In 2010, it makes more economic sense than ever to live in a way that is more friendly to the environment. With Barack Obama as president, government policies are turning more toward rewarding “going green” with tax credits and other incentives. Now is the time to make the shift to a more environmentally responsible lifestyle. And if you are a homeowner and you live in an area that gets a lot of sun, using solar energy to provide some of your electricity is an excellent way to get started.
Solar power is the use of the sun’s light to generate electricity, usually through the use of photovoltaics. These are getting much more efficient now, and costs are coming down. Very recently, at Caltech in March 2010, a new experimental design of photovoltaic was demonstrated. This has an amazing 85% efficiency in normal sunlight, and may be able to be produced in bulk in the near future.
For homes, photovoltaics are used in solar panels installed on roofs. These panels are efficient enough now, and the tax and other incentives large enough, that you can earn back the money you invest in getting the panels installed fairly quickly. This is especially true if you use energy conservation measures that you should be using anyway as you shift to a greener lifestyle. I’m not talking about drastic changes that involve big sacrifices.
For a single family home, the cost of installing solar panels is about $30,000. That sounds like a lot, but the federal government will give you a rebate of 30% of the cost. And many states will give you further rebates that reduce the cost substantially more. For example, in New York you get a tax rebate of up to $5000, plus $12,000 through an agency, and so you end up paying less than $6000!
Still, most people won’t save that much from Government programs, so the key is to improve your home’s energy efficiency. If you use common sense you can make many changes that are quite easy yet conserve a lot of energy. One example is switching to the new fluorescent light bulbs, which don’t have that sickly green glow the old fluorescent bulbs did, but last far longer than tungsten bulbs. Another very simple thing you can do is wrap a blanket around your water heater. Adding inexpensive weather stripping to prevent airflow under doors is another one. Check the Internet for more ideas. People who use common sense energy conservation measures like these along with installing solar power can get their money back within 5 years, and thereafter save big money.
Tags: solar energy