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#35561 - 02/11/08 03:21 PM
Solar Energy Workshop
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Solar Guy
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Registered: 02/11/08
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Greetings! For anyone interested in learning how to design & install a solar electric system for your home or business there will be a workshop happening at the Ashokan Field Campus in Olivebridge this April. This workshop is sponsored by local solar business Sun Mountain Solar and is being put on by Solar Energy International a nonprofit organization that has been providing training programs in renewable energy around the world since 1981. SEI’s mission is to help people incorporate renewable energy into their lives. If you are interested in learning more about this workshop copy this link in to your internet browser: http://www.solarenergy.org/workshops/gridtiedpvd.html
Edited by Solar Guy (02/11/08 03:22 PM)
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#35566 - 02/12/08 11:07 PM
Re: Solar Energy Workshop
[Re: Solar Guy]
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acdnyc
journeyman
Registered: 11/10/04
Posts: 87
Loc: NYC
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I heard the state gives you money or helps pay for the install?
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jugs or mugs
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#35572 - 02/13/08 01:09 PM
Re: Solar Energy Workshop
[Re: acdnyc]
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Dillbag
old hand
Registered: 05/02/06
Posts: 929
Loc: Garden State
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There are tax breaks. It's complicated, but you can definitally find out quite a bit online (for free).
Not sure about solarguys fee of $700... For the class, seems expensive to me.
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#35576 - 02/13/08 01:33 PM
Re: Solar Energy Workshop
[Re: Dillbag]
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Mike Rawdon
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Registered: 11/29/99
Posts: 3490
Loc: Poughkeepsie
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There are tax breaks. It's complicated, but you can definitally find out quite a bit online (for free).
Not sure about solarguys fee of $700... For the class, seems expensive to me.
It reminds me of the saying, "The best way to get rich quick is to write a book about how to get rich quick".
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#35581 - 02/13/08 03:19 PM
Re: Incentives...
[Re: Mike Rawdon]
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webmaster
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Loc: New Paltz (Kerhonkson, actuall...
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I'm looking into it for the renovation of my house. The incentives are basically these:
- The State will pay for half of the equipment cost.
- the feds and state give you a tax break, but the feds have a tax on the tax break!
So I was looking at a 4.2 kW system for my house. I think it's like 20 panels on my roof which optimally will product 5000 kWhours of electricity per year.
The cost of the equipment and intall is in the neighborhood of $36,000. The state pays $16,000 of that, so I'd have to shell out about $20,000. Then on my taxes, I'd realize around another $7000 in savings. So ideally, the set up cost me about $13,000, and then I can theoretically save about $500 - $700 a year in electricity costs. That works out to about a 5% return, assuming my electricity costs don't go anywhere over the next 20 years.
Not stunning by any means, but the environmental effect seems quite good.
Comments??
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evan marks webmaster@gunks.com845.255.4911 I wish I could read every post...but I don't.
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#35585 - 02/13/08 04:17 PM
Re: Incentives...
[Re: webmaster]
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MarcC
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 07/10/00
Posts: 2709
Loc: Sandy, UT
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You might want to wait a year or two. I recently read (don't have the source handy) that new technology solar cells will soon be available commercially (this year) that bring the cost/kW down to that of fossil fuel generators and cut that 20 yr payback to 5 yrs or so.
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Proud Member of the Reality-Based Community
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#35587 - 02/13/08 05:45 PM
Re: Incentives...
[Re: MarcC]
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webmaster
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I've already had the architectural plans changed so that the roof is oriented to the south. I have heard a lot about the reduced cost of the solar panels, and the stocks of high flying solar power companies have been halved in recent months due to the reduced cost of the equipment. So I'm ready to do, but I think I'm going to watch the equipment prices for a few months. In the meantime, I have a lot a building to do.
-em
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evan marks webmaster@gunks.com845.255.4911 I wish I could read every post...but I don't.
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#35593 - 02/14/08 08:35 AM
Re: Incentives...
[Re: webmaster]
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Smike
Pooh-Bah *
Registered: 05/01/01
Posts: 2620
Loc: The land of HomeImprovement
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Not stunning by any means, but the environmental effect seems quite good.
Comments??
Due to still high negative ROI at this point after all is said and done, I can see why adoption of this technology has been very slow. This stuff has been on the table for many years (30+?) and moore's law has yet to come into play, which is a concern for its future IMHO. For me personally I can not afford a 10K expenditure (Investment I think would be the wrong word to use here) for going green no matter how much I think it’s a good idea to do so (and I do)
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#35596 - 02/14/08 11:54 AM
Re: Incentives...
[Re: Smike]
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chip
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Registered: 10/06/01
Posts: 1136
Loc: Delaware, U.S.A.
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Smike speak well, make sense.
I've also been looking at this for a while, but it is still out of proportion to the return. With 2 in college now and 2 more coming up on it, I don't see this as a viable option yet.
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