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Sun Volt

Sun Volt Solar

earth, the final frontier

Clean Energy, Clean Environment

We are at a cross roads in human history, we can choose to continue on as we have been, or we can make a change to improve our future and quite possibly the future for several generations to come. We are here to promote energy independence, a better environment, a secure future and a higher return on investment for your hard earned dollar. It is what I believe in, it is why I am in the solar business.

Renewable energy as an investment

31 Jan 08 | General, Solar Hot Water

With interest rates dropping like a lead balloon as the Fed tries to shore up the economy, it may be enlightening to do a little research into the investment aspects of a renewable energy systems. Assuming that one owns their own home (or if a business, their own commercial building) and were planning to stay at that location for the next 5-10 years, what would the payback for a solar system be? How much of that would be in increased property values realized during a re-sale?

Dave, at the Solar Power Rocks blog, pointed out that for every $1.00 saved in annual energy costs, the value of a property increased by $20.73. This is from the Appraisal Journal, Evidence of Rational Market Values for Home Energy Efficiency.

Two years ago, I added insulation to the house and replaced four old single pane windows with energy star replacement windows. Our heating oil use went from 630 gallons per year to 450 gallons, for a savings of 180 gallons, or at today’s prices $650.00 per year. The total cost of the project was around $2,000.00 dollars, but the increased value to the house is $13,474.50. That is a nice payback, and readers should note that increasing efficiency and reducing use is the first step in considering any renewable energy system.

Last year, I installed a Solar Hot Water system on my house. The total cost for that project was around $5,000.00. With federal and state tax rebates the final cost will be about $2,200.00 Since we have not operated the system over an entire year, it is hard to calculate exactly what the savings are for this system. I have, however, been able to project the savings based on the performance so far.

Before the solar system, our hot water was heated by electricity. Our electricity cost per kWh is creeping up, now somewhere around $0.14 or so. If the estimated reduced electrical use hold true, we should save around $560.00 per year, which translates to an increased property value of $11,608.80. It seems fantastic, but by my math, that is an 870% return.

We are not selling our house anytime soon, so the increased property value is dismissed for now, as completely irrelevant. A calculation of simple payback shows the following:

Year Expenses (US$) Savings (US$)* (includes inflation) Total savings minus expense (US$) Return (percent)
1 2,200.00** 560.00 (-1,640.00) 0
2 0 572.80 (-1,067.20) 0
3 0 586.00 (-481.20) 0
4 0 599.50 118.30 5
5 0 613.29 731.59 33
6 0 627.39 1,358.98 61
7 0 641.82 2,000.80 91
8 0 656.58 2,657.38 121
9 0 671.68 3,328.50 151
10 600*** 687.12 3,416.18 122
11 0 702.92 4,119.10 147
12 0 719.08 4,838.18 172
13 1,000**** 735.61 4,573.79 120
14 0 752.52 5,326.31 140
15 0 769.82 6,096.13 160
16 0 787.52 6,883.65 181
17 0 805.63 7,689.28 202
18 0 824.15 8,513.43 224
19 0 843.10 9,356.53 246
20 1,000*** 862.50 9,219.03 192
21 0 882.33 10,101.36 211
22 0 902.62 11,003.98 229
23 0 923.38 11,927.36 249
24 0 944.62 12,871.98 268
Totals 4,800 15,470.62 12,871.98 268

*Utility inflation calculated at 2.3 percent per year
**Initial system cost, less refunds and rebates
***Replacement of circulator pumps, expected life 10 years
****Replacement of storage tanks, expected life 12 years

Over the twenty four year life of the solar thermal collectors, a $12,871.98 savings will be realized, which leads to a net return of 268% on the initial investment. Oh, and by the way, the IRS has not figured out a way to tax people for saving money, so that is tax free, at least for now.

Also note; solar thermal collectors manufactured today could well last 35-50 years depending on the climate.

For the sake of argument, lets say in year 8 we sell our house and realize the property value increase stated above. Our return in investment would then be 991% (property value increase plus savings, or 870% plus 121%). Okay, that seems very unrealistic, so lets say we realize half of the property value increase noted above, or 556%. Geez, that is still too high so we only see a quarter of the property value increase, or 338%.

My 401K was (before the current stock market troubles) earning 16%. My CD’s are around 7%. Savings, 4.1%.

Ummm, 338% vs 7%? I am not an accountant or anything, but it seems to be like installing the solar system last year was a pretty good idea.

