With California’s electricity problems fresh in people’s minds, many have once again begun looking into alternative and renewable sources of energy. Solar energy technology has come a long way since it gained widespread popularity during the first energy crisis in the 1970s, but it is still used by only a few people.

Dave Hollister thinks those who market solar energy are mostly to blame for its inability to catch on.
“You know, people will spend $40,000 on a huge SUV when they could’ve gotten a car that would accomplish their needs for $20,000. That’s great marketing,” said Hollister, who owns Sundance Power Systems, a Mars Hill-based company that is probably the largest renewable and solar energy company in the southwestern part of the state.

“But whenever people ask me about installing a solar system, they immediately want to know what the pay back time is, when they will recoup their investment,” Hollister said. “Solar guilt is rampant in the industry.”

Hollister said people should think more about what is right and less about what it costs.

“Down deep, people have a deep connection to the earth. They know that using renewable resources, like solar energy, is the right thing to do,” Hollister said.

David Wheeler lives in Jackson County and has been “off the grid” since 1986. To supplement his solar power, he has a gas generator. He also uses a propane refrigerator with no freezer, a large root cellar for storing food, well water that is gravity fed to his home, and burns wood for heat and hot water. He has not gone one day without electricity.

“One of the funniest things is when the power is out and it’s dark as far down the valley as you can see,” Wheeler said.

He says the up-front costs are probably what keep more people from installing solar systems. For he and his wife, the decision to produce their own electricity was based on lifestyle and economics.

“We wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t economical, but it was both lifestyle and economics,” Wheeler said.

The cost of going solar
Wheeler spent around $2,000 installing a solar system in his home, but that was nearly 15 years ago. According to Hollister, the average cost to install a photovoltaic system that turns the sun’s energy into electricity is anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000. The variation is largely determined by how much electricity one uses and the location of the building. For just heating hot water, a system can be installed for less than $5,000.

“I tell people right away it is going to cost a whole lot of money,” Hollister said. “But the system I’m talking about here would make you self-reliant as far as electricity is concerned.”

After addressing the cost of going solar, the first decision homeowners must make is where they want to go. In other words, is the goal to become totally independent of the power grid; or is it to supplement what is purchased from utility companies.

“That is the rudder that steers the process. You have to have a clear intent from the get go,” Hollister said.

The next phase is a site analysis. That is where the lay of the land becomes comes into play. Hollister uses a compass-like device to determine what the solar window is for a piece of land. The solar window is how much sunlight will be available for each day during each of the 12 months. That determines how much energy can be captured and where the panels should actually be positioned.

Even those on the north side of slopes can go solar, Hollister said, although it would be more expensive.
“You’ll just need more collection area, more panels, if you are on the north side,” he said.

The next step is often the most contentious, Hollister said. Electricity usage must be measured, and so an internal load worksheet is filled out. This, Hollister said, sometimes forces people to assess just how much energy they are consuming. Often, this is where people become conscious about seemingly minor electricity uses - computers left on, incandescent light bulbs, thermostats kept too high in winter or low in summer, ice makers, dishwashers, and the many small appliances that are commonplace.

After all these factors have been studied, Hollister will “size the system.”

For most people, the panels themselves are the most expensive items. Next is the bank of batteries that store the power. Finally, all solar systems need inverters, which changes the DC power produced by the panels and stored in the batteries to AC power.

While the technology in the panels has changed little over the last 20 years, inverters and batteries have improved, Hollister said. The new technology allows more of the energy to be captured and used for electricity.

While the cost may deter some, Hollister argues that there are other benefits of using solar energy.
“It connects us more to the environment. You use power when you have it and when you don’t, on cloudy, rainy days, you conserve some,” he said. “Our connection to the physical world is at an all-time low. This definitely provides a direct connection to what is going on in the world around us.”

 

Back to Top

The Smoky Mountain News