Solar power is here. We’re not exactly where we were predicted to be in the early nineties, when it was assumed we’d have completely abandoned traditional energy for solar by this point, but it is an option.
Even so, you almost never see anyone actually using solar power. If yo u ask most people why not, they’ll tell you “It’s just too expensive to make the switch”.
To an extent, this is actually true. If you’re talking about switching your home over entirely to solar power, you’re probably looking at anywhere from fifteen to thirty thousand dollars. That will pay for itself in time, but it could be twenty years before you’re thanking yourself for making the switch, and let’s be honest, most of us don’t have thirty grand just laying around collecting dust, and we have no choice but to keep paying the utility bills.
But, on a smaller scale, let’s consider what you can do with far less money…
Consider the idea of just switching your water heating over to electricity. A solar water heater can cost as low as a couple thousand dollars, and can last up to thirty years. It’s hard to say exactly how much you’ll be saving, but let’s say you take two showers, do a load of laundry, and wash the dishes once a day. After a month, that could cost you anywhere from thirty to fifty bucks (these are pretty rough figures, of course, but they’re on the low end, and most people probably spend a lot more on hot water every month), so that could be as much as six hundred dollars a year.
So this means that a two thousand dollar solar water heater will have paid for itself in three or four years. After that point, you’re literally getting free water heating. Fill an entire swimming pool with hot water if you like, the heating itself won’t cost you a dime.
Solar water heaters do eventually break down, but with proper care, it’s not surprising at all to see them outliving the thirty year mark. In other words, if you bought three solar water heaters today and kept two in storage, you’d have hot water for the rest of your life for less than ten thousand dollars.
Solar power seems expensive at first, but when you consider that, after a certain point, you’re literally getting energy and hot water for free, it starts to make a little more sense.
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Very good. I have always been interested in solar energy and have taken way too many environmental engineering courses, so I am aware of all of the potential savings. But yes, converting from typical systems is very costly.
The best bet would be to GO GREEN from the start. ie. All new building projects should consider green technologies. Then the costs are not going to be that noticeable…
Do you have a solar hot water heater?
We don’t always need to start expensively.
Few years back I was visiting Beijing, northern China. I saw an affordable “solar water heater” in the market place. ( a place full with hawkers selling daily food and household matters )
It was a big black plastic/rubber bag ( approx 1 meter x 1 meter ), with a smaller opening for water in out. That’s it.
Fill it with water and place under the sun in day time. Drag it in-house in late afternoon. That’s enough hot water for the dinner and a good bath. : P
Michael
initial investment cost for the solar hot water is expensive, but after that we will not be spent again:)
Right on! Good post. Solar hot water is quite affordable and depending on several variables can pay for itself in 5-7 years. It works in sunny climates–and it works in cloudy climates. It’s a great entree into renewables. See a basic description and diagram of a system at http://greenhomesamerica.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/shedding-light-on-solar-hot-water/.
Thanks and good luck!
Mike