Interesting to see that concentration solar is getting more movement. CNET Article on Cyrium Technologies. My previous post on Sungri.

A Realtor's View of Solar Power Systems

I have been following the All Around KTown blog by Suzy Trotta, a Knoxville area realtor. I asked for her opinion, from a Realtor perspective, on solar power systems and the effects on the home. A very good response was forthcoming (see entire email at the end).

I have pulled a few of the comments out as particularly noteworthy. The first comment is that residential solar power is not prevalent at all. Suzy indicated

"I have personally never helped a client buy or sell a home with solar panels. I would say they are still fairly unique in our area, although I have seen them from time to time. I searched the MLS to see if there are any homes with solar power currently being marketed, and I couldn't find any."

I also think that it is clear that it will take time to have people recognize the value and need for solar power, per Suzy,

I know many people in this area aren't accustomed to solar power and might need some education and/or persuading to see the light - no pun intended :)..........

and

[some other houses] had a few progressive energy saving features. These features, which included a state of the art foam insulation, did nothing to sell the houses, even though buyers were told that they could save up to 40% on their heating and cooling bills. Maybe they didn't believe it, maybe they didn't get it, maybe it was the market, or maybe it was just the houses.....................there was no way to prove those "savings." If you could show people before and after utility bills, that might do the trick.

The last comment from Suzy, which I thought bears a comment, was

At the end of the day a homebuyer in this market is going to look at two things - is it going to cost me anything and what good does it do me? If the answers are "nothing" and "saves you a lot of money," then solar panels are probably a good investment.

The savings potential is clear on solar power (or close at least). The cost, though, needs to be recognized. If a homeowner spends $20K on a solar system, a residual value must be recognized during the sale of the home. I would have a hard time not recovering some of the money directly, not only in the "making a home easier to sell" category.

Thanks to Suzy Trotta for the thoughts and comments! I appreciate it!

--------------------Suzy Trotta's full email (with her permission)---------------------

First of all, let me preface my comments by saying that I don't know that you're asking a "average" Realtor. My thoughts on this topic might be a little left of center. With that in mind...

I have personally never helped a client buy or sell a home with solar panels. I would say they are still fairly unique in our area, although I have seen them from time to time. I searched the MLS to see if there are any homes with solar power currently being marketed, and I couldn't find any. However, in light of the current housing market, as well as the current national economy, I would think that anything a homeowner could do that would both a) make their home stand out from the crowd and b) save the buyer money in the process, would be a good thing.

Having said all that, I know many people in this area aren't accustomed to solar power and might need some education and/or persuading to see the light - no pun intended :) I had some new construction homes listed out in Lenoir City that, although they did not have solar panels, had a few progressive energy saving features. These features, which included a state of the art foam insulation, did nothing to sell the houses, even though buyers were told that they could save up to 40% on their heating and cooling bills. Maybe they didn't believe it, maybe they didn't get it, maybe it was the market, or maybe it was just the houses. Hard to say.

With those new homes, there was no way to prove those "savings." If you could show people before and after utility bills, that might do the trick. At the end of the day a homebuyer in this market is going to look at two things - is it going to cost me anything and what good does it do me? If the answers are "nothing" and "saves you a lot of money," then solar panels are probably a good investment.

I personally think solar panels are a great idea and my husband and I have talked about possibly installing them on top of our humble 60s tri-level some day. That's after we finally get around to getting a new roof :)

I hope this helps answer your question and sorry it took me so long to get around to it!

Suzy

Solar Concentrator News from Sunrgi

Sunrgi's technology for solar concentrators was touted today in by CNET (via CNET Twitter link for me). Interesting technology that has been rumbling for a while, but no product anouncements. Glad to see product announcements start. I hope that the developments are real and the $.05 per kW-hr are real also. Could be very interesting.

Solar America Cities

WBIR reported that Knoxville has been named one of twelve 2008 Solar America Cities. (Thanks to Suzy Trotta for the link.). Interesting list of cities. I would have expected more California cities and at least one city from New Jersey (both states have high subsidies for solar installations). If the goal is to spread solar discipline, though, the cities make sense. Good for Knoxville to have. I truly hope we can achieve implementation of viable solar power generation.

Personally, I believe that the distribution of solar generation, per households, has the most promise. All those empty rooftops call out for power generation capability.

Solar Subsidies in Tennessee

Solar power seems to be charged, in part, by subsidies at the state level. California and New Jersey (interestingly enough) are leading in this aspect.

A quick check for Tennessee shows absolutely no subsidy at the state level. TVA has a program, the "Green Power Switch" program which offers a $500 rebate and a guarantee of $0.15 per kWhr for any EXCESS power produced and put onto the grid. This price is a little more than double the average price for power in the Tennessee Valley currently and is set for at least 10 years. One thing to note is that the homeowner forfeits the rights to the carbon credits to TVA. Wonder what they are using that for.....

In addition, there was information on the TVA site which indicated that the $2000 tax credit ran through 2008, but I thought this had been eliminated as part of the latest energy bill in Congress. More research to follow.

Solar costs and availability

I recently read an interesting article in IEEE Spectrum, covering the payback time for production costs of solar technology (http://tinyurl.com/2rcpy8). Interesting (and natural when you think about is) is the payback varies by energy intensity. For the Knoxville area, we have (according to the article) 3.0 - 3.9 kwh/sq.m/day. With an estimated 33% efficiency (very high, I know, but do not flame me - it made the math easier), there is 1 - 1.3 kwh/sq.m/day available from a solar system.

I do not have cost data, but wonder if the Nanosolar and other technologies can approach solar cost effectivity for those areas outside California/Arizona/Texas. Some cost analysis is called for (to come).