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Would?

J

Jennie

Jan 1, 1970
0
Would it be cheaper to build a solar passive design home and use energy eff
stuff than go PV?

Just curious...
 
J

Jennie

Jan 1, 1970
0
I can understand a back up lighting system, etc. but to put thousands of
dollars in a whole house system would not be worth the expense.
 
S

SJC

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jennie said:
Would it be cheaper to build a solar passive design home and use energy eff
stuff than go PV?

Just curious...
You would have to know the numbers for your particular situation.
Some states in the US have a significant "buy down" program for PV that
can pay for a lot of the system. Still, the payback can be more than 20 years.
It would also depend on your electicity rates. If Time Of Use in the summer
afternoons is high, then the payback might be better.
It also depends on what you mean by passive design. If you mean starting
from the beginning with a new home designed and positioned on the property
properly, with all the latest features, then it might cost quite a bit.
 
A

Anthony Matonak

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jennie said:
Would it be cheaper to build a solar passive design home and use energy eff
stuff than go PV?

I can't seem to understand your question there. Passive solar does
not produce electricity. Solar PV does not do very well heating
water or keeping your house warm. These are two completely different
things. I don't even know where building a house comes in.

Ok, that said, there are some obvious observations I (a complete
non-expert) can make.

A well designed home is always going to be better than a badly
designed home. A home designed to be energy efficient and to make
the most of the sun, wind and local climate is going to be much
better than one that is not. Well made homes are usually more
expensive to build than poorly made ones.

Solar PV is expensive (right now). It will not be cheaper than
grid power, if you have grid power. It can be cheaper than grid
power if the power company wants inordinately huge amounts of
money to hook your house up.

Investing in energy efficiency is usually many times cheaper than
buying more power, or buying bigger PV systems. This is especially
so when talking about off-grid PV systems because PV is expensive.

Anthony
 
M

Mike Payne

Jan 1, 1970
0
The only way I can justify PV for the home is to think of it as portable. I
will buy it once and move it to my next home with me. And my next after
that. That way the lengthy pay back period becomes more tolerable.

It's unlikely you will find someone to buy your house that will value your
PV system as much as it cost you. Few people stay in the same house for
even 10 years anymore.
 
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