BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED

So often when I perform a solar estimate for a potential customer I hear “Where are the batteries”?  It seems to me that there is a preconceived notion amongst the populace that batteries and a solar system go hand in hand kind of like a burger and fries. It is true that if you have an isolated cabin on the side of a mountain down stream from Jeremiah Johnson you will need batteries if you plan to have a solar system generating your own electricity. For the rest of us folk who live in suburbia or metropolis and  receive a electric bill every month ( and would just as soon not ), Grid Tied Solar is with out a doubt the way to go. By interconnecting your solar system to the utility system’s grid, you get the best of both worlds. Not only to you have the reliability of your utility company’s power that is available rain or shine, you also have your solar system generating  clean green power with every nanosecond of sunlight.

Here’s how it works. Moment by moment throughout the day your homes energy needs fluctuate up or down dependant on how many appliances, devices, or lights you have in operation. Your home first looks to the solar system to provide the needed energy. If in that moment the solar system is generating insufficient energy to meet the current demand, the home then goes to the grid for the balance needed. There will also be times when your solar system is generating more energy than your homes current demand. This excess energy is then sent out on to the grid for others to use, for which you get paid. Once your solar system is up and running, your utility co will come out and install a bi-directional meter (for free) that keeps track of the electricity both coming in and going out. At the end of the month both amounts are tallied and you are either billed or credited the difference. The goal is to correctly size your solar system so that at years end you owe little or nothing at all.

With a grid tied system, batteries are not needed. Did I mention you don’t need batteries? Yes that’s right! Say bye bye to those nasty, expensive, acid filled, potentially explosive, toxic, environmentally unfriendly, maintenance intensive monsters!

The choice is yours, You can install a stand alone solar system with batteries ( at a much higher cost ) and, yes, zero out your utility bill, or You can install a grid tied solar system ( “batteries not included” ) and achieve the same result ( of zeroing out your utility bill ) at a much, much cheaper cost.

For those of you who are DIY motivated and don’t mind saving thousands of dollars, stay tuned. Coming late February I will be posting a link to an Energy Educational site that will have Grid Tied Solar DIY instructions. MY name is Dan and I am a solar man.

Thanks,

Dan.

DIY SOLAR COULD BE THE BEST INVESTMENT EVER

 TO BUILD OR TO BUY THAT IS THE QUESTION

My name is Dan and I am a Solarman. I have been a licensed contractor in the state of California since 1986. In addition I posess  a NABCEP solar certificate and a degree in electronic technology. I am also a passionate do it your selfer  and will tackle just about anything if I can save a dollar or two in the process. I have thoroughly researched the DIY solar market and have come to the conclusion that for the do it yourself-er it could be one of the best financial decisions ever!However, that being said there seem to be a whole lot of inaccurate or incomplete information out there on the web in regards to DIY  solar systems. So much so that I have felt compelled to begin this blog and hopefully bring clarity and common sense to the DIY solar cyber world.

This week I will address DIY solar panels. There are literally hundreds of  sites that want to show you how to build your own panel. Most claim that this can be done for under 200.00 per panel. I do not dispute the validity of that claim what so ever. Here is where I take issue:

1. Your home built panel is not certified by Underwriter Lavatories, which means it can never be interconnected with your electric utility company. And never pass a building inspection.
2. This completely takes a grid tied solar system out of the equation and limits you to a battery backup stand alone system. This means you now have to buy and maintain a bank of batteries and a charge controller thus increasing the overall cost and maintenance of your solar system.
3. Pre built solar panels come from major solar manufactures such as Sanyo, Sharp, and  Hitatachi to name a few. They come with the Underwriter Lavatory certification and a 25 to 30 yr warranty.
4. The cost of manufactured solar panels has recently come down and most can now  be purchased for around 400.00.  You can then apply the state and federal credits and incentives to your purchase price (average around 50%) thus reducing your overall manufactured panel price to 200.00. If you take the batteries and the charge controller out of the equation the price gets even better yet.

Grid tied solar systems hands down are the way to go. Not only will your utility company pay you a lump sum upon the completion of your system (around 20%) , the federal give will also give you an additional 30% tax credit. In addition your utility company will pay you for any electricity that your system generates above and beyond your daily usage. The neat thing about grid interaction is it allows for a smaller system (fewer panels) to produce the same result (which is of course to eliminate your electric bill). Plus you can say bye bye to those nasty batteries. The end result is a return of investment in 4 yrs or less, no additional out of pocket money, and a net profit in the tens of thousands of dollars. I know of a web site comming in late feburary  www.energyeducationalproducts.com that does an excellent job of explaining this scenario. Click on THE FORMULA link, the results are pretty impressive. Stay tuned next week when I will again attempt to bring clarity to the DIY solar world.. My name is Dan and I am A Solarman,

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