Solar Power for Less

Filed in archive Wired Home General on January 31, 2007

If you're interested in getting paid for your power, now you may be able to do so for less.

According to an article by News.com, you may just be able to do it for less.

Quoting the article:

solar technology specialist HelioVolt is teaming up with Exceltech to tackle one of the biggest obstacles to the proliferation of solar power: manual labor.

The companies plan to develop modular solar panels and other products to reduce the costs involved in installing solar energy systems. Some of the products will be solar panels that can be integrated into the conventional solar panel frames, while others will be construction materials that have energy-generating technology built in--roof tiles with integrated solar cells, for example.

Installation is one of the major problems with solar energy. The electricity generated by solar panels is free, but solar systems are not: typically it takes about eight years of free electricity before a consumer breaks even. The solar industry wants to reduce the break-even point to about four years.

Outstanding news, and a better chance for all of us to invest in this much more environmentally friendly way to save yourself a few bucks. At a 4 year payoff, I am definitely doing this on our next home build.