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Bright Idea for Home Power

Posted on: Saturday, 19 July 2008, 03:00 CDT

By Karen Jonas

POMONA - For people living in sunny Southern California, the future of solar energy is looking bright.

Financial incentives might not completely offset the price of installing solar panels for the average homeowner, but taking people out of the more expensive energy tiers makes financial sense, said William Korthof, a system designer for Solar Electric Solutions.

Korthof taught a workshop on solar energy Thursday and Friday at Cal Poly Pomona. The Solar Living Institute partnered with the university's John T. Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies.

In California, the more energy people use, the more they pay per watt. Prices often increase during the summer as millions of air conditioners kick in.

For people looking to go green, installing solar panels will most likely save them some green, especially during summer. The longer the days, the more solar energy can be produced, and that will lead to decreased electricity bills.

Residents of the Inland Empire have a high average daily solar insolation - longer periods of peak sunlight on average than most other areas of the United States.

People living around Barstow and Las Vegas have about 7 to 7.5 sun hours per day - the highest average in the region. Others in the region can expect about 5.5 to 6 hours of peak sunlight.

One person who is satisfied with using solar energy is Korthof himself. Solar panels power his electric Toyota Rav-4 and his electric truck.

One contractor who was interested in solar systems said that he felt that solar energy was becoming more popular. He said he wanted to make sure that he could serve customers who were considering installing solar panels.

Matt Hastings, a building and electrical contractor from Sun Valley, said the two most common questions that people have is how much it will cost and what it will look like.

Korthof estimated a cost of $7 to $11 per watt for the installation of solar panels. He said a small system that could power a modest home or apartment is around 3,000 watts, which means that the installation could cost $21,000 to $33,000.

There are many rebates available for people installing solar panels on their homes, and until the end of this year people can also receive a 30 percent tax credit - up to $2,000 - on the system.

Korthof also said that people who install solar panels add value to their homes that is not affected by property taxes.

One person attending the workshop said that his main reasons for supporting solar energy were based on economics.

Solar energy "is important because it will provide a new industry," said Alfredo Johnson, a masonry contractor from Sylmar. "It will help lessen our dependence on foreign oil and strengthen our currency."

karen.jonas@

inlandnewspapers.com

(909) 483-9316

(c) 2008 Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Source: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

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