This article was first published in Albuquerque's Local IQ Magazine. Archives are available at Issuu.
Note: I wrote this in 2015 when solar hot water was significantly less expensive than solar electric. Today I recommend running the numbers: solar panels are both more efficient and less expensive and while solar hot water is reliable, solar electric has no moving parts which almost guarantees lower maintenance costs.
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| This article first appeared in Local IQ, Albuquerque NM |
You are ready to take the plunge and create your own electricity. You've got $10,000 and have already picked out solar panels in your favorite shade of electric blue. Ready, set.
What do you mean, insulate?
The solar-electric installer who comes to give you a quote will check which direction your roof faces, note shadows caused by trees, and then try to talk you into a new refrigerator and caulk -- none of which puts money in the pocket of the solar installer. The installer is right, and is looking out after your best interests.
It doesn't matter whether you trying to create less global warming or trying to get the highest return on your energy investment -- the best use of your dollar is to first target the worst energy losses in your house. If you remember the oil crisis of the 1970s or local water shortages you may wince in anticipation of deprivation -- reading in the dark, not flushing for number one. But let's face the facts -- technology has come a long way, you are going to love how much more comfortable your energy efficient home is, and heating the great outdoors isn't a luxury -- it's a stupidity. If you love technology, you can hire a company to give your house a HERS rating (this may include thermal photos, pressurized blower test, and a detailed printout) or if you are a DIY-type you can buy a Kill-a-watt meter ($30, or borrow one at your Albuquerque library), an infrared thermometer ($20) and get a checklist off the internet. (Here's a hint, pump the solar electric installer -- they could make you an accurate list blindfolded with both hands tied behind their back.) Basic changes, like replacing the 1970 Harvest Gold refrigerator have a return of 70%. Switching to "curly bulbs" has an APR of 150%. By comparison your high-yield savings account is probably paying you a mere 0.5%. Are you groaning because you suspect your house leaks like a sieve and is insulated with crumpled newspapers? Don't. Retrofitters love these houses -- they are easy to fix and have the best return on investment.
Done -- you've now cut your energy use by 30% or more, and you have your eye on those glittering blue photovoltaic panels. Wait. Now there is hot water. Approximately a third of your energy use in your house is for generating hot water, a third for heating, and a third for electrical appliances. If you don't use gas or propane in your house you already know that electricity is a terribly expensive way to heat anything. Installing solar electric, then using that electricity to heat air or water is very inefficient. The ability of the sun to make things hot, even in sub-zero temperatures, is much more effective than the sunlight-to-electricity conversion. This older and well-tested solar technology is called Solar Thermal. It's rarely done by the same installer who does solar electric: solar thermal calls for a plumber, solar electric calls for an electrician. Installing a solar thermal system that meets your household needs will cost one-third to half as much as solar electric. If hot water is good, what about hot air? Talk to your Solar Thermal installer. In some cases solar thermal heat is much more costly than solar thermal hot water, only because it requires more extensive remodeling of your house.
Now you are ready for solar electricity, photovoltaics, on your house. In the trade this recipe (1. energy efficiency, 2. solar thermal, 3. solar electric), is called in the "loading order". One way to think about it is that things in the first item of the loading order, energy efficiency, will pay back in a year or two. Solar hot water and solar thermal space heating will pay back in 3-5 years and solar electric pays back in 6-7 years. That is how they got in that 1-2-3 order. You can test this -- open a new checking account for your electric and gas bill. Deposit your average monthly bill (you can call PNM and ask what your "budget billing" amount is). Pay PNM and your gas company out of the account. In a year the account should have accumulated all the money you spent on energy efficiency. In a few years there will be enough money to pay outright for the solar thermal upgrades. In five years you use the money you saved on utilities to splurge for the solar electric.
This article by Kristy Dyer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License You can reprint it as-is for free.
The solar-electric installer who comes to give you a quote will check which direction your roof faces, note shadows caused by trees, and then try to talk you into a new refrigerator and caulk -- none of which puts money in the pocket of the solar installer. The installer is right, and is looking out after your best interests.
It doesn't matter whether you trying to create less global warming or trying to get the highest return on your energy investment -- the best use of your dollar is to first target the worst energy losses in your house. If you remember the oil crisis of the 1970s or local water shortages you may wince in anticipation of deprivation -- reading in the dark, not flushing for number one. But let's face the facts -- technology has come a long way, you are going to love how much more comfortable your energy efficient home is, and heating the great outdoors isn't a luxury -- it's a stupidity. If you love technology, you can hire a company to give your house a HERS rating (this may include thermal photos, pressurized blower test, and a detailed printout) or if you are a DIY-type you can buy a Kill-a-watt meter ($30, or borrow one at your Albuquerque library), an infrared thermometer ($20) and get a checklist off the internet. (Here's a hint, pump the solar electric installer -- they could make you an accurate list blindfolded with both hands tied behind their back.) Basic changes, like replacing the 1970 Harvest Gold refrigerator have a return of 70%. Switching to "curly bulbs" has an APR of 150%. By comparison your high-yield savings account is probably paying you a mere 0.5%. Are you groaning because you suspect your house leaks like a sieve and is insulated with crumpled newspapers? Don't. Retrofitters love these houses -- they are easy to fix and have the best return on investment.
Done -- you've now cut your energy use by 30% or more, and you have your eye on those glittering blue photovoltaic panels. Wait. Now there is hot water. Approximately a third of your energy use in your house is for generating hot water, a third for heating, and a third for electrical appliances. If you don't use gas or propane in your house you already know that electricity is a terribly expensive way to heat anything. Installing solar electric, then using that electricity to heat air or water is very inefficient. The ability of the sun to make things hot, even in sub-zero temperatures, is much more effective than the sunlight-to-electricity conversion. This older and well-tested solar technology is called Solar Thermal. It's rarely done by the same installer who does solar electric: solar thermal calls for a plumber, solar electric calls for an electrician. Installing a solar thermal system that meets your household needs will cost one-third to half as much as solar electric. If hot water is good, what about hot air? Talk to your Solar Thermal installer. In some cases solar thermal heat is much more costly than solar thermal hot water, only because it requires more extensive remodeling of your house.
Now you are ready for solar electricity, photovoltaics, on your house. In the trade this recipe (1. energy efficiency, 2. solar thermal, 3. solar electric), is called in the "loading order". One way to think about it is that things in the first item of the loading order, energy efficiency, will pay back in a year or two. Solar hot water and solar thermal space heating will pay back in 3-5 years and solar electric pays back in 6-7 years. That is how they got in that 1-2-3 order. You can test this -- open a new checking account for your electric and gas bill. Deposit your average monthly bill (you can call PNM and ask what your "budget billing" amount is). Pay PNM and your gas company out of the account. In a year the account should have accumulated all the money you spent on energy efficiency. In a few years there will be enough money to pay outright for the solar thermal upgrades. In five years you use the money you saved on utilities to splurge for the solar electric.
This article by Kristy Dyer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License You can reprint it as-is for free.
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