Increasing rebates and tax credits plus lower prices may equal a good opportunity for solar panels on Colorado homes. Mark Simmons reports 2009 is the ideal time to cut energy bills, shrink carbon footprints and increase home values by installing solar electric or hot water systems.
“I don’t think there’s going to be a better time,” he said. “This is going to be a great year in terms of prices.”
As production catches up with demand, prices for photovoltaic solar electric panels and other components keep dropping. Solar thermal panels for hot water were already relatively inexpensive. Simmons, sales and marketing director for Vibrant Solar in Louisville, expects PV prices to decline gradually throughout the year. However, he doesn’t foresee a sudden drop in price that could offset the immediate energy savings.
“It’s really doubtful that in the next three to five years that the new technology will come out and be affordable,” Simmons said. In the meantime, homeowners can save on electric bills while reducing the carbon emissions connected with the state’s largely coal-powered electric grid.
Lori Kreutzman said she believes prices for photovoltaic solar electric panels have leveled off at a low point. She is the chief operations officer for Next Generation Energy, a Lafayette company that makes and installs both PV and thermal solar products.
Vibrant Solar provided the photo of the Greenwood Village home on this page.
To be sure, other industry experts predict the PV price decline will continue. A shortage in silicon caused recent spikes in PV prices, but analyst Travis Bradford of the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development expects a production boom to continue the steady reduction of the price of PV panels through at least 2012.
Still, demand dropped with the global recession, so homeowners can find attractive deals this year. State and federal budget woes also could decrease the current rebates.
Xcel and Black Hills Energy give renewable energy credits, and Xcel has additional rebates. Boulder and Colorado Springs have city-specific credits, and the Governor’s Energy Office launched a new residential solar rebate program this year, specifically for areas not served by Xcel or Black Hills.
Uncle Sam also offers a tax credit for 30 percent of the final cost, with the $2,000 cap on solar hot water lifted in the stimulus bill President Barack Obama signed in Denver. Congress lifted the solar electric cap in 2008. For more information on rebates, visit www.coseia.org.
Simmons suggests optimizing available rebates and tax credits to help cover the largest possible percentage of solar panel costs. This could mean installing fewer panels and not immediately offsetting 100 percent of energy usage. Nonetheless, homeowners can drastically reduce power bills while also minimizing the cost of a solar array.
Solar hot water systems have fewer rebates but they are also cheaper and more flexible to install. Installers can put panels on east- and west-facing roof exposures, as opposed to the south-facing roof typically needed for electric PV panels. However, solar thermal panels require more complex installation, so Kreutzman recommends extra caution in finding a skilled installer.
Even a small solar array — either thermal or electric — can increase real estate values. A 1998 study by the Appraisal Institute found a $10 to $25 increase in resale price for every dollar saved on annual utility bills. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy estimates homes with solar PV sell up to twice as quickly as similar homes with conventional systems. Homeowners must wait five years to sell the house after installing solar panels or they must pay back a percentage of the tax credit.
Sellers are also increasingly likely to compete with new homes either pre-wired for solar panels or powered by solar. Gov. Bill Ritter called for such a requirement for any new development.
“Every new builder has to go for zero carbon if they can,” Simmons said. “It would be irresponsible to build a home today without solar.”
Finally, Simmons offers an environmental argument for installing solar sooner rather than later. “The planet can’t afford us waiting,” he said.
Steve Graham is a Fort Collins – based freelance writer.
