Alternative energy

Could Solar Power Be A Good Investment For You?

By Dale Harrison (Posted May 10, 2020):

Adding solar panels to your home can be a great alternative power source and save money.

During these times of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 and the violent storms in our region, many discussions about alternative power have arisen. When the power grid goes offline for any reason, it’s nice to know you have a backup system to help carry you through the outage.

Even if these events were not happening, the addition of a solar power system to your home might provide huge savings on your monthly electric bill.

The most common solar panels are available as 12-volt or 24-volt panels. Most high-efficiency 12-volt panels usually produce 100 watts in direct sunlight, and the 24-volt panels produce 200 watts. There are higher voltage panels available, but as the voltage increases so does the price.

If you are planning on using your backup system to power household appliances such as TVs, refrigerators, freezers, or other small-wattage appliances, it would probably be better to use 48-volt panels. They not only take up less space, but each panel also produces twice the wattage as 12-volt panels. However, if you just plan on running lights or appliances that won’t exceed 1,500 watts, the 12-volt panels should work fine. Please see the image below for an example of what is required for a basic setup for solar power:

Figure 1 – Typical Solar Power Setup

Figure 1, to the right, shows a basic solar setup that shows the components needed to achieve a solar power backup system for your home. These items are readily available from Amazon and are relatively easy to install. The recommended items for a low-cost beginner setup as shown in Figure 1 are as follows:

12-volt 100-watt solar panel
12-volt solar battery charge controller
12-volt deep cycle battery
12-volt 2,000-watt power inverter converts 12 volts DC to 110-120 volts AC
Solar panel wiring cable to go from the solar panel to the charger
12-gauge wire to go from charger to battery
4- to 10-gauge wire to go from battery to inverter
In-line fuses

This beginner setup will allow you to use lights, small TVs, radios, and small appliances that require 110- to 120-volt AC power. The number of items you can power at one time and for how long will be dependent on the size and type of solar components you choose to install. As an example, with the components listed above, you should be able to run two 15-watt LED lights for approximately 100 hours if there is no sunlight. If you are receiving an average of hours of sunlight per day, you can run them indefinitely. There are calculators online that will allow you to enter your specific solar setup and then will give you information showing the items you can power and for approximately how long.

As a side note regarding item 4 above, if you want to run sensitive electronic equipment such as computers, computer monitors, or certain types of televisions, it is recommended that you purchase a pure sine wave inverter.

There are two types of inverters, the pure sine wave, and the modified sine wave. The pure sine wave inverter is usually more expensive, but it produces the same power characteristics as your electric company provides you.

The approximate cost for the above setup:

12-volt 100-watt solar panel – $100
Charge controller – $ 50.00
12-volt 100-SMP hour battery – $110
2,000-watt pure sine inverter – $250
Cable & fittings – $30

Total: $ 540

The above cost is for reference only. The actual cost will depend on the quality of the equipment you wish to purchase.

If you want to save money and be prepared for power outages, then it could be a great investment to have a professionally installed system. My research has shown that an investment of around $10,000 would pay for itself in about 5 to 8 years depending on the amount of sunlight you receive. Once installed, a considerable amount of power being used by your home will come from your solar power system and decrease the cost you are paying your local power company. On optimum days when your solar power system is supplying all your home needs, the excess that it produces can be sold back to your power provider. You can have them send you a check for this amount or you can have them apply it to your account, so when you do have a decrease in sunlight, such as in winter, your monthly bills will be reduced during those times. Another plus to having a professional solar system installed is the tax credits that are currently available, which would offset some of your installation costs.

The information shown here regarding solar power is just a very basic understanding of what this resource can do in times of an emergency or if you just want to save money on your monthly electric bill. There are lots of different manufacturers of solar equipment and tons of information on the internet explaining different options. If you plan on going solar, research, or contact a professional installer for advice before you commit to purchasing. The cost of setting up a solar power system has been decreasing over the past few years, and hopefully, this article has answered any questions you might have about solar power so you can decide whether or not it is right for you.

Kathy Webb, P.G.

Senior Market Leader | Principal

Kathy, a founder of SynTerra (previously The Fletcher Group) in 1992, has completed remedial investigations and regulatory compliance projects associated with Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) facilities, state and federal Superfund sites, solid waste landfills, brownfield redevelopment, utility coal combustion residual (CCR) management units, and regulated industrial facilities. She has supported litigation as an expert witness related to chlorinated solvents, metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Kathy is known for her practical assessment strategy with the perspective of the client’s business objectives. She routinely evaluates groundwater corrective action systems for effectiveness and progress toward achieving compliance objectives. She has also co-authored a trade journal paper with case studies of low-impact remedial strategies. Kathy is a licensed Professional Geologist in North and South Carolina.

Mark Taylor, P.G.

Principal

Mark has worked more than 40 years in natural-resource based industries. His expertise includes mine geology and mine engineering, hydrogeologic and geotechnical investigations, solid and hazardous waste management, and regulatory negotiations. He has published peer-reviewed papers about coal geology, ore geochemistry, mineralogy, and solid waste management. He is a leading expert in mining and environmental permitting for litigation support.

Mark is licensed as a Professional Geologist in South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Washington. He serves on the boards of the Upstate Red Cross and Upstate Forever. He served on the South Carolina Board of Registration for Geologists for six years. Mark holds a Master’s degree in Geological Sciences from The University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Science from Harvard University.

Andrea Kehn, P.E.

Vice President of Engineering | Principal

Andrea, leader of our Civil & Environmental Engineering Business Unit, has 28 years of experience in chemical manufacturing and environmental consulting. She leads and supervises staff professionals on multidisciplinary projects for a variety of industrial clients. Andrea’s vast experience and expertise includes: air quality construction and operating permitting; air quality modeling; air permit record-keeping and reporting; Oil Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP); NPDES Permitting; water quality modeling; process safety management; risk management compliance and auditing; and RCRA compliance.

Andrea is registered as a Professional Engineer in South Carolina. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Ruth Albright, P.E.

Vice President | Principal

Ruth has led projects for major industrial facilities throughout the Southeast and beyond. She built her knowledge of environmental regulations and their application to manufacturing operations while working for the second largest chemical manufacturing company in the United States. At SynTerra, she has expanded both her knowledge and reputation working for chemical manufacturing operations of all sizes. She has also worked extensively with other manufacturing operations, including pulp and paper, industrial equipment, pharmaceuticals, food, and automotive parts and assembly. Her experience includes air and wastewater permit compliance, solid and hazardous waste management, solid waste construction permitting, hazardous materials transportation, wastewater treatment systems, air pollution control equipment operations and maintenance, and ambient air monitoring systems.

Ruth is a professional engineer registered in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Michigan, Arkansas, and Kentucky. She is an active member of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Environmental Technical Committee and serves as the chair of the water subcommittee. She has previously served as the program and committee chair for the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce Environmental Affairs committee. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University.