New federal tax credits for solar panels on clarkhoward.com

Now may be the perfect time to install solar paneling at your home, according to a recent USA TODAY report. There's an oversupply of panels coupled with a severe drop in demand.

When people think of solar energy in the United States, they typically think of the Southwest -- California, Nevada and Arizona. But colder states like New Jersey have also been instrumental in the explosion of solar energy in our nation.

There are now newly revised federal tax credits to help defray the costs of installing solar panels at your home. The old cap on that tax credit is now gone. That alone should be a real boon to solar energy adoption.

Clark is exploring the idea of solar panels for his home. He loves the tax incentive, plus the long-term incentive of reducing what he pays to heat hot water.

Finally, some Southwestern solar plants are being used to actually generate electricity. It's not yet clear, however, if they will prove economically viable.

What others are saying

These guys give free quotes
www.getmysolarquote.com
By Listener @ 08/01/09 12:07:52 AMreport abuse
Solar Panels
Link to informative article:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Solar-Panel-Kits---Are-They-For-You?&id=2358098
By JasperSimon @ 05/22/09 06:45:02 PMreport abuse
cheap solar panels
soooooo, where are they? what a tease!
By rob brace @ 05/17/09 07:37:38 AMreport abuse
Solar power, etc.
All I keep hearing is money this, return this, power that. Very recent hundreds of people lost their power here in GA due to weather for DAYS. Restaurants closed for days, threw away thousands of dollars in food, people had to leave their home because of no power for days....so, is there enough money worth the comfort that if power is off for days around you, you'll have the comfort & safety of having power?! For me is worth every dollar!! With the news and government confirming that hackers are in our power system and could shut down our power source (maybe or maybe not but could be a chance )....why wouldn't you want to be off the grid. Maybe is just me but I have been without power for almost a whole day before and not have to worry is amazing. So take aside the LOADS of money you save, now you don't have to worry about being without power. Does that sound too crazy to understand and see...oh yeah and we're benefiting our families future and possibly saving. There's no wrong about it!!
By Kathy @ 04/26/09 03:00:56 AMreport abuse
PV energy payback
Bob, Dan ... Solar PV systems generate the energy required for their manufacture in three years or less. With an expected lifetime on the order of 30 years, they generate way more electricity than what it takes to produce them. PV is even more environmentally friendly when you consider that an installed system generates no emissions. See the Home Power article for more information:

http://www.homepower.com/view/?file=HP127_pg32_Sanchez

Bill
By Bill @ 02/09/09 01:47:26 PMreport abuse
How much energy does it take to build a PV pannel?
Bob .... I have never thought about how much energy it takes to build a PV solar panel. In the past I just was looking at the financial side. I have 120 watt panels installed on my roof. By the time the energy has been converted by the inverter each panel puts out about 186 Kwh per year. So do you know how many Kwh it takes to build a 120 watt PV panel?

On the financial side I have the advantage of Time Of Use metering. During the summer months I get paid $0.28199 per Kwh sent out to the grid (Monday -Friday Noon to 6P.M.). And it costs only $0.07122 to bet it back at night.

Most of California electric users will be getting or already have Smart Meters (about 10 million customers). These meters will be capable of recording your usage by hour or every 15 minutes and are read remotely. When this project is done, by around the end of 2011, the California Energy Commission will be requesting a new law that will enact dynamic pricing. The objective is to get people to conserve during peak times when power is most expensive.
By Dan K @ 01/31/09 04:12:35 PMreport abuse
Electric Company and Solar Power
Guy is incorrect. Reduced energy consumption has nothing to do with the rate increase. Progress Energy's rates increased because the cost of fuel to generate the power skyrocketed. The fuel cost is adjusted every six months. It is a pass-through cost and the utilities do not make any profit on that portion of the bill. The other portion of the rate increase is to pay some of the up-front costs of building the nuclear plants, per a law passed by the Florida legislature. While this increases costs in the near term, it will save the customers money in the long run.

I have solar panels to heat the water in my swimming pool. They work well most of the year, but are ineffective in the winter.

