You're currently on:

• Home
• /
• Where is the biggest "bang for your buck" with solar?

Where is the biggest "bang for your buck" with solar?

Recently, with economy in a downward spiral, I’ve been looking for environmentally friendly ways to reduce my household energy costs, and wondering where the biggest "bang for the buck" is with solar energy.  Is it in electric power generation or in hot water production?  One article I read suggests that a kilowatt of photovoltaics costs about $7000 while a kilowatt hot-water system is about $2000. 

Ok, that makes sense to me, but is it practical?  I live in Portland, Oregon, where we get a fair amount of clouds, rain, and lately, snow.  We also have a fair number of days in the winter when the temperature drops down into the teen’s or 20’s.  I also wondered how difficult is it to set up a solar hot water heating system?  I’m pretty handy around the home, but it sounds like a lot of plumbing is involved and I wondered what other considerations once needs to take into account depending on where they live?  Do you regularly experience freezing in the winter? Is your climate mostly sunny and warm, or cloudy cool?  What is your home’s orientation to the sun? What else do I need to think about?

In doing my research, I came across this great article in “Mother Earth News” that answers most of these questions.  Check it out and see if solar hot water heating is feasible for you.