping to get an estimate for a system to cover most of our requirements. However, with a small cape and limited south facing surfaces, I’m not sure how much usable roof we have for panels.
Further Reading
December 28, 2009 - Posted by Tony - Comments Off
I’ve written an email to OPMwebmaster@po.state.ct.us querying this statement :
“Connecticut provides a property tax exemption for “Class I” renewable energy systems* and hydropower facilities that generate electricity for private residential use.”
- DSIRE
I’ll keep you posted!
Some other interesting factoids!
- 30% Federal Tax Credit
- Up to 60% of the total system cost will be covered by State and federal incentives and tax benefits.
- NY State Solar Tax Credit – A personal income tax credit is applied to the cost of solar-electric equipment used on residential homes. The credit, equal to 25% of the cost of equipment and installation. The credit is capped at $5000.
- Ross Solar Group
December 28, 2009 - Posted by Tony - Comments Off
This is probably what most people are going to be interested in. What financial incentives and assistance is there from the State/Government.
It seems the best approach so far is to get some quotes from various installers and then see what kind of funding is out there. I’ve been in touch with Adam Lutsky at The Green Living Centre Ltd. to arrange a quote. We’ll see how much it costs to install at our house!
December 28, 2009 - Posted by Tony - Comments Off
Pat at the Newtown Town Office forwarded me some very useful information today from Lynne at the CT Clean Energy Fund. Quoted Verbatim:
- Solar Thermal Incentive Program
The Solar Thermal Incentive Program is designed to help homeowners, businesses and institutions “go solar” with domestic hot water systems (for washing and drinking water). For more information about the program—including a program fact sheet, please visit www.ctcleanenergy.com/solarthermal. Also available is a list of CCEF-approved, licensed solar thermal contractors. NOTE: Solar hot water systems for space heating or pool heating are not eligible for incentives.
- Solar Photovoltaic (PV)
Solar PV systems utilize clean, renewable energy from the sun to produce electricity. Today’s solar PV technology is proven and can provide a significant portion of the electricity needed to power your home. CCEF’s two programs for residential customers are:
- Residential Solar PV Rebate Program: Information on the Residential Solar PV Rebate Program is available. A list of installation contractors eligible to install PV systems for CCEF is available. We suggest that homeowners contact two or three of them to obtain estimates.
- CT Solar Lease Program*: The CT Solar Lease Program is specifically for low- to moderate-income homeowners and provides opportunities to have a solar PV system installed by a “CCEF-eligible” contractor with no money down. Interested homeowners can go directly to www.ctsolarlease.com for information. Qualified applicants may apply online or by phone.
* IMPORTANT: Because the CT Solar Lease program now stands to be fully subscribed in a matter of months, changes to the program were announced on November 20, 2009.
- New Program: Geothermal Heat Pump Incentive Program
The Geothermal Heat Pump Incentive Program is our newest initiative. The program will be conducted in cooperation with incentive programs operating under the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund, which are administered by the Connecticut Light & Power Company (CL&P) and the United Illuminating Company (UI). Customers may apply for both the CCEF incentive and the utility company’s rebate. The residential customer application is now on-line. For specific information, click http://www.ctcleanenergy.com/YourHome/GeothermalIncentiveProgramResidential/tabid/520/Default.aspx.
- Energy Efficiency Programs
Several energy efficiency programs are offered by CL&P and UI. Energy efficiency measures generally pay back very quickly, so if one has the opportunity to take advantage of them, they are usually very attractive economically. CCEF requires all recipients of our grants to participate in one or more of the appropriate energy efficiency programs. Additional information is found at http://www.ctenergyinfo.com/ and http://www.ctsavesenergy.org/programs/business.php (or call 1-877-947-3873).
- Other Funding Sources
A great site for getting information about federal incentive programs (as well as other state programs) is the “Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency” (DSIRE) at http://www.dsireusa.org/. This website is updated fairly frequently, so it should be a good place to check on any changes to Connecticut’s incentive programs or tax incentives.
December 28, 2009 - Posted by Tony - Comments Off
Inspired by a recent episode of Living With Ed’ in which he installs some solar panels, I am determined to have some of my own. I’ve often thought about how much it would cost and where to even begin so, done with thinking, I am doing. We all need to start somewhere so this is it! I got in touch with Ed’ (or at least his ‘people’) who happily supplied me some websites for contractors in my area.
I also got in touch with Pat down at the Newtown Town Office here in Newtown. Like most people I’m assuming it’s going to be expensive, but with various funding projects out there I’m wondering if installation costs can be drastically reduced. Well this blog is going to chart my findings, it’s kind of a central source of information for me (I’m always forgetting things), and hopefully it proves useful to others considering the process.