My friend Amy – yes, the same one – asked me some more questions. Some of this stuff is just not what I would normally write about, but hey. Content is content when you’re getting through the night.
She asked (again via Facebook):
Will solar power REALLY save you $$?
I haven’t the faintest clue. First off – don’t get on me about the environment here. We’re talking simply about dollars and cents. Not environmental impact.
And after reading about it – I have no idea what to conclude. There seems to be a debate about the whole thing. Basically – you won’t save money until you double what you spent to set it up. And you’ll spend a lot. I’ve gone around and around, and I can’t figure it out. Maybe my brain cells are just depleting. Here’s an argument FOR it and here’s an argument AGAINST the money thing.
If the person building the house has a “money is no object” situation, then yes, building solar can be cost-effective. For instance, there is a LEED house in Northern Virginia which has an annual utilities bill – ANNUAL – under $100. But it’s a million dollar house. I think the best way to build a solar house is to put in as many PASSIVE solar options as you can into a house (rear of house face due south, clerestory windows for air flow, proper window eaves for optimum natural cooling/heating, proper trees for shading on the east/west of the house, etc.) , with splurges on a couple items that will help (such as radiant heat flooring, geothermal heating, solar water heater, and/or solar roof shingles).