PV Gap

Jose Said:

How does one convert an existing home to solar power?

We Answered:

You'd mount solar panels on the roof and then wire them into a breaker box. You'd want to choose which circuits to put on the new box and you'd use a transfer switch between the electric company's power line and your solar panel line (to prevent the back flow of electricity between the two).

The major cost will be in the solar panels. You need to figure out how many amps you need for the circuits you want to run. That will tell you how many panels (may differ depending on manufacturer). I doubt you'll be able to run your entire home.

On a large scale, this is probably beyond a diy project.

Eugene Said:

Convert your home to solar power informercial?

We Answered:

There are numerous websites online that teach you how to ocnvert to solar. However, I would tend to take an infomerical with a grain of salt. There are hundreds of horror storys from infomerical purchases.

Your best bet would be to search "Home Solar Conversion Kit" on yahoo or google.

Joseph Said:

what is the average cost for supplying a home with solar power?

We Answered:

Depends on the size of the home, how many electric appliances are present, where it is located, and if you want to go with grid tie or completely independent (lots of batteries).

For an average sized home, located in an area with a lot of sun, and NOT electric heat or extensive AC, you will be in the US$ 20k-40k.

And it goes up from there.

Not a sunny area? Electric heat and AC? Probably not possible at any reasonable cost.

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Tracy Said:

Can you run an entire home strictly on solar power?

We Answered:

Well, I think it should be possible, im sure it will be much more economical than the $30,000
the big question is: how much sun do you get?
sunlight would roughly have an incident power of 1000 W/m^2, and if u have a solar cell efficiency of say 12% that would give you 120 W /.m^2
also, u dont have to use solar cells for all your purposes:
build your hot water tank on a tower, make it to be out of some metal and paint it black, that would give you really hot water. ( you may need to cover it with insulation at night, or build two tanks, one to heat the water in, and a lower insulated tank to transfer the water once it is heated)
also, you can do your cooking on solar power, the cooker will look like a wierd contraption consisting of various lenses and mirrors, but it can be done, you can design it yourself with some basic knowledge of physics, i have built models in school projects which cook really great food. ( it may require a small opening on your kitchen ceiling, and apparatus mounted on your roof.)
finally, i would strongly advocate the use of solar power, and encourage you to use it, as it is THE cleanest way of energy, and THE solution to the world's upcoming energy crisis.