I am going to work an a “Solar as an Investment” page with a savings/property value increase calculator that can spit this out for anyone who wants to see what their return would be.

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31 Jan 08 | General, Solar Hot Water | Comments (0)

Is the Solar Energy field recession proof?

23 Jan 08 | General Business, Solar Electric, Technology

Starting a small business during a recession may seem like a recipe for failure. The basic premise is that people will not buy anything other than what is absolutely necessary. So the questions are; is electricity necessary today? How about hot water or heat, is that necessary? Would people be interested in saving money on those things if it involved an initial outlay of cash? How fed up are people with paying for oil, gas or electric? Here is a basic recap (prices for New York State, Hudson Valley region as of January 20, 2008 from NYSERDA):

  • Home heating oil $3.484/gallon
  • Propane $2.851/gallon
  • Electric $0.138 kWh
  • Natural Gas $1.926 therm
  • Solar $0.00
  • Wind $0.00

Will people get that? I know many are rushing off to trade in their SUV’s for fuel efficient cars, but will they consider the energy they use at home as well? Those are things that I want to find out.

Right now, the solar industry is dependent on government subsides, there are no two ways about it. Without generous help from the government (federal and state) neither solar thermal nor photovoltiacs would be viable except in situations where grid power was unavailable (i.e. remote cabins, telecommunications sites, etc). In fact, in the mid 1980’s the industry was brought down to almost nothing as the Reagan administration killed all the tax incentives that were then fueling the solar sector. Will congress restore the tax breaks? Only time will tell. Even if they do, it will take a huge effort to move them away from their corporate sponsors toward the less corporate renewables.

I was listening to an interesting report on the local NPR station on my way home from work today. Amid reports of troubled economic times and other bad omens, there was an upbeat report on the Solar economy right here in the Hudson Valley. You can listen to an .mp3 of the report here (opens media player window). Basically, the it speaks about TSEC (The Solar Energy Consortium) based in Kingston, NY. This is more along the lines of research and development, but that is what will fuel the green economy in the future. It is clear to me that the sustainable movement must be able to stand on it’s own, without government assistance, to succeed. This is a tall order, considering how unfavorably the deck is stacked against renewable energy due to the huge subsides given to coal and oil.

It is, however, possible.

For the short term, the solar energy sector may well be able to weather the up coming recession as more and more people are aware of it and are looking for ways to save money. As much as we would like to believe that the human race is altruistic and will alter it’s behavior of the benefit of the planet, economics trumps environment.

For the long term, the only way that solar, wind and other renewable energy sources will survive is if they become competitive with fossil fuels on their own. This means that fossil fuels have to become more expensive (than they already are) and renewable energy, particularly photovoltaics must become less expensive.

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23 Jan 08 | General Business, Solar Electric, Technology | Comments (0)

New Phone Number

22 Jan 08 | General Business

I am glad that I live in 2008 and we are a technologically dependent society. Things like having a business phone are not only necessary but vital to the success of said business. I can imagine that if I lived at some point before all these technological marvels we have today, ordering a new phone line might become quite an ordeal.

Perhaps it would take no fewer than five phone calls, three e-mails, one canceled order, one phone number miss-assigned, a threat to use the cable TV’s phone system and about three weeks for the phone tech to finally show up and wire it to my office. All this of course, provided by the so called “Primary phone service provider” in our area. No, it’s a good thing that I live now so that none of those things happened when I ordered my new business phone number.

By the way, if you wrote down the first number published for Sun Volt Solar, it is wrong. The correct number is (845) 626-2627.

They did say, do not publish the phone number until after it is installed, so I guess that I was warned. Now I can finally order my business cards.

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22 Jan 08 | General Business | Comments (0)

Solar Site Assessments

09 Jan 08 | General Business, Solar Electric, Solar Hot Water

Buying a solar system is a large investment. As such, the purchaser will want to know if it is a good investment and exactly what benefits, including return on investment (ROI), he or she will have by owning it. That is reasonable and expected. A larger PV system may cost many tens of thousands of dollars, having a good idea that the system will work from where it is installed is essential.

solar site assessment report

Click on picture for hi-resolution view of site assessment.
This is why we offer solar site assessments using a Solar Pathfinder. This is a really good tool for determining how well a solar system, either PV or Thermal will work. Generally speaking, properly sizing a grid connected PV system is pretty cut and dry. Properly sizing a stand alone PV system can be tricky, especially if critical use situations like emergency communication sites. The Solar Pathfinder has associated software that will find the nearest National Weather Service (NWS) office data. This allows the software to access the 30 year average weather conditions on a month by month basis. All of this give a pretty accurate picture of local site conditions and the installer can budget for the worst case scenario.

