PV Gap

Allen Said:

Are there any grants for converting homes and or swimming pools to solar energy?

We Answered:

You can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov - these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.

Even if you buy books on "how to get grants" or list that supposedly has information on grants -- all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA has, albeit packaged differently. But still the info is the same - hardly any grants for starting a for profit business.

Note, however, that hardly any federal grant exist to help people start a business or for personal needs - unlike what some people perpetuate.

Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT - Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program

Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women's Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women's business center that will train women entrepreneurs

For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center's Foundation Grants for Individuals Online. It's a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their opening blurb only says that the database is ideal for "students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices." Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I take it they also don't have listings of private foundations who give grants to would-be entrepreneurs.

Lucille Said:

Is there any govt programs availible to help convert your house to solar energy?

We Answered:

There are various state and federal programs available. It mainly depends where you live and various specs about your house and your income, etc. Check these links out and see what is available where you live. It will generally be in the form of tax credits, so if your income is low enough where you don't pay taxes, you may not be able to benefit from these programs. But hey - check it out and give it a shot.

http://www.dsireusa.org/
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/financ…

Erika Said:

I would like some advice on selling solar energy systems for houses/swimming pools?

We Answered:

If you have nothing to loose like unemployment benefit or housing benefit etc then go for it but don't expect to make much money. I have been in telesales for 15 years and the past 4 was in alarms, which were not doing to well and the boss decided to try solar panels, we spent 2 weeks trying and no one was interested, I was made redundant in january and done some part time telesales for a well know double glazing company who also do solar panels but again no one wanted them. Customers just laugh and tell you they cant afford them. The leasing companies are not giving anyone finance at the moment, anyone getting one has to have permission from their council and that puts them off. I don't want to dishearten you but be prepared to work very hard, spend hours in someones house trying to sell them for very little return. Unless yo have years of high pressure selling in the home improvement market you wont like the job. Good luck.

Mary Said:

How do solar powered houses store energy for nighttime/rainy/bad weather days?

We Answered:

It depends on what you are using to collect the solar energy.

If you are making electricity using solar cells, the energy can be stored in batteries for use when there is no sun.

An "on grid" solar power system produces electricity during the day and feeds it back through your power meter onto the the power grid. Then at night you "take back" the power you fed onto the power grid.

Another method of collecting solar energy is heating water using solar collectors. The the hot water is stored in insulated tanks for use later.

There are also passive solar systems. One example of this type of system, is having the sun shine through the windows into your house. The sun would shine on some type of material that has "thermal mass". The thermal mass absorbs the heat from the sun during the day then releases the heat into the house after the sun goes down. Concrete has "thermal mass" and is good at absorbing the heat and releasing it later.

hope that helps

Richard Said:

thanks for everyone can help me i am lookink to generate electricety from solar energy for the houses?

We Answered:

A helpful answer to this question would fill a book. One needs a lot of study before deciding on the right path to follow. I suggest you look at SOLAR POWER on the Internet, and SOLAR PANELS in the green search box at the top of this page.

Unless you would be working off the grid, or needing power during power utility outages, you definitely do not need batteries. They add considerable cost, require maintenance, use up some of the generated power, and need to be replaced occasionally.

Marsha Said:

How would you build a Solar Panel that can convert Sunlight to Energy, just being on your house roof?

We Answered:

You have a couple of options.

The first option is to put together a flat plate collector to generate hot water. If you live in a cold climate, you might have to use evacuated tubes and this will probably blow your budget. The hot water could be used as a pre-heater for your existing hot water system. Complete systems for domestic hot water will not likely fit into your budget.

The second option is a small solar panel to generate electricity. In order to fit into you thousand dollar budget, you will need something like this:
1) an 80W panel. This will set you back about $400. You can't make the solar cells yourself, so it is just as well to buy a complete panel.

2) A small solar charge controller for about $100. This will take the power from the panel and make sure your storage battery is properly charged.

3) An inverter. This will take power from the battery and generate 120 volt AC power (like your wall sockets). A 120W unit will be less than $200.

4) A 12 volt deep cycle battery, perhaps $120.

5) A transfer switch to cut the power when the battery gets discharged and transfer to 120 volt utility power.

You should be able to put it all together for $1000. However, you need to treat this as a hobby. The power you will generate is worth less than $10 a year, and is about enough to power a DSL modem and router (i.e. your internet connection). If it lasts 25 years, your investment (or loss in this case) will be about minus 9%. Of course, the battery won't last that long, but the other parts could.

The actual power you can generate can be estimated from solar insolation maps. I will post a link below to a few that might help.

Collecting heat is probably more valuable (e.g. using a heat collector rather than a photovoltaic collector for electricity).

You can probably find plans on the internet for do-it-yourself flat plat collectors using plumbing parts, and electronic circuit diagrams for things like solar charge controllers, but I think this will be too complicated for your first project unless you really like tinkering. Buying components and integrating them yourself (figuring out how that get everything interconnected) will be loads of work for you first project.

Don't be discouraged by the economics. You will learn countless things in the process and knowledge is always a good thing. Someday as prices come down on silicon cells (perhaps a new thin film technology) and evacuated tubes are made by the hundreds of millions you will be able to use your skills to make a much larger and cost effective system.

Have fun.