Don’t get me wrong, I come from a very DIY family – the “repair man” made very few stops at our house. And DIY projects are fantastic. You save money and often challenge yourself to learn something new.
Of course, you also have to know where to stop.
A (rather horrifying) 2002 study which surveyed solar systems throughout the U.S. found that “50% of the installed systems had deficiencies in…safety, reliability, durability, and performance” mostly “due to poor system design and poor installation techniques.”
FIFTY percent? Yikes.
The problem: people with insufficient experience are designing and installing systems. It’s takes 3-5 years of intensive training and testing for an apprentice electrician to be certified, let alone the solar component.
I’m sure most solar companies would say that their installs have improved over time. Just like anything, you get better with experience. And the study confirms that “generally the better installers have years of experience as practicing electricians with added years of experience or training on PV systems.”
Ok, so some systems are kind of lame. So what?
When you purchase a solar system, what you’re doing is paying in advance for electricity you’ll get in the future; you pay $30,000 or $40,000 to replace your utility company’s power for many years. Follow?
Your utility company currently charges you per kWh (a unit of power), so a cost-benefit analysis should naturally include a calculation to determine what you’re paying per kWh of solar from your roof, not just how much you’re paying for the equipment.
See where this is going? If your solar system isn’t performing up to snuff, you’re effectively paying a LOT more per kWh for your power! It’s like buying a $20,000 car and either driving 100,000 or driving 1,000 miles. In the 2nd scenario, you paid a heck of a lot more per mile to go the distance.
Even if your system underperformed just 5% every year, that’s a lot over 25 or 30 years. Plus, one objective of solar is to reduce the amount of fossil fueled power we use. With 50% of systems underperforming, we’re using a lot more coal and natural gas than necessary.
If you have the ability and expertise to build a system on your house, go for it. But please don’t just do it because it sounds like a fun weekend challenge.
Are you in California and interested in solar for your home? Call us at 877.SUN.MOJO or visit our website to learn more.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
For me it started out like a fun weekend challenge as you put it – I just wanted to put together broken cells into a panel and go from there. However 2 years later, I’ve been getting much better at building panels on the cheap and making sure that the process is efficient. Thanks again for the post.
there’s no doubt DIY solar is the best way to save money, i found some discounts on DIY solar kits but they’re going quick
As I watch regular contractors ‘jump in” to solar to ” help a few buddies” I am shocked at the systems out there. Erector set looking stuff facing the wrong way, etc. Save time and effort and get a better rebate by using an experienced professional.
This is a nice write up. I found a site that gives step by step video instructions on how to build home solar panels. It gives some interesting information.
diysolar4earth.com
I have found this article very interesting. It’s a beautifully written article. The write has gathered and arranged information in a brilliant fashion. The beauty of this article is in its language and verbosity. The subject of this article is also very capturing.
{ 3 trackbacks }