Solar thermal installations also can vary. A typical solar domestic hot water system with a backup electric heating element can be sized according to the number of people living in a house. Solar space heating system, such as radiant floor system require much more planning and attention to heat loads. Again, the Solar Pathfinder can assist in these calculations. Although it is set up to do mainly PV sites, it can be used with solar thermal installations by using the energy output in kWh/M2. I have an excel spread sheet which I can plug these numbers into and come up with an estimated system energy production in BTU and Therms.

Naturally, all of this takes time and effort to complete. We, therefore, have a policy of charging $200.00 for a site assessment, including a written report. This fee will be refunded if the property owner purchases the system from Sun Volt Solar. Some people have told me that for a little more money, they can buy their own Solar Pathfinder. That is true, however, just because someone owns a scalpel doesn’t make them a surgeon.

Conducting a solar site assessment for potential customers does several things. You get some one on one time with a potential customer. This can tell you a great deal about why the customer is interested in solar in the first place. Sometimes customers have greater expectations than are realistic. This is a good opportunity to educate them as to what is possible with solar systems. It should also show the best placement for the solar panels or collectors or any corrective actions needed, such as tree removal, by the property owner.

The site assessment should follow a standard report format. Beginning with a general site conditions, the expectations of the property owner, the type of system, type and size of structure, street address, geographical coordinates are nice to include.

Then more specific information such as the specific type and size of the system, how much and what type of energy is used by the building, and what percentage of this energy is expected to be offset by the solar system.

I always include the manufactures product brochures along with the site assessment. These usually have pictures of the equipment along with general information about the equipment and manufacture.

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09 Jan 08 | General Business, Solar Electric, Solar Hot Water | Comments (0)

Accounting, Taxes, and other dull stuff

07 Jan 08 | Business administration

Like anything in life, there are things that you like to do and things that you don’t.  I like to design things, build things, and watch them work after they are done.  Some people might even argue that I have a knack for figuring out difficult problems and overcoming unusual situations.

I will be the first to admit, administration is not one of my strong suits.  That being said, owning your own business requires a fair amount of administration.  There are forms to be filled out and sent to the proper authorities, insurance, accounts payable, accounts receivable, taxes and payroll not to mention generating proposals, etc.

To handle that stuff, I purchased a copy of Quickbooks Pro.  I purchased it online from Amazon.com and received $50.00 off the list price of $199.95.   I have set it up on my computer and am in the process of learning the program.  I can say that it seems pretty easy so far.

If this gets going well, I will have to hire an accountant to deal with the tax issues.  New York State sales tax alone is enough to drive one batty with all the different rules, one set for residential customers, another for business customers, etc.  Then, of course, there is the IRS.  Enough said.

They don’t make it easy to start a business, I hope that all this back end effort is worth it.

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07 Jan 08 | Business administration | Comments (0)

Does solar hot water work in cold climates?

03 Jan 08 | Solar Hot Water

I was at a lecture this past September when the speaker stated “Solar thermal just doesn’t work in this climate (the Northeast), it is not a consideration…” I wanted to stand up, raise my hand and say “Um, excuse me, but you are wrong.” There is a persistent misconception that solar thermal only works in temperate climates. The truth is that is works in cold climates as well. As evidence I submit the following:

It is January, the temperature outside is 17 degrees (that was the high temperature of the day) with a foot of snow on the ground.

AET AE-40 solar collector in northeast

The water temperature coming back from the solar collectors on my roof is 150 degrees.solar collector water return temperature

Furthermore, last night it was 0 degrees and I suffered no freeze damage to the collectors or piping, even though I use distilled water as my heat transfer fluid.

This is no accident, of course. A properly designed and installed solar hot water (solar thermal) system can work in almost any climate. The snow surrounding the collector reflects sunlight unto the collector itself, making it more efficient. I have a drain back system, so when the sun goes down and the temperature drops, all the water drains out of the collectors into a reservoir inside the house. The collectors and piping all are sloped so that the water drains out properly thus providing excellent freeze protection without the use of expensive anti freeze.

Naturally, I didn’t say anything to the photovoltaic guy who made the above statement. After all, we are playing on the same team.

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03 Jan 08 | Solar Hot Water | Comments (0)