Realtor ®-The Woodlands Real Estate

And if I have anything to do with it, many more to come.  On Active Rain I posted Why are GREEN Homes so slow to catch on? and now I will let you in on a little secret...

I know the answer!  Actually, I did when I posted it. I have been running an on-line poll on one website to see what the common misconceptions were of GREEN Building and why one would build GREEN.

The main one that came up was "Solar Panels are just to expensive and they take too long to get your money out of them."

But is there truth to that?  If you went completely Solar on your house..Maybe. But what if you just chose ONE item to go Solar with?  The two things in your that take the most Utility Usage is probably:

1. Heat and A/C
2. Water Heater

What I am about to share with you may blow your socks off, so please, take a seat.

I am going to go over the cost of going Solar for JUST your Water Heater.  If you made a commitment to go Solar for Hot Water- Would this be counter-productive?  I will let you make your own conclusion.  I am going to use my home as an example. 

First, anyone can use this tool.  It is a website called Find Solar.  This site has most states (sorry, I didn't count) and most major Utility Providers. You are still sitting down right?

My home needs the Hot Water for 3-4 people, I do have an Electric Hot Water Heater, and my Utility Provider was not on the list but I used a company that has the same KwH cost as mine. 

This site will tell you:

• Approximate Cost of going Solar
• How much you will save
• How much your property value will rise-Yes, you heard me right.
• How long it will take you to recuperate your costs

My on-line poll brought up the discussion that many people believe it will take 20 years to get your costs back.  Below, you will see what it would take for me to go Solar and how it would benefit me.  Or you if you chose to.

	Building Type: Residential State & County: TX - Harris Utility: TXU Energy Retail Co LP Utility Type: Power Marketer Assumed Electric Rate: To recalculate, enter a value and press "enter" on your keyboard - $/kWh Tiered Rates Apply: No Time-of-Use Metering Offered: No ESTIMATED SYSTEM SIZE   Solar Rating: Good (5 kWh/sq-m/day) Solar Collector Size: 1 collector = 32.3 sq-ft (3 sq-m) ESTIMATED SYSTEM COST     This is only an estimate based upon many assumptions. Installation costs can vary considerably. We strongly encourage you to work with a Solar Pro who can provide you with a more detailed cost estimate. We estimate a solar water heating system, with the collector size as shown above, will cost between $2,800 and $4,200. This estimate assumes the mid-point of this cost range.   Assumed Installation Cost: (before rebates, incentives or tax credits). See the Cost Notes, below. You may override the displayed cost assumption: To recalculate, enter a value for assumed installation cost and press "enter" on your keyboard. $ This is a user-entered cost Expected TXU Energy Retail Co LP Utility Rebate: ($ 0 ) Expected TX State Rebate: State incentive does not apply to this utility ($ 0 ) TX State Tax Credit/Deduction: ($ 0 ) Federal Tax Credit: (Installation type: Residential ) ($ 1,050 ) Income Tax on Tax Credit: $ 0 YOUR ESTIMATED NET COST: $ 2,450 Monthly Payment (6.5% apr, 15 years): $ 21 SAVINGS & BENEFITS Replacing Electricity This is only an estimate based upon many assumptions. The actual utility energy saved can vary considerably. We strongly encourage you to work with a Solar Pro who can provide you with a more detailed estimate. We estimate the collector size (as estimated above), using the numerous assumptions (as listed below) will produce between 1,863 kWh and 2,795 kWh per year. This estimate assumes the mid-point of this range.   Energy produced by a Solar Water heater: 2,329 kWh/Year Electricity saved by Solar Water heating: 2,329 kWh/Year Increase in Property Value: $3,795 Exempt from Property Tax: YES Accelerated (5 yr) Depreciation: (Installation type: Residential ) No First-year Utility Savings: Since this is not a business application, these savings are in after tax dollars. So, your realized savings may actually be higher! $253 Average Monthly Utility Savings: (over 15-year expected life of system) $29 Assumed Utility Inflation Rate % To recalculate, enter a value and press "enter" on your keyboard Average Annual Utility Savings: (over 15-year expected life of system) $345 15-year Utility Savings: $5,172 Return on Investment (ROI): (with Solar system cost set as asset value) 440% Return on Investment (ROI): (with Property value appreciation set as asset cost) 284% Years to Break even: (Includes property value appreciation) < 1 years Years to Break even: (Without property value appreciation) 4 years Greenhouse Gas (CO2) Saved: over 15-year system life 29.0 tons (58,000 auto miles)

***Compliments of FindSolar.com***

So, keep in mind that this is an estimate, and again, this is JUST for Hot Water.  What do you think about these numbers? 

I found this to be quite fascinating.  I would talk more about this but I think the numbers speak for themselves.  Not including Property Value Appreciation it would take 4 years to break even. Also, you would get nearly 1/3 of the cost back in a Federal Tax Credit. 

This is just an estimate.  But think about it.  Does the cost of going GREEN seem too much still?  Over 15 years you could save enough Greenhouse Gas to drive your car 58,000 miles.  Also, you would reap the benefit of lower utility bills. 

If you have any questions, I will answer them if I can.  As far as how accurate this site is....if you do one of these charts it will tell you what costs would vary. Mine said it might be the installation costs, but they felt it was an average number for One Solar Panel.  Hope you have fun with this site, I know I did!