PV Gap

Fernando Said:

How much does It cost to have solar heating installed?

We Answered:

I have made some enquiries on going totally solar and for a hot water service was around $4,000.00..
I am going to totally cover my roof (only 3 sides) with solar panels which will cost around $24 - $30,000.00...
Right now my Government is paying us rebates as incentives to become green on a variety of things ; especially since we are in the worst drought since recorded history...
My prices are in Aussie dollars, and are Aussie made products...

Ginger what do you do leave all your lights on 24/7, go to the low green light bulbs, a 75W globe can be reduced down to 14W, a 25W globe which I use in the passage and in all bedrooms down to 5W...
I have normal reading lights, but I find I only need those lights to just to negotiate my way, so they don't have to be bright..
A $600.00 electric bill per month I find absolutely staggering, your electricity must be very expensive, my average bill @ pensioner rates is around $115.00 for 3 months...
Good on you Ginger, go green and let's help to save our Mother Earth...
Blessed Be... )O(

Michelle Said:

Solar panel for your home?

We Answered:

In the short, a solar panel is composed of many solar cells...all tied together and in some sort of a frame for mounting. When energy from the sun hits it, it creates a reaction which can feed electricity through leads to a converter system which takes the Direct Current power and converts it into Alternating Current. If you rewire your house for DC products I suppoes you wo'nt need the converter. but most of these systems are retro-fits.
Batteries provide back up source to the system when the sun goes down.
So solar is converted to electricity through the panel, which goes to your solar system which both provides power to the house and to recharge batteries. The batteries take over when the sun is down.
So you will need to know how much battery capacity you need by calculating the Amp hour rating of your applicances that you normally use at night like Microwave, TV, radio, refrigerator, etc. For some depending on the appliance....water heater (if electric) or stove)
then you need to figure out how many panels you need to provide your normal daily energy use, figure out how many batteries you need, set up a distribution system that gives you what you need where you want it and wa la.
Once done, you will be off the grid and paying nothing from the electrical utility. Some places due to deregulations allow you to sell excess power to local utilities too, but those systems need to meet tight standards.