Q: How can I incorporate solar technology into my home to save energy and have less impact on the environment?

A: Energy management in your home is perhaps the most significant way in which you can maintain a green lifestyle. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, buildings are responsible for 48 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, and 76 percent of electricity generated by power plants in our nation goes to supply the building sector.

If you’re beginning with new construction, orienting your home to work with the sun’s seasonal pathways through passive solar design is the place to start. When coupled with thermal mass and proper insulation, passive heating and cooling strategies greatly reduce energy demands. When selecting building materials, consider what will maximize or minimize heat gain. Properly designed overhangs on windows and other structures allow for heat gain during the winter and provide cooling in the summer. When selecting windows, consider their insulation value (the U-factor) and the solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC.) Advanced spectrally selective coatings allow light in, but not heat. Optimizing day lighting with windows and sun tubes is significant, as lighting typically represents between six and seven percent of a home’s electrical load.

With an energy efficient envelope in place, the next demand that can be reduced (by up to 85 percent) with solar technologies is heating water, which is the second largest energy demand in American households. Solar thermal systems offer a cost-effective and reliable way to provide hot water for domestic use and to support space heating systems, and they operate relatively simply. Collectors convert the sun’s energy to heat and transfer it to tanks. For heating systems, the hot water can be circulated through a radiant floor or other hydronic system, or it can be passed through a heat exchanger to be used in a forced air system.

Lastly, solar energy can be directly converted to electricity through solar electric or photovoltaic modules. An electrical load that has been diminished through the use of highly efficient appliances, such as those that carry the Energy Star® label, and lighting can be met with a solar array. An interconnection with the utility grid allows for the system to claim renewable energy credits and eliminates the cost of a battery. However, a backup battery system can be implemented to ensure power during utility failure, or the entire system can be completely independent. New products like solar shingles that integrate into the building are now available, but at this time monocrystalline modules produce more energy per area.

When energy efficiency and renewable energy systems integrate holistically, it’s quite possible that homes can be zero energy consumers or even net producers. This is the goal behind the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America program. (Visit www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/building_america/about.html for more information.)
While these measures and technologies will pay for themselves with energy savings in a relatively short period of time, there is an increase in the up-front cost of construction and installation. There are, however, numerous incentive programs available to support their incorporation. Many local governments offer incentives for energy efficiency and renewable technology. The City of Asheville offers a partial waiver for building permit fees for qualifying systems. The State of North Carolina offers tax credits (35 percent) with a cap of $1,400 for solar water systems and $3,500 for space heating systems in residential applications.

There is also a personal federal tax credit of 30 percent up to $2,000 for solar energy systems. (Commercial applications are also eligible; NC has a cap of $2,500,000 and the federal credit is uncapped.) Georgia traditionally allows a four-day sales tax exemption for energy-efficient residential appliances, lighting, doors and windows, and many utilities also offer rebates or rate discounts. For a complete listing of incentives that may benefit you, visit the Database for State Initiatives for Renewables and Efficiency at www.dsireusa.org.

Wherever you are in the broad spectrum of energy management, consider taking the next step towards sustainability with clean and free energy from the sun.
Next month’s Healthy Home Q and A will feature a continuation of New Life Journal’s Solar Series.

Working as the outreach coordinator for Sundance Power Systems, Erika Schneider welcomes the opportunity to share information on solar energy, as she believes it’s the promise for a healthy future. Sundance has been serving the region with clean energy since 1995. Visit www.sundancepower.com for more information.

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