Hawaii seems to be a great place to put up solar cells that would collect solar energy and convert it to electricity. The problem in all this is the initial outlay of cash. However, I've learned that you can get a 35% tax credit with the state of Hawaii and a 30% tax credit from your Federal (up to a certain amount).Your savings each year in energy consumption would pay for the remainder of your outlay in about 5-7 years depending on what you currently use.
OK... so far, so good. I got that much.
The first consultant we heard from on Tuesday from Company #1 was Brian. (There's a whole lot of companies out here.) I really liked Brian. He really helped us understand the tax benefits and the configuration of the system. However, there was a problem with the angle of the back roof where we wanted to put it, and it would cost 30% more to put it on braces to tilt toward the sun. He felt it should go on the higher part of the roof and we could get a maintenance contract to clean the panels and maintain the wires for $600-$1,000 a year. Ummmm... We have a lot of pigeon poop around us because our neighbor feeds the pigeons every morning and the birds love to use our roof as a resting area and a convenient toilet. AND if you pay that much in maintenance of the system, where's the cost savings?
Today we heard from Company #2. I liked Shane and Julian, too. They had a lot more advanced technology where they were able to input the angle of the sun, tilt of the roof, angle of the rest of the house shading it, etc. to determine whether our back roof was viable or not. They said we didn't even need braces. It was sounding better and better. Their solar cells were also supposed to be a lot more efficient. However... of course there's a however. HOWEVER, they cost about $7,000.00 more. So it would take a couple more years for payback of the initial outlay. He says it should last 40 years and I'll want the money then in energy savings.
I told him in 40 years I highly doubt I'll be worrying about my electrical needs.
Tomorrow, we've got Company #3 coming and Art is even thinking of calling another company he read about. Aaack! This is making buying a bedroom set sound easy. Sheesh!
Big bucks.
ReplyDeleteLucky you never get hail. :)
Could you ask one of these experts why they don't install the simpler and cheaper Israeli system of solar water heaters on the roof? I always wonder why it is not more widespread.
Good luck.
You should contact blogger LizKauai, who had hers installed last year. She lives in West Kauai, where her house gets lots of sun.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Good luck ! I am sure that you will get the best deal after all this comparative study .Your posts are always very interesting.
ReplyDeletepractically all Hawaii roofs are low-angle since they don't have to shed snow. Sounds like a price add-on with American Electric (*powering Hawaii for over 40-years"). Plus, the space below the angled panel .... free housing for the pigeons. Just ask my lanai furniture. Has any company salesman mentioned about the hurricanes.
ReplyDeleteWe're told that solar panels work pretty well even here in the UK, which is hard to believe, especially on a day like this which is wet and windy. We've often talked about it, but it's the initial cost that puts us off. I'll be interested to see how you get on.
ReplyDeleteDina: A whole lot of people have solar water heaters in Hawaii. My parents had one before but it leaked so they didn't replace it. If we get the solar cells, we figure it will provide energy for the present water heater so we won't have to worry about two systems.
ReplyDeleteGigi: I'll write and ask. Thanks for the tip.
Kavita: Thanks, Kavita. This is going to be a journey.
Ron: No kidding! I love birds, but sheesh!
Amanda: We're supposed to be in an area that has a lot of sun. I guess it's still that up front cost that's a little (lot) daunting. We're also not putting the cells in the best area.
Wow, that is alot of information to take in! I hope you and Art can find a system that would work for you. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteIt's such a difficult thing when something that is supposed to save money costs so much to begin with.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been by in far too long. I'm going to wander through some back postings to catch up, Kay.
I would be lost sorting out all that info but my hubby is an engineer. I'm sure Art will compile all the info too and together you can make a good choice for your future power...
ReplyDeleteDuh. . . of course, now I remember we talked about that, a while ago, that Hawaii has the roof water heating system.
ReplyDeleteI think my head needs some solar energy to get recharged.
You are talking big bucks, a major investment! Good luck sorting it all out.
ReplyDeleteKay, the water heater and your stove are the 2 items that consume the most electrical energy in your house, aside from a/c if you run it. That's why some folks go with bulk propane. So going with a solar water heater at the same time as PV makes a lot of sense. I have run some preliminary numbers as I'm considering PV as well and I think I need to make a solar heater (which will come later), and will then need around 8 PV panels and I'll be free from HECO bills. I've found some sites that show how to make your own panels pretty cheap, around $100 per panel. Tell Art to call me. I think I'll try 1 or 2 panels first and see how it goes to evaluate whether it's a feasible project.
ReplyDeletewalt
Solar water heating and photovoltaic power generation are two totally different things.
ReplyDeleteI have both.
Because our original hot water is a gas on-demand system like Europeans and everyone else in the world uses, there was no credit from the electric company but the state and fed tax credits applied.
We got the Solarhart system that has a tank on the roof and works by gravity flow. I'm very pleased with this and it saves TONS of gas- which is used only for cooking now.
I also have a PV system. It was installed by a company that usually does large projects- like Niihau School.
ReplyDeleteIt is expensive and until I add more panels- it is not cost-efficient. Let me explain.
Most of the initial expense went to the electrical infrastructure modification. The pv system is hardwired to certain home circuits to keep vital appliances running - like the refrigerator, marine fish tanks, computer and entertainment devices.
I have the added expense of a built-in battery system. The benefit is that when the power goes out, important stuff keeps running.
But because we are big power consumers and have not modified our way of living, the monthly savings are minimal for now. I have 6 panels up and we may see bigger savings when we install a dozen more sometime in the future.
Buyer beware, though. I have a net metering agreement. There are lots of new salesmen out there with lots of "deals". My contractor spent a lot of time lecturing me on changing energy CONSUMPTION habits before considering a PV system.
We also did a lot of research on the angles of my roofs and the amount of hours of radiation at different times of the year to determine which faces would be best.
Be cautious and scientific when considering PV and beware of people telling you what you want to hear and not what you need to hear.
We got the solar water first and added the photovoltaics later. These systems have been trouble free for us.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why people buy expensive cars without thinking twice about it but hem and haw about putting in renewable electrical systems.
Maybe the solar companies should run lots of sexy TV ads to get people excited about solar energy the way they are about cars.
Good articlemhere:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.staradvertiser.com/business/20100822_Power_payback.html