Energy Project: Solar Panels for Free?

In my 3-part series on energy independence (parts 1, 2 and 3) I talked about both solar and water as readily exploitable sources of ‘free’ energy here on my NC homestead where wind isn’t an option. With a water powered ram jet I can solve my water pumping problems and get gravity feed to the house to boot, and there are also possibilities for making electricity directly with a water turbine if we care to go that far into re-engineering the creek.

As with my plans for solar panels on the homestead roof, any electricity we can generate will most likely be returned to the grid via one of those “backwards meters” big energy companies (like ours) are required to provide if you do generate power on your property. That way they have to purchase all the excess energy you produce. The purchase price is of course always less than the retail price you pay for the energy you are using, so the best you can hope for is a seriously diminished electricity bill – use less energy than you sell, you might even come out ahead every month!

We have chosen this method of energy exchange because of the current state of on-site energy storage technologies and their costs. Even the best of battery technology is quite inefficient and outrageously expensive, often costing much more than the cost of the generation technology itself. Worse, it’s notoriously inefficient and requires upkeep and maintenance as well as replacement on a regular basis, which keeps on costing lots of money. Worse than that, recycling is not always available for storage technologies, and the components can be seriously toxic or chemically dangerous – most landfills won’t even take used up car batteries, much less big home units! Not very green after all. Add to that the costs of the transformers and converters that would allow your home electrical system to even use direct current and it can easily cost you more to live off-grid than on!

Many people and lots of companies are of course working on all this, in view of both the ever shortening supply of our usual energy sources, new regulations that add to the cost of coal and petroleum technologies, and the desire of citizens to develop and use alternative, renewable energy sources. There was news recently of a new solar technology using what amounts to metal film (like aluminum foil) that would bring the per-watt cost down to just a dollar. Someday…

In the meantime, the cheapest solar panels on the market are going for at least $3.00 per watt (Aten Solar), if you purchase 32 of them at once. Here is a breakdown of the current best-prices on solar. It’s not very encouraging, considering that the latest Congressional energy bill sunset the tax and rebate incentives for solar – they’ll be gone after 2008.

I’ve been paying some attention to the cool world of Freecycling as a way to exchange ‘stuff’ for free, as smart homesteaders are not only green-by-choice, but also thrifty-by-design. Why pay good money for things you can get for free? Alas, thus far my local Freecycle Network hasn’t offered any electrical generating ‘stuff’ for free, but I’m happy to say that this doesn’t mean a committed homesteader can’t find electrical generating ‘stuff’ for free or less than half price. It just takes a little imagination…

Because solar is what I’m looking for – water power just needs us to do the work, and that’ll have to wait for warmer weather – I am very much interested in free or reduced price solar panels we can install on our nice south-facing roof when we replace it this spring. What we’re looking for in this particular discount market are used solar panels. Solar panel technology has been around for decades, so there have to be some used ones, eh?

The trick is finding them, then getting hold of them. And the first part of that requires knowing a little about who’s been using solar panels, for what purposes, where. I found some totally cool resources on the web to steer me in the right direction. From there, all I need to do is get on the horn and put in my requests – sometimes bids – to get them as cheaply as possible if I can’t get them free.

DrillingFab.com suggests traffic sign rental contractors. You know, those traffic signs they station in highway work zones that have attached solar panels. These things tend to suffer some damage on the job. Most used panels are damaged or used to an extent that they produce less power than originally rated (50-75%), though they still work and are replaced by the contractors fairly regularly. You can ask for science project donations, or an ‘experimental home’ development project, whatever. For projects the companies’ maintenance managers will generally give them away. If not, they are usually amenable to selling at a steep discount as used. Landscapers also tend to replace solar powered lighting system panels fairly regularly, so that’s another possible resource for used panels.

That market will no doubt pick up some as older panels for any previous use get replaced with newer, more efficient ones. Be careful though, as used panels go for the same price as new in some areas of the country. Shop carefully. And keep in mind that to create an installation using panels that generate only 50% of what they were originally rated will take twice as much space. For some homesteaders it’s probably better just to go with cheap new or wait for the next technology to be developed.

Check some of the links below for ideas, resources and details on things like solar panel repair that can boost the efficiency of used or damaged panels.

Links:

Other Power Solar

DrillingFab.com

Free Solar Panels

The People’s Guide to Basic Solar Power

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