Eliminate Your Electric Bill: Go solar and Be Secure

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With a full south-facing solar rooftop comprised of a solar thermal system for radiant heating and hot water, and a solar electric system to produce electricity, the home's solar systems provide nearly all the energy the Lords need.

"It takes some planning, but it is possible to make these investments incrementally to reduce the cost of living on Earth," says Lord. "The beauty of solar electricity is it is modular, so you can install some to meet a portion of your electricity needs and then expand the system as your budget allows."

If this story inspires you to buy a solar roof, please send us a Report from the Field after your system's up and running. -MOTHER

Advantages of Thin-Film Solar PV Panels

Most people know solar photovoltaic (PV) panels as large, heavy, rectangular panels mounted onto a roof or sometimes on a special rack with a tracking system that turns the panels to keep them facing the sun. These older style panels are made of crystalline or polycrystalline silicon modules. In contrast, a new kind of PV panel is now available, called thin-film amorphous silicon. Here's how the new thin-film panels compare to the crystalline modules:

• The older crystalline and polycrystalline modules are fragile and need to be mounted in an aluminum frame between a layer of glass and a stiff-bottom material. In contrast, the newer thin-film amorphous PV panels use a thin stainless steel foil and a weatherproof plastic "elastomer polymer" coating. As a result, thin-film panels are unbreakable, much lighter and less expensive than the crystalline products, since they don't require glass covers and metal framing.
• The crystalline panels lose efficiency and produce less electricity when temperatures rise, while thinfilm panels are not bothered by hot, sunny conditions.
• Crystalline panels stop producing electricity when even one portion of a panel is shaded, while thin-film panels still produce energy when partially shaded. Thin-film panels are also more efficient than crystalline in indirect or diffuse light, making expensive tracking systems unnecessary.
• The production process for the thin-film panels requires much less energy (and thus cost less) than crystalline panels.
• When used as roofing shingles, thin-film panels actually are the roof, so you can save the otherwise additional cost of regular roofing. New quick-connect features and large panels are making thin-film roofing faster, and thus less costly, to install.

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