Photovoltaic cells are an expensive and inefficient method of generating electricity. Current PV technology only has an efficiency of about 20%. As a result, more energy is used to create a photovoltaic cell than the cell will generate in its lifetime. PV cells will become more efficient as the technology improves. In the meantime, traditional sources of energy are actually better for the environment than solar cells.
By Bob @ 01/31/09 12:10:56 AMreport abuse
Solar power
It's pretty clear that the cost of generating solar power is thus far, greatly over reaching the benefits. Otherwise everyone would be doing it. We just are not hungry enough for it yet. The technology is not ready, the space needed, and amount of sunlight require is far too great. Pushing it too prematurely is a waist of time, energy and money. There are other better more viable, clean sources of energy available in the meantime, and as far as I know, the sun will be there when we are ready. One thing is for certain, the economy and need is plenty enough to drive the technologies forward without Gov't interference. However a Tax credit is a perfect way to stimulate growth without artifice.
By Sherrie @ 01/29/09 05:19:10 PMreport abuse
Solar is ugly
Solar panels are ugly and my gorgeous vintage house would be ruined by them. I won't remove any of the clay tiles to install them. I have yet to see any house, other than a new one, that looks right with them, they all look remuddled, ugghhh.
By Pat @ 01/29/09 03:14:00 PMreport abuse
Solar as an Investment
In California your H.O.A. must allow you to install solar. My solar panels have been up and running for 5 years. You will find that each state will have different rules and rebates that cover the use of residential solar. In addition to that you will need an appropriate location in orientation to the sun and no shadows. Solar works much better in Southern states. For me the cost of the solar system is best understood by the return on investment. Based on the rules here in California my return on investment is about 9% per year. And I’m sure that Clark would love this because it is a tax free investment.
By Dan K @ 01/29/09 02:23:51 PMreport abuse
Eric, it is my understanding that a Homeowner's Association can ban anything it wants. I heard one story that banned a certain color blinds if they could be seen from roads. This is a good reason to steer clear of HOAs if possible in my opinion. However, I'm sure you could check your particular HOA's rules and get your answer.
By anonymous @ 01/29/09 01:51:36 PMreport abuse
Solar panels and HOA rules
I wonder if anyone knows if solar panels are something that a Homeowner's Association can ban?
By Eric @ 01/29/09 10:32:32 AMreport abuse
Solar Revenge
I am using solar power to help send the towel-heads back to the stone age. Step one was to replace all gas powered yard tools with battery powered ones. Next I built a small solar generator to charge them. The components came from Ebay, Harbor Freight Tools, and WalMart. I paid about $250 for all. Everything gets charged from Monday to Friday so I can do my gardening on the weekends. When the plug-in hybrid cars come on the market, I will thumb my nose at every gas station I pass.
By PJ @ 01/29/09 05:23:36 AMreport abuse
Electric Company
You know for the last 10 years how you are asked to cut back on the use of electricity, buy appliances that save energy, CFL bulbs etc, well Progress Energy, which used to be Florida Power is getting a 24% increase, in power bills coz they are not making enough money, guess the people of Florida did to good of a job in using less energy. So now they will make more money and sell less energy, I knew there was something behind using less energy. Orlando Utilities is getting a 14% increase. Wish I can go 100%, without using any of the electricity.
By Guy @ 01/28/09 09:18:08 PMreport abuse
Solar Panels
I attended a neighborhood meeting last year where representatives from our city gave a talk about solar panels and their rebates. I can't remember exactly what the costs were, but even after a rebate, at that time, I'd still be paying $150/mo. for electricity over a five year period and the panels were only warrantied for five years. In the end, I didn't think it was worth it, especially since this technology continues to change and improve. I support solar, but it has to get more affordable and be more durable before I'll buy into it. I don't think anyone else in our neighborhood installed solar panels after hearing this talk either.
By Laura @ 01/28/09 07:28:50 PMreport abuse

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Jan 28, 2009 -- New federal tax credits for solar panels

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