Renewable Energy Sources

Renewable energy sources are solar and wind for residences. For the average energy bill payer investing into something that would eliminate their dependence on utilities is something that most want to do. Even if it only reduces their dependence. The vast majority of homes that exists and are being built today do not utilize renewable energy sources. There are several reasons for this and they are cost, space, production and storage. These reasons certainly contradict what most energy bill payers want to do. If you were to ask the average energy bill payer " Would you consider installing a renewable energy source in your home, even if it only reduced your need for a Utility?" and you would get a resounding yes.

This is the equivalent to asking the average commuter about car pooling and mass transit. Everyone agrees with renewable energy sources yet very few people actually have it in their home. If you told them they agree with it and proposed to them a product that would provide it for them, you would hear the following. It's expensive. I don't have enough space on my property. The peak production is when I need it the least and lowest when I need it the most. What do you mean storage? Rather than pointing out why other people do not have renewable energy sources in their homes, I will give you the reasons why I don't have it in my home.

The foremost reason for not having a renewable energy source in my home is convenience. I have been in the construction industry for almost thirty years. To install a renewable energy source in my home would not be difficult and considerably less expensive than it would cost the average energy bill payer. Furthermore, being an energy conservationist my knowledge concerning renewable energy sources surpasses most people. In fact I have installed solar panels and solar greenhouses in other people homes for heating, hot water, pool heating and electricity. And yet I find putting a renewable energy source in my home an inconvenience. Some may say, "What kind of energy conservationist are you?"

The kind that says, I don't need a renewable energy source in my home to conserve energy and lower my energy bills. I converted my heating system from an oil steam 1-pipe system to a direct venting gas hot water boiler with indirect domestic hot water system with three zones. Including removal of the steam distribution system, the oil tank and a 40 ft. 90 year old chimney. Along with installing baseboards throughout the home. When comparing the cost of installation to projected savings, the saving was not that great. Mind you that all the work was done by me without any help or labor cost.

Moreover, the insulating and air sealing done by me did reduce the project energy use to the point where there was no savings for the conversion. In other words, the insulating and air sealing would have reduced the oil bill to the point where the savings from the conversion would not justify the cost. This was actually known to me prior to the conversion. However when I considered cleaning the burner nozzle, the chimney and air vent valves annually. Inspecting the oil tank and changing the filter annually. Then heating the entire home without the ability to control areas.

Adding and draining water weekly during the winter. Adding more square footage to four rooms by the removal of the chimney. Though the savings created by the conversion was insufficient to cover the cost of it within a reasonable period (10-yr. payback) the primary purpose for it was convenience. When the air sealing and insulating was done, there was no need to inspect it or maintain it afterwards. When the conversion was done, my maintenance was reduced dramatically. That's convenience for me.

When I purchase an appliance like a garbage disposal or a dishwasher, the convenience that these appliances provide clearly out weighs the maintenance. In fact that is why I purchase things and pay for services, like my electric and gas bill. There is no maintenance on my part for the electric or gas that comes into my home and I am willing to pay for that convenience. If I really want to cut my electric bill in half, all I have to do is get rid of my kids. Installing a renewable energy source would save me money on my energy bills, these systems require maintenance and that's not convenient for me.

Over the years I have seen many solar systems, especially right after the oil crisis when the government gave incentives towards them in the form of rebates. By the early 1980's the solar systems I observed were not operational. Not just a few, each and every one of them. Most were abandoned and the rest were partially dismantled. When I asked people who had these systems in their homes why the system is not working, all said they were problematic.

Most these were domestic hot water systems and one might think the biggest problem or complaint would be that the system did not provide the household with enough hot water. The biggest complaint about these systems was increased maintenance costs. This problem was obvious, yet I have overlooked it, which meant that I did not calculate it in payback periods or advise potential users of solar to this apparent problem.

After observing, evaluating and then realizing that this problem was inherent to these systems, I began advising people of it. One of the most common replies I have given to people is whenever you penetrate the roof; you increase the chances that the roof will leak.

Even putting too many nails in a roofing shingle increases this probability. When you attach something to your roof, like a solar panel, this probability increases and more so because of live and dead loads. Then I asked myself, how much more would it cost to repair a roof that has a solar panel on it?

This led me to the conclusion that not only does the probability of the roof leaking increases with the installation of the solar panels on the roof but also the frequency and cost to repair increases. Though one could argue that properly securing the panels to the roof would reduce this probability dramatically.

However, when we consider the effects of wind, rain, snow, ice, heat and cold, no matter how these panels are attached to the roof the probability of the roof leaking increases and so does the frequency and cost to repair. This by itself would deter me from recommending s olar systems to residential applications.

The other factors concerning solar, including photovoltaic, are scale, cost of installation, peak production, demand and conversion. In my opinion not only does the performance and payback numbers ignore the increased maintenance to roofs, they are overly optimistic. Economy of scale, infrastructure, land, high load, maintenance personnel, depreciation and more make renewable energy sources ideal for commercial applications.

However the incentive for renewable energy systems should match the benefit and this should include the risk. For example a municipality incentive should be quite large because of the benefits towards the ratepayers. Whereas, the incentives for a company it should be less because it benefits the ratepayers indirectly.

Furthermore, a municipality will not go out of business or move out of State. Certainly there is a place for renewable energy resources in our economy. Though it may appear I am against renewable energy resource systems, the truth is I am not in favor for residential applications. This site, including all its topics is designed for the average energy bill payer. Protect America's Forests. This link is from the Sierra Club. I support them because they do good work.

There are some innovative products out there that are certainly worth their costs, such as heating a swimming pool. Considering the costs to heat a pool and the extention of use of the pool, products like this is very cost effective.

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