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SOLAR ELECTRIC SYSTEMS
Summary by Solar Assist
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Solar Electric (photo-voltaic) systems have recently become more viable for installation on urban (Grid Tied) homes and businesses. Once thought to be used only for far-out space projects, coastal buoys, and remote off grid homes, these systems are now becoming commonplace in towns like Eugene and Corvallis. Refinements in grid-tied inverter technology have allowed the output power quality to exceed that of the utility, thereby assuaging the utilities’ concerns of introducing low power quality and distortions to their grid. A grid tied system is connected through your electric panel to the utility grid and allows the power to be fed back out to your neighbors if you are not consuming it while it is being produced. You get credit for this back-feeding while your meter spins backwards. Since you pay for the ‘net’ energy consumed on an annual basis, the billing process is called ‘net metering’. Solar electric module and inverter efficiencies continue to improve, thus delivering higher percentages of the sun’s power collected by your rooftop solar array.

Three types of solar cell, single crystalline, polycrystalline and a variety of thin film methods have different characteristics, advantages and potentials for the future. Some are well proven, some are not. Cells combine to form modules, modules combine to form solar arrays. Most solar electric modules have 20-25 year power production warranties. Most inverters are warranted for 10 years. This ensures that you can recoup your investment. System sizes vary, but most home scale grid tied systems start around 2,000 Watts (2 KW) of Solar Array capacity and range up to a 4, 5 or 6 KW size. Larger residential and medium commercial sizes range around 20 or 30 KW. Large commercial and industrial systems can be as large as 100 to 500 KW.

Residential installation prices typically range between $8-11/watt depending upon complexity and size. Systems with battery back-up often cost more. For example a 2,000 watt system might cost $20,000. However, after incentives of $6,000 from State, and $5,000 from Federal tax credits, plus a utility incentive of ~$4,000 (from some utilities), the final cost is around $5,000. These three incentives help make it much more affordable to finally become a producer of your own power instead of just another consumer on the block. Three additional financial benefits to you are: the direct energy savings generated by your solar array, an annual Renewable Energy Credits (‘RECs’) check for 5 years, and added value to your home.