Solar Ready Houses
In most situations over half the cost of installing a solar power system on a residential house is spent on inverters, brackets, structural support (reinforcing the roof, repairing the roof, patching holes, etc.), and retrofitting the homes electrical system. For example, in California a 5Kw system costs about $45,000 and is reduced to $35K after the rebate. Most people don't realize that nearly $15,000 of the total cost on a system like this would be spent on installation costs...
Having been inspired by a post we found on the Tesla Founders Blog (Tesla is a company that makes electric cars), we decided to break out the installation costs for installing solar power on a home and describe how money could be saved if homes were proactively built "solar ready".
As estimated by the example case above, the total cost of these minor additions to a standard house would be ~$360 which could be as low as 3% of the overall cost of the house (especially in California where homes are very expensive)! In contrast, if those same additions are made after the house has already been constructed it could cost up to $15K as we discussed earlier, so the end homeowner would be saving $12,000 and that would add value to the home, the neighborhood, and our environment.
Even if the new home owner didn't ever choose to install solar, the price of being "solar ready" would be very low. They might eventually move and the second owner would benefit from the solar options thus increasing the value of the house. If they did however decide to get panels at some point the process would only require connecting the panels to the roof and tying them into the pre-set electrical system as well as installing the breaker at the main panel. This would avoid most of the attic work to install wiring, cutting holes in home siding, customizing an old electrical panel or worse, having to upgrade, using foam or glue to plug holes from the roof electrical jacks, and installing struts in the attic to support rafters experiencing sag.
Imagine if home builders were regularly constructing solar ready houses. They would be in a prime position to up-sell the entire solar system through companies like the Home Depot.
If an update were made to the California Title 24 or to similar legislation in other states solar ready homes could become the norm. Not every house is positioned well for solar but just like other pieces of legislation there could be exemptions. It goes without saying that this type of legislation would have an enormous impact on the number of homes that would become solar powered thus increasing demand for solar technology, lowering prices and helping the environment.
Having been inspired by a post we found on the Tesla Founders Blog (Tesla is a company that makes electric cars), we decided to break out the installation costs for installing solar power on a home and describe how money could be saved if homes were proactively built "solar ready".
- $20 - Two additional slots on the electrical main panel of the house for a 240V breaker.
- $20 - Creating a reserve location (probably on an outside wall of the house) for an inverter with standardized mounting points.
- $20 - Creating a conduit from the main panel location to the inverter location.
- $100 - Creating another conduit from the inverter location through the attic and onto the roof where the panels would be installed.
- $100 - Reinforced roof rafter structure to support the weight of solar panels.
- $100 - Electrical jacks through the roofing material with standardized connection and spacing.
As estimated by the example case above, the total cost of these minor additions to a standard house would be ~$360 which could be as low as 3% of the overall cost of the house (especially in California where homes are very expensive)! In contrast, if those same additions are made after the house has already been constructed it could cost up to $15K as we discussed earlier, so the end homeowner would be saving $12,000 and that would add value to the home, the neighborhood, and our environment.
Even if the new home owner didn't ever choose to install solar, the price of being "solar ready" would be very low. They might eventually move and the second owner would benefit from the solar options thus increasing the value of the house. If they did however decide to get panels at some point the process would only require connecting the panels to the roof and tying them into the pre-set electrical system as well as installing the breaker at the main panel. This would avoid most of the attic work to install wiring, cutting holes in home siding, customizing an old electrical panel or worse, having to upgrade, using foam or glue to plug holes from the roof electrical jacks, and installing struts in the attic to support rafters experiencing sag.Imagine if home builders were regularly constructing solar ready houses. They would be in a prime position to up-sell the entire solar system through companies like the Home Depot.
If an update were made to the California Title 24 or to similar legislation in other states solar ready homes could become the norm. Not every house is positioned well for solar but just like other pieces of legislation there could be exemptions. It goes without saying that this type of legislation would have an enormous impact on the number of homes that would become solar powered thus increasing demand for solar technology, lowering prices and helping the environment.
DIY Solar Pool Heater
This morning one of our readers sent us a little do it yourself tip for heating a swimming pool based on what one of her friends is doing. The full comment follows: "Not a question, but a little info: Knowing how hot the water gets in a garden hose, a friend with a swimming pool bought a bunch, I do not know how much, of black garden hose. She spread it out in big curls on top of a nearby flat roofed building. She then fixed up a small recirculating pump, ran the water to the swimming pool to warm...Headlines:
Solar Resources
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