The Foundation for Solar

Installing a solar electric (photovoltaic) or solar hot water system on homes in Central Texas makes sense when done the right way.

August  21, 2007

Whether you are building a new green home or whether you are considering a green remodel or renovation to your existing home, it is essential that you begin with using materials that greatly reduce your energy and water consumption.

Having a high-performance home; one that saves considerable money in utility costs, maintenance costs, and even insurance costs, provides an important and essential foundation for installing a solar energy system. A house built with these elements can already be considered a green-built home even without a solar system.  In fact, providing a high-performance foundation will save considerable money for the homeowner which can be used to pay for installing renewable energy at any time in the future if a decision is made to delay a renewable energy system.  One benefit of building a high-performance home that cannot be ignored is the result of having a house that requires considerably less energy to operate.  This means that the renewable energy system can be downsized to provide the same amount of savings that could be achieved if the system were installed on a conventional house. There is nothing worse than to install a solar system on an inefficient home. The homeowner ends up spending more than necessary to reduce electric bills to a desired range, and the payback benefits of the system are stretched way into the future.

What constitutes a high-performance or green-built house?  Many elements are simple and sensible. Imagine a house with a light-colored and durable roof.  This house would also include energy-efficient appliances, lighting, and other electric devices.  Water efficiency would be apparent by the use of low-flow fixtures and a well established native landscape that is drought tolerant and shady.  A green house would also be made of durable materials that kept the interior well insulated from the exterior.  These materials would also be easy to maintain and resist pests and stormwater penetration.  Picturing a green house would also conjure up images of a light interior generously lit by daylight and free from a large amount of airborne irritants.

Most houses in San Antonio have the wrong kind of roof for our climate.  The insulation is not effective or is poorly installed.  Sitting in most attics is hotter than sitting on the driveway.  Appliances and water heaters are often inefficient wasters of energy.  These are but a few of the many aspects of the typical house that need to be addressed in addition to considering installing a solar system. After all, if a green house could incorporate the kind of materials and systems to save fifty percent or more on operational and maintenance costs, not only would there be more money available to buy a renewable energy system, the system would not have to be as large to provide the same percentage of energy savings as it would have to be on a conventionally-built house.

Okay, let’s say that you are planning on building a green house, and you have made all the right choices in the building materials.  Because of your choices, you are also going to install a very efficient, and now a downsized air conditioning system.  Let’s also say that you have located the house to be shaded by existing or newly planted trees.  Now are we ready for solar panels?  Maybe, but now we must determine whether the roof is necessarily the best place for the solar panels.  If you are shading the house, and the solar panels are also on the house, they could be shaded too, and will therefore not deliver the amount of electricity you had expected.  In this case, it would be better for the solar panels to be mounted away from the house and trees to a location that receives considerable sunlight.  In this type of installation, the panels can be mounted at the ideal angle and orientation for the maximum expected solar exposure for the installation.  You would still want to install the panels on a pole-like structure or other light framework.  It could be a very interesting cover for an outdoor seating area, and the focal point for your yard.

In short, if you don’t have the opportunity or the budget to install a renewable energy system right now, don’t let that stop you from many of the other possibilities available you can still take advantage of to make your current or your next home one of the greenest homes on the block. The money you save can help you achieve your solar installation sooner.