PV Gap

Ted Said:

what are the benefits of a home solar system on a homes quality of life?

We Answered:

I would think the main benefit would be the money saved on electrical expenses and therefore the increase in disposable income.

Harold Said:

Should I wait to install a home solar system until the government funding creates cheaper and better choices?

We Answered:

This question is very difficult to answer as there are numerous variables that need to be factored in some of which are in the installers opinion. Look at these factors and ask yourself again.
In no particular order:

How much are you currently paying for electricity?

Do you think it will increase in the next 25 years? (most pv has a guarantee of at least 80% production for this long)

How much will the system you need cost? (First step before getting a system is to examine usage and become efficient that way your system is not more costly than needed)

What are the rebates currently offered at the federal, state, local and utility level? (a great one stop site to find this is) http://www.dsireusa.org/

Do you have the extra money or access to a very affordable loan right now?

Will you be staying in your home long enough to hit your payback window?

How much satisfaction would you get from having this system? (A big question for some the only true question)

If you decide to do it I cited the link for rebates and also a link to some articles from people who have already taken the solar step. Good luck and if I can help email.

Renee Said:

Help me to build a Home solar system.......?

We Answered:

Your question my friend is too broad to give a specific answer to.

As stated, 100 kWh is rivalling a boiler, and to be honest it is not practicable for a home. The area of solar roof units you would need would be very large indeed.

Also, you have not said what the solar system is supposed to achieve - total heating or hot water only - but I suspect, judging by the size, you mean total heating.

Now, let me suggest you install a solar water heating system to contribute to the domestic hot water for your home. The boiler (or other system) can handle the heating, and will top-up the hot water when the solar is not contributing much. This is more conventional than complete heating for a home and is a bit more reasonably priced. Or, have a common calorifier that both the boiler and solar heating system 'dock' into, so the solar makes a contribution to the heating as well.

You can never totally rely on a solar system for all your needs.

First you need to consider the type of solar unit you will have on the roof. Flat plates are the standard (the dark panels commonly seen). Panels, depending on manufacturer, are around 2.35m x 1m and can be purchased with frame, so they can be oriented at 35 - 40º to the horizontal for flat-roof houses. The solar panels should be also be on South-facing portion of the roof. a six-bedroom house I designed a system for had 6 of these panels in a row in arrays of 2x3. A more expensive alternative to the flat plates are evacuated tubes. Essentially, these are more efficient than flat plates, and due to the vacuum, offer better heat transfer in times of the year there is not too much sun. However, they require more water 'storage', as we will come on to.

From the panels, the heated fluid within them is sent to a pumping station, usually located in your boiler room. This sends the heated fluid to a 'buffer vessel' or calorifier. The size of this depends on what 'solar fraction', or percentage of solar contribution you want the system to make to your hot water. Solar heating companies will generally quote for 30 - 40% of your hot water needs annually, based on peak demands. However, to achieve 40%, you need a large buffer vessel(s). In the jobs I have worked on, a good balance is to go for half this storage capacity - still leaving you with a decent solar fraction of around 22 - 25%. Note that the relationship between stored hot water and solar fraction is exponential - above 25%, you start to find you need lots more water to increase the solar fraction slightly. Using evacuated tubes, you need even more storage. The house I cited earlier utilised a 1,000 litre cylinder, which was dual-fed by a boiler and 'topped-up' by the solar heating system.

Maintenance is essentially the same as a conventional boiler system. Only specialist heating fluid is required for the heating medium between solar panel/evacuated tube and the pumping station. Otherwise, nothing special is required.

Costs - for a 6-panel (each 2.35m²) array, 1,000 litre 'buffer vessel' and commissioning/installation (as well as other minor bits of kit like valves, pre-cooling vessels etc), accounting for 24% of the buildings annual hot water requirement, costs (as of January 2009) £21,500 approximately. This of course is in the UK.

Here in the UK, you can also get funding through a government initiative. For housing, it is usually found to be 10% the overall costs. For schools and other public buildings, it can be as much as 30%.

Hopefully this will be of some help.

Samuel Said:

Would a home solar system be feasable and possible in Manila?

We Answered:

Yes, that is feasible just for home use purposes. In fact I already conduct some research before but that time it was very expensive.

Try Solarco, company website
http://www.solarelectric.com.ph/index.ph…

Jim Said:

where can i buy solar home system?

We Answered:

No such thing as low price for a system needing that much amperage.