The Benefits of Going Solar

 

Time to get a new roof? There are plenty of reasons you should consider getting a solar one.

  

Over the years, solar paneling has certainly gotten a bad rap. Critics like to say it’s unattractive and that it malfunctions all the time, but neither statement is true anymore.  While solar panels may have been more problematic in the early 1970s, they have certainly come a long way since then. These days, they’re sleeker, more efficient, and can feasibly run for decades. And in this age of dwindling energy reserves, the timing has never been better for realizing their full potential.

 

In truth, it is traditional electricity that should be getting the bad rap. Most of us take it for granted, and think it will last forever, but electricity is not a limitless commodity. The sources that generate it are as finite as anything else on Earth. And its production is hardly an eco-friendly process. It usually requires the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, which reduces air quality and creates acid rain. Here in central Tennessee, we’re a little luckier in that most of our electricity is generated by dams, but they create problems too. Among other things, dams flood lakes and rivers, killing wildlife and leaving numerous species without food and habitat.

 

Solar energy is clearly a preferable alternative to such a scenario. It’s clean, renewable and eco-friendly. Best of all, it’s free. Nobody can charge you for the sun. And it’s reliable, too. Barring the occasional bad weather, the sun comes out every single day. What’s more, solar roofing converts sunlight to electricity without the use of a single moving part. Not only is it silent, it also generates no waste or pollution.

 

Solar roofing is much more dependable these days because significant improvements have been made in the underlying technology. Whereas the paneling was once unreliable and broke the first time a pecan landed on it, the protective polymers used to cover the photovoltaic cells are now much sturdier. Individual panels are also much smaller than they used to be. They come in shingle-sized units and can be laid across a roof in a similar configuration. Once they have been wired together and patched into the home’s circuitry, you can generally enjoy free electricity during daylight hours. In fact, you might even be able to store up enough reserves to get you through the night.

 

There’s more good news as well. The very latest solar panels are virtually indistinguishable from ordinary slate shingles, at least from a distance. They come in a rich dark blue, and are far better energy collectors than their predecessors were. They can even be integrated into your present roofing system. There’s no need to replace the whole roof anymore, and it doesn’t have to be done all at once. You can now build a solar electricity system over time, saving money as you go. In fact, if you chose only to cover your south-facing roof with photovoltaic shingling, you could still cut your home’s electricity consumption by about a third.

 

Even though photovoltaic shingles are still expensive, they’re becoming more affordable over time. In fact, the cost of solar panels has been reduced tenfold over the past two decades, thanks largely to a streamlined production process. And prices are only going to fall further over the coming years.  With installation costs dropping between five and six percent annually, we can expect to see a full fifty percent reduction in price over the next decade. Industry insiders are even predicting that by 2014, six years from now, solar paneling won’t be expensive at all.

 

But why wait six years, especially if you’re thinking about solarizing a business? While Tennessee does not yet have a grant program in place for solarizing private residences, the state does have an excellent one for refurbishing commercial buildings. It’s called the Tennessee Clean Energy Technology Grant program or TN-CET for short. Even though it sounds too good to be true, it isn’t. TN-CET pays 40 percent of the installation costs for a number of renewable energy technologies, including solar water heaters, wind-powered generators, and photovoltaic shingles. The program even guarantees a minimum of $5,000 in aid money and a maximum of $75,000.  If you can negotiate a ten percent discount with the contractor and then apply the TN-CET money, you can basically install the roofing for half off. How’s that for helpful?

 

If TN-CET has any flaws at all, it’s that it doesn’t apply to private residences, churches, or even non-profit organizations. Only business owners can take advantage of it. Admittedly, the state could be doing more to help homeowners solarize their houses, and it may do so yet. Even TN-CET is an experimental program, with a budget that’s slightly under $4,000,000, which has only been in existence for a couple of years. As more money becomes available and as the search for alternative energy sources becomes more intensive, the state may well develop additional funding programs. In the meantime, though, all we can do is speculate.

 

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider solarizing your home. There is still a world of advantages to be gained from adding solar cells to your roof. Almost right away, you’ll begin recouping the investment through lower electricity bills. Within a few years, the accumulated savings will cover the cost of the installment. What’s more, you’ll have the benefit of knowing that you’ve done your part to sustain the environment, that fewer fossil fuels are being burned on your account. Finally, the addition of solar shingles will greatly enhance the value of your home. Buyers will naturally be attracted to its decreased electrical dependence, and they’ll be willing to shell out more. And if you really want to be a maverick you can take your profits, buy a new home, and start the whole process all over again.