Using Domestic Solar Power to Save Money and Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Using domestic solar power can mean anything from installing a full solar power system on your roof to investing in solar powered appliances, from hot water to yard lights. Investing in solar panels for your home is usually something people think of doing after reducing their energy use in other ways, which is certainly appropriate. But residential solar power is becoming more affordable around the world, almost from the word go.

Solar power for home use is becoming cheaper as the technology is improved and governments around the world begin encouraging the use of solar energy to reduce emissions. In many areas there are grants available to contribute to the initial costs, as well as feed-in tariffs (some gross, some net) which allow home owners to earn income back from the electricity grid, for the energy produced by their solar panels.

A gross feed-in tariff is more effective, as it means that every kilowatt produced by your system will be paid for, usually at higher than the going rate for electricity. A net feed-in tariff only pays you for the energy you produce over and above what you use, which means that unless your system produces more than you use, you are only reducing your bills, not earning income.

As an example, in Australia there are Federal Government grants available that reduce the cost of installing a solar system for your home down to around $3000 for the smallest system. In the Australian Capital Territory the gross feed-in tariff available means that the average system pays for itself in about seven years. The system will then be earning an income for the rest of its estimated peak-performance lifespan, that is, until it is 25 years old.

Is your roof suitable for installing solar panels?

The appropriateness of solar power for your home will depend on a number of facters. First, how much sunshine do you get in an average day and year? If you live in a sunny location, your solar system will be more effective than in a typically rainy one. However, if your roof is chronically shaded, this will also impact the effectiveness of your system, although some of the new solar technologies are more effective in semi-shade than the older ones.

Second, what is the aspect of your roof? Ideally it should be a slanted roof, facing North (in the Southern Hemisphere) or South (in the Northern Hemisphere). However, even an East-West roof can be effectiven in a sunny area, though there is a reduction of efficiency of about 20% for this aspect. The slant of your roof also makes a difference: if you have a flat roof you will need brackets to tilt it. If it is already slanted brackets may or may not be beneficial. The average roof angle in Australia, for instance, is significantly less than ideal, but usually not enough to justify the expense of mounting your solar panels on brackets.

Third, what is the condition of your roof? If it is going to need replacing in the next few years, you might consider doing that before installing solar panels, since your solar energy system will last upward of 25 years.

A home power audit

Before you install a domestic solar power system, you will need to conduct (or have conducted for you) a home energy or power audit (they are both the same thing). The purpose of this is both to figure out how much energy you currently use and how much you can easily reduce your power use. The less energy you are able to get by on, the fewer solar panels you will need. Or, if you have a set size of solar power system you can afford to install, then it's a matter of feeding less or more energy back into the grid - which means reducing your electricity bill or making an income by more or less, depending how much electricity you use.

Part of reducing your energy use can be using individual solar appliances. For instance, a standard hot water system can account for up to a third of household energy costs. Installing solar hot water can be a huge savings in the energy you need. But there are other, smaller solar powered appliances you can consider also. From solar powered garden lights, to wall clocks or battery chargers, there are all sorts of options.

In short, domestic solar power is becoming a more and more viable option for home owners to reduce their electricity bills and reduce their carbon footprint. Go get yourself an energy audit, then get yourself a solar power quote, and go from there!