Heating With Solar

[thephotohound]

(As many of you already know) I have a challenging floor plan which includes 1500 SF that I simply cannot heat with a wood or pellet stove. Therefore, I am looking towards solar...

I am on the top of a hill with direct southern and western exposure for 6-8 hours a day. I'm wondering if it is at all realistic to install a roof mounted system that would be able to heat that 1500 SF (though baseboard), as well as my domestic hot water, and provide at least some electricity as well. Am I whacked out of my skull to think I could do all of this?

 

[Eric Johnson]

You're whacked out of your skull if you think you can do any of it cheap.

As a practical matter, you might be able to do one of three with a standard (and not cheap) solar setup, but not all three.

 

[thephotohound]

I know... that thought was the first one that crossed my mind (the $$), but with all of the energy rebates, I'm encouraged to at least look into it. A friend told me he had a $12K system installed, got $4K back in rebates immediately, then saved another $3K at tax time. That system was about 1/2 as large as I assume mine needs to be. So out of pocket, maybe $16K, then $10K total after taxes...

 

[begreen]

Run this past your accountant first. With the alternative minimum tax, you might not get any money taken off at tax time.

 

[Burn-1]

The lowest hanging fruit and the most efficient from a payback period perspective would be to install solar hot water. The same technology could also provide some heat but you would need many more collectors, (= more expense). I live in central NH very close to the top of a hill so you have a bit of latitude advantage on me and I get almost 5-6 hours of sunlight in the winter. I would think you would get more than this and especially Spring through Fall.

I don't think that going for solar electric would be a great investment for electricity. The cheapest investment is reduce your loads and plan your usage. Buy a Kill-a Watt meter and you would be surprised how much certain things cost to operate. Conservation pays off fast. If you live high enough on a hill and your local land use controls would allow it, there are many residential wind systems which are becoming more financially feasible, and like they say the wind blows at night.

Take a look at the MassTech site for homeowners, (broken link removed), and the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association site. Every year on the first Saturday in October, (about 9 weeks away), they hold open houses throughout the Northeast in people's homes who have either fully off-grid utilities or who have done partial investments in renewable energy. I go almost every year.

I have been saving for trying to do something in 2008 so I hope they renew the federal tax credit which otherwise expires this year. A really great DIY resource for solar heat, hot water and more is
BuilditSolar

 

[thephotohound]

Awesome. Thanks for the info. I will definitely be attending the tour this year!