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Posted by Manoj Misra on July 19, 2008, 9:25 pm
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121642755234266961.html
ABOUT THE HOUSE
By GWENDOLYN BOUNDS
Let the Sunshine In
Sick of high energy bills, our columnist investigates solar options
July 19, 2008; Page W10
This month, I've spent hours tramping across my roof with energy experts.
We've measured its pitch, calculated how closely it faces true south and
used high-tech tools to determine what times of day and which months the
rooftop will be shaded.
The goal: to figure out how much the sun's free power can offset my home's
hot-water and other energy needs.
Like many Americans swooning from higher heating and cooling costs I'm in
the camp of "something's got to change." On one hand, I've taken many small
steps to make my 1978 home more efficient: adding insulation, hiring an
energy auditor to pinpoint air leaks, tuning the oil-fired boiler and
replacing old appliances with Energy Star models. Last weekend, in 80-degree
weather, I even shopped for a cleaner-burning wood stove certified by the
Environmental Protection Agency.
But not until now, with a costly winter on the horizon, did I investigate
solutions to seriously wean my home from fossil fuels. The average U.S.
household is expected to spend 33% more this winter on heat, according to
the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Renewable-energy options that
once seemed far-fetched or unaffordable suddenly look enticing, not just
environmentally sound. "We've fundamentally turned a corner," says Jonathan
Rose, whose New York-based Jonathan Rose Companies LLC helps plan and
develop environmentally sound housing communities.
So how to choose? In my neck of the woods in New York's Hudson River Valley,
oil is a prevalent fuel for home heating, as in many areas of the Northeast.
It's also used to produce domestic hot water in many homes (including mine),
which means the boiler operates year-round. Natural gas isn't offered where
I live; a smaller percentage of houses near me use propane while others use
electric. Five years ago, with oil at about $1.50 a gallon, the roughly
1,000 gallons my home consumes annually made my system a pretty good deal.
This winter, oil is expected to average $4.66 or more a gallon in this
region, says the EIA.
I considered energy alternatives like wind and geothermal heat drawn from
the earth. But there's no good place to install a windmill on my property,
and geothermal would require potentially disruptive retrofitting of my house
because its baseboard hot-water-heating system isn't readily compatible.
According to one estimate, it would cost about $48,000 to drill the needed
wells, install equipment and run ductwork. So I focused on solar energy.
Sun power gained traction in the U.S. during the last energy crisis in the
1970s. It went into a cold spell when tax incentives lapsed under President
Reagan and oil prices fell. Now it's making a comeback. For starters,
consumers are more focused on environmental issues such as global warming.
Plus, new federal and state tax credits and rebates are available to
homeowners, and systems often can be rolled into mortgages for new
construction. (To find perks in your area, visit dsireusa.org.) Sweetening
the pot, many electric utilities have "net-metering" programs under which
houses equipped with photovoltaic systems, which convert sun into
electricity, can sell excess power back to the grid.
Nationally, an average-size, 4.5 kilowatt residential photovoltaic system
costs $40,000 to $50,000, before any tax credits or rebates, according to
the Solar Energy Industries Association. The lowest estimate I got was about
$17,500 after rebates and credits, with an estimated payback period of 15
years. (A kilowatt-hour equals the energy needed to run a 100-watt bulb for
10 hours.)
But for a smaller investment, sun can be used to heat water for showers,
laundry and dishwashing. At $2,000 to $8,000, these solar-thermal systems
typically pay for themselves in under a decade. With extra equipment, they
also can help heat homes. "It's a very quick and easy way to get yourself
out of two-thirds of your hot-water bill," says Jeff Irish, a former General
Electric Co. executive who runs Hudson Valley Clean Energy in Rhinebeck,
N.Y., which designs and installs renewable-energy systems.
The industry is cooking. U.S. installations of solar water heaters nearly
tripled between 2005 and 2007, according to the SEIA. Last month, Hawaii
became the first state to mandate solar water heaters in most new homes
beginning in 2010. Residents in cold-weather markets are investing, too: New
York, Colorado and Illinois rank among the top states installing the solar
thermal technology, the trade group says. "This spring, it really took off,"
says Randall Reu, managing director of Solar Water Works LLC, a
solar-equipment distributor in Middlesex, N.J.
Configuring a solar water-heating system varies, but most include a
water-storage tank inside the house and solar collectors outside, often on
the roof. In one typical design for areas with cold weather, the system
pumps a nontoxic antifreeze fluid (a propylene glycol/water mix) through the
collectors to be warmed by the sun and then down into the storage tank.
There the fluid passes through a heat exchanger to transfer the warmth to
potable hot water stored in the tank. The solar tank feeds that warmed water
into the home's existing water heater. On days when the solar tank's water
doesn't get hot enough, it's heated further by the water heater.
The first step is to determine how solar-friendly your home is. I started
with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to find a
qualified installer. The Department of Energy also helps sponsor a site,
findsolar.com, which lists certified installers by state, as does the North
American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (nabcep.org) To find
certified solar-equipment manufacturers, go to solar-rating.org.
I brought in several local pros. The good news: They pointed out I have a
long swath of uninterrupted roof (no vents or other obstructions) facing
south, which is optimal for positioning solar collectors or photovoltaic
panels. The not-as-good-news: My roof's gentle pitch makes it tough to get
direct sunlight in winter, and a grove of deciduous trees casts shade or
filters the sun even in winter when the leaves are off.
"That's your bad boy right there," said Anthony Conklin, an inspector for
Mercury Solar Systems of Greenwich, Conn., pointing to a looming sugar
maple. Up on the roof, he whipped out a tool called the Solmetric SunEye,
which snapped digital pictures of my site to plot solar exposure year-round.
He and the other contractors concluded that the combined one-two punch of
shade and low roof tilt meant a photovoltaic system wouldn't qualify for a
full state rebate without some serious tree-trimming.
However, most pros I contacted said a well-positioned solar-thermal system,
which operates more efficiently than photovoltaic, might be a cost-effective
way to dip my foot into renewable energy. A federal tax credit of 30%, up to
$2,000, is in place through 2008; a New York state credit will knock the
cost down 25% more, putting my net cost for a simple two-collector, one-tank
system at $5,000 to $6,000.
Depending on the system and the annual rise in energy prices (my estimates
assumed a 3.5% to 5% annual increase), the estimated payback time was five
to 10 years. Switching to a solar-compatible on-demand tankless water heater
could help further shave my oil bill by eliminating standby heat losses in a
regular water heater. A bigger solar system could help preheat water for
space heating.
I'm still mulling my move and haven't given up on photovoltaic. Tuesday, an
arborist came to assess the trees. Meantime, my oil company sent a letter
locking in record-high winter pricing of $4.88 a gallon. The company's owner
wrote: "There are no overnight miracles but if we are courageous, strong and
work together, this too shall pass..."
That's sunny optimism of one sort -- but I might need technology as a
backup.
Write to Gwendolyn Bounds at wendy.bounds@wsj.com
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