Easy Solar Power
(Page 2 of 4)
October/November 2006
By Cheryl Long
Our new metal roof was 24-gauge Galvalume steel from Englert, Inc. It should last at least 50 years, and the steel can be recycled, making it an excellent sustainable choice for any building. After the roofing panels were installed, Heckeroth danced briefly along the ridge to snap the connecting wires together, and then our electrician, Robert Gore, wired the direct-current output from the thin-film PV into a Fronius inverter. The inverter converts the direct-current power generated by the solar panels to standard 110-volt alternating current. Then the power flows through the new meters installed by the utility company (at no charge!) and into my home.
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The sun was blazing, and the roofers were really sweaty, but as soon as Gore flipped the switch, everyone smiled as the inverter kicked on and the digital readout quickly climbed to "1,530 watts," showing exactly how much electricity the new system was delivering to the house. Anytime the house needs more power than the PV is producing, the system draws from the utility grid.
What's It Gonna Cost?
The only hard thing about grid-tied solar power is paying for it, but it makes more economic sense every time the rising cost of oil pushes up energy prices. Now, ECD Ovonics' thin-film PV costs about the same as crystalline PV with glass covers and frames, $4 to $5 per watt, but it requires less labor to install.
In addition to the PV, you'll need an inverter (ours cost about $2,500), cables and switches, plus the services of an electrician and roofers. Then you subtract all tax credits, rebates and other incentives available in your state. The final cost will vary greatly depending upon where you live.
Two major variables will determine the long-term value of your PV system: 1) Your utility's electric rates and how much they increase over the 25-year life of your system and 2) State and federal incentive programs to promote renewable energy. Here in Kansas, a small system such as our grid-tied 1.8 kW setup would cost about $7,200 for the PV, plus $2,500 for the inverter and switches, plus labor. We can reduce this amount by claiming a federal income tax credit of about $2,000. Kansas unfortunately has no state incentives to encourage solar power development, nor has it passed a net-metering law that would require our utility company to pay us a retail rate for any electricity our system sends back to its grid. Kansas is lagging behind the rest of the country — 40 states have now passed net-metering laws and most have enacted incentives to support further development of solar, wind and other renewable energy options.
