PV Gap

Rose Said:

Anybody out there using a solar heated stirling engine to generate residential electricity?

We Answered:

Yes

But I live in England

Francis Said:

How do you get a home or business powered by solar power in New York City?

We Answered:

Most all public utilities allow you to grid tie a solar electric system. Just how much will they pay you per kWh is the question.

It looks like NY has a lot of incentives, Check out this link to find out what the incentives are in your state.
http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes…

Total the kill a watt hours for the last 12 months from your electric bills. You would normally divide that by 365 days and you have your daily avg usage. You divide that by the peak sun hours in your area and that is about how many watts in solar modules you need. Pick an inverter to match and hook it up.

You could go to the following link and spend about 15 minutes and size and price a solar kit system. I installed a 1000 watt system and the only thing missing was the electrician and the long wire runs from the roof to the inverter breaker. http://www.oynot.com/grid-tie-only-how-t… Took about 10 hours and 5 of them the electrician was helping so it is a two person job.

Cost me 500 bucks to the electrician to pull the permits connect the wires and hand me the solar modules on the roof. I did the rest.

Clyde Said:

Solar Power incentive in california?

We Answered:

I live in CA and have a solar system. The state incentives are given through your utility. My utility has a cap of $10K, but I was told we had a higher rate per kwh. The next town over has PG&E and can get a more of a rebate if they got a larger system. Usage and percent of offset will determine how large of a system you will want to get. I have a 2 story 2000sf home, I had a 3.74 kwh dc system. It's total cost was $26K, I got a $10K rebate and a $2K fed. tax credit (the fed. tax credit has increased to 30% of the total installed cost, so I would have received a $7800 tax credit if I waited till this year). I expect to break even in my 6th year. There are a number of factors that can affect the break even time, rates, usage net metering policies etc. This system produces close to 75% of my usage. My bills in the summer were under $25, my highest bill was $35 in Jan and last month it was $6.11. Part of my savings is energy efficiency and reduced waste.

My best advice is have a licensed contractor come to your home and give you a real quote. You can usually get your usage history from your utility so the contractor can give you advice on what size system would suit your needs.

I put a link to the CA solar initiative website. It is complicated but they have a chart that will tell you what the rates are. I think it would be easier to call your utility, I think they all have a designated solar person.

Sharon Said:

Are there any federal grants/loans to help cover the costs of setting up solar/wind power in a house?

We Answered:

Not Federal yet. There are some state sponsored grants....

Mildred Said:

Info on Government help for residential solar installation?

We Answered:

The My Solar Estimator on the page below will estimate your solar credits and rebates both Federal and State. The site will also lead you to the links you need for more detailed information. This is a very good site.

Eugene Said:

When a Conservative perfects Wind and Solar Power...How long until Liberals and Democrats tax Wind and Sun?

We Answered:

right from the date of the patten application is filed 0bama will tax it and then stimulate it and tax it on instillation and tax it on the power bill and tax it some more for general principal

Julie Said:

Is it feasable to install solar power in third world countries ?

We Answered:

I've been installing Solar panels. Solar stoves, Solar batch and inline hot water heaters.Solar radiant heating. Solar home heating and AC, along with home made wind gens and other alternative energy items for the last 3 years in the Mexican border towns (Mexico is NOT a 3rd world country) across from my ranch here in Texas.

Myself, my ranch and home are 100% off the grid and self sufficient. Every form of energy we have I built (mostly from recycled things like car brake drums, old alternators etc). The technology is simple and can be introduced to ANY place by ANYONE in ANY climate or conditions.

You can even make the above projects on site in Pakistan with simple parts from the local hardware stores or auto stores or junk yards. For more info check out some guides I wrote / compiled on how to DIY http://www.agua-luna.com/guides.html

Again these projects can be accomplished anywhere by anyone.

Hope this helped, feel free to contact me personally if you have any questions,

Dan Martin
Retired Boeing Engineer now living 100% Off-the-Grid with my family, using Alternative Energy & loving every minute.
for more info visit www.agua-luna.com