Solar Facts for When I’m Ready
Last year we bought our first single-family home. This purchase finally removes all of the excuses for not making my home more environmentally friendly. As a result, I did some research on adding a net-metered solar system on the house. The capital requirements are somewhat staggering which means no net-metered solar system for us soon.
Observations
- The Florida Solar Energy Center at the University of Central Florida estimates that a 1KW solar system will generate 1,350 kWh per year with 3.5 hours of sun per day. So, a 5 KW system will generate about 18.5 kWh per day (conservatively).
- For comparison, my 2,100 sq ft home averages about 37.2 kWh per day.
- Installing a solar hot water heater is equivalent to installing a 2 KW system. An 80 gallon ceramic solar powered hot water heater will only lose about 1 degree of temperature every 3 days.
- The term net-metered simply means the system is connected to the power grid. This results in credits to your power bill. However, the system does not include batteries and does not provide power during utility outages.
Apr.09.2008.
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