Solar Panels - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

Norrrrrrrrrrrrm · 03-27-2007, 06:31 PM

I just bought a small 12-1300 sq ft house in Wilmington NC were it is very sunny for most of the year. I would like to install solar panels on the roof. Do any of you know a good rule of thumb on what sizes I should look into? Who are some good manufacturer's? Any basic prices to out for? Any particular setup? Any insight would be really helpful. Norm

cbtexas · 05-19-2007, 05:53 PM

I would be very interested in this also if you can find out any info.

Mike Finley · 05-19-2007, 06:05 PM

What type of solar are you talking about? Solar electric or solar hot water?

What exactly is your goal of going solar? Saving money? Even with the tax incentives 10 year pay backs are the norm.

Frankawitz · 05-21-2007, 06:45 AM

Norm, I was looking awhile back for roof solar panels I had a site for it but now I can't find it. But they had a couple different types for electric and water, the electric was set up as shingles that you install right on the roof, I'll do some checking and see if I can find the site. I was also going to look for a wind turbine fan to generate electric too. I figure with gas prices($3.49) for the truck and car keep going the way it is, I have to find some way to save some money.

Norrrrrrrrrrrrm · 05-21-2007, 09:57 AM

frankawitz,
That would be great. Any kind of energy you have to pay for is going to go throught the roof. I know it is more expensive at first but I think we should all think long term. It works out better for us and the earth.

monsterconstruc · 01-30-2008, 01:13 PM

Norrrrrrrrrrrm

I am NABCEP certified solar installer. When sizing your home for solar, you need to find out your current energy usage then decide on what percentage of that energy usage you want to convert to solar. Currently solar is very expensive, $8.50-$9.50 per watt installed by a professional. The average home uses between 10,000-12,000kw per year. If you fall between this range, then a system in your area would range between 8kw-10kw. Do you have a large area of roof that faces s-sw? This would be ideal for your system to face to receive optimal solar efficiency.
An 8kw-10kw photovoltaic system at $8.50 per watt will cost between $68,000-$85,000.
Currently wind power is the cheapest way to go. I currently sell a wind power system that will produce 1,100 kw per month, 13,200 kw per year at an average wind speed of 12mph. Total cost for installation is $25,000.
Hope this answers your question.

TimNJ · 01-31-2008, 03:19 PM

I can't remember where I read it, but it was info on two competeing types of collectors. They both produce electric obviously in the sunlight, but one kind loses efficiency when it gets really hot and the other loses efficiency when it is cold out. The article was about a company that came up with a collector that had the best of both worlds.

**genecarp** · 03-16-2008, 06:49 PM

sharp makes a good panel

GreginAlaska · 03-22-2008, 09:23 PM

Have you guys read about "Nanosolar" I can't post links yet, I'm too new. Do a search for nanosolar and you will find them.

They print a very small solar cell on a thin aluminum plate. They claim they can deliver panels for a price that works out to $1.00 a watt, that's pretty close to the cost of coal. They just shipped the first panels in December 07. They are not selling to the residential market yet but I believe they plan to.

**Leo G** · 03-22-2008, 10:24 PM

http://mrsolar.com/

IslandConst · 03-23-2008, 01:47 PM

That Mr. Solar has some good prices and a very big selection.

BTW: Where in CT are you LEO? I'm originally from the SW of the state and my mother is in the NW corner now. I worked all last summer in New Milford on a Lab renovation.

**Leo G** · 03-23-2008, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IslandConst

That Mr. Solar has some good prices and a very big selection.

BTW: Where in CT are you LEO? I'm originally from the SW of the state and my mother is in the NW corner now. I worked all last summer in New Milford on a Lab renovation.

Windsor Locks.

I bought some batteries from them (12v AGM) and they had some of the better prices. Including shipping I got them from CA for cheaper than I could get them locally.

IslandConst · 03-24-2008, 10:00 PM

Cool, cheers!

dougchips · 03-29-2008, 11:02 AM

Amazon has a deal on a 4 panel @ 15 watts each for a few hundred dollars. They also have a couple cheap wind turbines (they nail you on the mounting post). You might want to compare the db ratings on the turbines since some of the cheaper ones are rather noisy. I would love one but I am not sure if my neighbors would put up with the noise at night.

builder brian · 09-14-2008, 10:49 AM

Before going down the pv road it makes more sense to do a thermal system. They cost 1/3- 1/4 the price of pv system. Their 2x-3x more effecient. Meaning its a less expensive system with a faster payback and they reduce more Co2 emissions.
Before doing any solar check into super insulating your home. The payback is something like 10x that of solar.
Brian

protechplumbing · 10-11-2008, 04:37 PM

I agree. The very last thing you need to do is implement a photovoltaic system. They are pretty cool, but economically speaking, they should be the last thing on your list. Insulate, get solar thermal, get high seer geothermal system, get energy efficient appliances then displace the little bit of usage you have left with wind (if your area has good wind resources), then start thinking about photovoltaic systems.

Again, reduce usage first. Then go photovoltaic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by builder brian

Before going down the pv road it makes more sense to do a thermal system. They cost 1/3- 1/4 the price of pv system. Their 2x-3x more effecient. Meaning its a less expensive system with a faster payback and they reduce more Co2 emissions.
Before doing any solar check into super insulating your home. The payback is something like 10x that of solar.
Brian

hatchet · 10-11-2008, 06:59 PM

Well said on the last 2 posts.. I absolutely agree. I have people coming to me all the time to design/install a PV system. So far there is only one of them that it made sense for - and he was completely off grid. I was reading some articles awhile back and they had a great quote that was very close to what protech said "reduce first then design".. or something like that. Yeah - it was a webinar from an architect. I'll see if I can find the link.

hatchet · 10-11-2008, 07:07 PM

Here it is "Green Building by Design, Not Device.
http://event.on24.com/eventRegistrat...serid=19457893

The quote went something like this "Strategies that save energy pay for themselves back 5-10 times faster than those that produce energy".

concrete21 · 06-21-2009, 08:43 PM

firstly, you need test your house energy for solar! also including your hose weather forcast!

naptown CR · 06-21-2009, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by builder brian

Before going down the pv road it makes more sense to do a thermal system. They cost 1/3- 1/4 the price of pv system. Their 2x-3x more effecient. Meaning its a less expensive system with a faster payback and they reduce more Co2 emissions.
Before doing any solar check into super insulating your home. The payback is something like 10x that of solar.
Brian

thermal is definately the better of the two types in terms of economics and efficiency

Quote:

Originally Posted by protechplumbing

I agree. The very last thing you need to do is implement a photovoltaic system. They are pretty cool, but economically speaking, they should be the last thing on your list. Insulate, get solar thermal, get high seer geothermal system, get energy efficient appliances then displace the little bit of usage you have left with wind (if your area has good wind resources), then start thinking about photovoltaic systems.

Again, reduce usage first. Then go photovoltaic.

I can agree with this reduce then produce unless you have very deep pockets phptpvoltaic is probably not worth it for purely economic reasons however if you want to make a difference and can afford it then do the PV's

Quote:

Originally Posted by concrete21

firstly, you need test your house energy for solar! also including your hose weather forcast!

If you don't have the right house energy nothing will work especially if the hose weather forcast is not right