Let the Sun Shine - Energy Week
Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 06:05AM I live in North Rhine Westphalia, Germany, where from my experience I can say with confidence it is cloudy most of the time. Still, not a day goes by where I don’t encounter a home within walking distance of mine that captures solar energy for electricity. The truth is that solar photovoltaic is applicable in most regions of the world, not just the sunny ones. Cloudy Germany is a leader in solar power generation. Further north, many Scandinavian homes at the same latitude as Alaska are powered by stand alone PV systems.
These countries have championed renewable energy with pioneering laws that give homeowners financial incentives to go solar. While not quite as groundbreaking, federal and state laws in the US provide some financial means to homeowners with rebates and credits. In some states, these add up to 50% savings on photovoltaic installations.
While solar incurs upfront costs, there is a payback both financial and environmental. Here’s what a one kilowatt solar photovoltaic system does for the environment (from Solar Energy International):
A one kilowatt PV system each month:
- prevents 150 lbs. of coal from being mined (see The Low-down on Coal)
- prevents 300 lbs. of CO2 from entering the atmosphere
- keeps 105 gallons of water from being consumed
- keeps NO and SO2 from being released into the environment
Solar thermal is another option. It won’t make electricity but these systems can heat your home and hot water. This choice is a lower tech and less expensive way for homeowners to save money, energy and reduce emissions. (from Solar Energy International)
- Research shows that an average household with an electric water heater spends about 25% of its home energy costs on heating water.
- Solar water heaters offered the largest potential savings, with solar water-heater owners saving as much as 50% to 85% annually on their utility bills over the cost of electric water heating.
- You can expect a simple payback of 4 to 8 years on a well-designed and properly installed solar water heater. (Simple payback is the length of time required to recover your investment through reduced or avoided energy costs.)
- Solar water heaters do not pollute. By investing in one, you will be avoiding carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and the other air pollution and wastes created when your utility generates power or you burn fuel to heat your household water. When a solar water heater replaces an electric water heater, the electricity displaced over 20 years represents more than 50 tons of avoided carbon dioxide emissions alone.
Get more sun…