Powering Your Home with the Power of the Sun

Solar power offers an opportunity to harness energy beyond the requirements of your home consumption. Homeowners who invest in solar photovoltaic (PV) technology free themselves from the electricity grid and its unpredictable prices. Every hour, enough sun shines on the earth to support the global energy need for an entire year. Today’s advancement in solar PV technology makes harnessing this power easier than ever for homeowners.

How it Works

When the sun hits solar PV panels, the rays become an electronic current, which is created as direct current, which we are familiar with as DC. The power is then converted to alternate current, also called AC, by an inverter. The AC power is then transmitted through the homeowner’s electrical panel box and used to power their home’s electrical needs 

Practicality

We often think of Arizona or California for solar power, but advances in technology make it a practical option for the Midwest as well. Our area is exposed to an average of 4.5 peak sun hours a day, making solar power a viable option for homeowners when considering an alternative energy source. A solar PV system can also produce usable electricity all year long, and PV cells don’t require direct sunlight. Electricity is still being generated, even on cloudy days.

See how Ohio compares to other parts of the world:

Ohio – 4.5 kWh/m2/day

Central Australia – 5.89 kWh/m2/day

Helsinki, Findland – 2.41 kWh/m2/day

Source: Green Energy Ohio

ROI

Homeowners can expect to generate approximately 50-100% of their electricity for the year from the sun. During peak seasons, like the summer, you can resell excess energy back to the grid. Depending on the size of your installation, the average ROI of a solar PV system is 5 to 8 years.

Additional incentives homeowners may qualify for include:

• Up to a 30% income tax credit on your federal taxes
• Solar renewable energy credits (SREC) can be earned with excess solar energy. Each credit is sold in a range, typically between $200 -$400 each, through a stock market of energy. An average system produces about five credits annually.

Also, Duke Energy has a comprehensive net metering program. Net metering is when the energy company calculates the difference between the amount of electricity supplied by the electric company and the amount generated by the customer during a given billing period. When the meter determines that you fed electricity back into grid, you receive a credit on your electricity bill, reducing your costs when you do use electricity from the grid.

Product Offering

Many factors are used to determine the size of the system that is appropriate for your home. Most home designs can accommodate solar PV panel installations in an attractive and unassuming way. Typical home implementations involve solar panels mounted to the roof. EcoEnvironments’ energy experts will design and execute a plan that works best for your home energy needs.

Call us today.