PV Gap

Johnnie Said:

What is the cheapest way to start using solar power for your house? Or Wind?

We Answered:

You might not like this answer a whole lot, but seriously - the cheapest solar & wind power you can use is to hang your laundry out to dry rather than putting it in a dryer. Seriously! I can cut my electric bill in half in the summer by hanging my clothes on a clothesline. And it's kind of a pleasant break. :)

In the winter, open your south (assuming you're in the northern hemisphere) window shades to let the sun help heat your house. In the summer, open the windows to let the wind cool your house. :)

Other than that, there's honestly not a lot you can do for a couple hundred dollars when it comes to real grid-tied household solar photovoltaics. Anything in the couple-hundred range is more in the realm of a science experiment for now, I'm afraid.

If these guys make it to market, you might be able to do a few plug-in panels for under $1000 each: http://www.clarianpower.com/solar.html

Other than that, you should at least look at http://www.dsireusa.org and see what incentives might be available for solar in your state, and call around to ask solar installers if they would be willing to talk to you about a minimal but expandable system. Using something like the enphase microinverters, you could in theory add 1 panel + 1 inverter at a time, but it'll still be more than a couple hundred, I'm afraid.

Any good solar installer will also strongly encourage you to look at efficiency & waste first, though. Unless you've already gone looking for ways to reduce your bill, I bet you can drop at least 25% by swapping out light bulbs to CFLs, setting computers to go to sleep when not in use, eliminating vampire loads, replacing an old refrigerator [1], etc.

Good luck!

[1] http://www.toptenusa.org/Refrigerators/M…