Solar That Works

A consumer protection advisory

As with most things people do, there are just about as many ways to do solar as there are people doing them. Some will work fine for some people and others for other people. Just as with other products and services, the challenge to each of us who ventures into the marketplace is to figure out what is best for our own particular circumstances.

Here are a few stories that may be useful to you in your own quest for things that work better and cost less.

A tale of two solar electric power systems
One house, recently designed and built by a builder, is about 1700 square feet. It was marketed with much fanfare as an exceptional advance in energy and has a lot of expensive, high efficiency energy equipment. Although connected to the local electric utility, the new house is said to able to produce all the energy needed on a net average annual basis.

Another house is over 3700 square feet and, not two, but five people live there. Because the house was about a mile or so from the nearest utility line, the utility wanted some $10,000-15,000 to provide electrical service. The owners looked into other options and decided to use that money instead toward purchasing their own independent, "stand-alone," photovoltaic system. They incorporated that in the design of a very energy efficient house with all the modern conveniences. They knew they would have to produce all of their own electricity all of the time because they would not be connected to any utilities. Therefore, they would have to choose a system that would provide power to handle their peak demands, not just an average over one year.

Question. Which house do you think would have the bigger photovoltaic power system?  (It might be interesting to note that the Arizona Energy Office and the National Renewable Energy Labs agree that an average house in Tucson needs about a 4 kW pv system.)

Answer. The first house is reported to have around $50,000 worth of solar equipment, including a 4 kW pv system.

The second house has a 1.2 kW system and a solar water heater that cost a lot less. The owners were very involved in the design and equipping of their own house. They report that they lived in it happily and comfortably for years and rarely had to use their backup diesel generator. Then, one day, the utility finally extended the power line for a neighbor and offered to connect them for free. Now they have a grid-tied pv system, but have retained the batteries so that they will still have power on those occasions when the utility grid goes down. They say that the pv system cost just a little more than paying the utility to extend the line and paid for itself within just 4 years.

A tale of two solar water heaters
One house is part of a local development that uses solar water heaters provided by a local consortium that received a federal grant for their project. The new house was sold as a very energy efficient house and the solar water heater was an important part of that.

In another case, the homeowner signed up for a local workshop, where they spent a Saturday morning assembling the materials and parts to build their own solar water heater, which they installed themselves.

Question. How do you think things worked out for the two home owners?

Answer. The solar water heater for the first house cost over $3,000 and supplied about 60% of the hot water for the home. Within a couple of years or so, the owners discovered that the solar water heater on the roof was leaking through the walls of the copper tubes inside. They contacted the retailer and the retailer contacted the manufacturer, but neither of them would accept responsibility for fixing or replacing it. After long discussions that involved the consortium and even a federal agency, the home owners ended up paying for a replacement. They were not alone in their predicament: a number of other homeowners in that development suffered the same experience. Nevertheless, this particular model of solar water heater continued to be sold and installed.

The second solar water heater cost $500. The owners spent a Saturday morning at a workshop where they cut and assembled all the materials and components of the system. This system has no pumps, no electronic controllers, no moving parts and is not affected by hard water deposits or freezing. The owners were pleased to find that it supplies virtually all of their hot water. They have had it for years and are very happy with it.

A tale of two solar house heating systems
One house is about 3500 square feet. To heat it with solar, the builder installed a lot of solar collectors on the roof and ran the heated water through plastic pipes in the floor all over the house. Just for good measure, he also installed a bunch of very big tanks inside the house to store hot water, in case of a cloudy day.

Another house is also about 3500 square feet. The owner also wanted to heat his house with solar, but he choose to do it with passive solar design, direct heating from the sun through south facing windows. Just in case, he also installed plastic pipes for hydronic floor heating and plumbed it so that he could add solar collectors later.

Question. Which system cost more? Which worked better? Do you think that the owner of the second house needed to add solar collectors later?

Answer. The owners of the first house paid over $50,000 for their solar heating system, which they found didn't do the job. They had to use backup systems for most of the heating. When the builder failed to fix it, they filed a complaint with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. Although the RoC found in their favor, voided the builder's construction permit and ordered him to fix it, it seems unlikely that that system is ever going to do the job.

The owners of the second house found that the passive solar design worked so well that there was no reason to implement their hydronic heating system and they did not add solar collectors for it. They say that it didn't cost anything more to build their house this way - it was just a matter of good design.

A tale of two solar houses
A couple moved to Tucson after their retirement and paid a builder who markets "solar" houses $1.5 million to build a fine solar home for them. The builder installed a large and expansive solar space heating system, with many solar collectors and big water tanks and valves and controllers. Despite the large size of the house, there were so many solar heating collectors on the roof that they did not have room to put the photovoltaic system they wanted.

The owners of another house also built a solar home for themselves, of just about the same size. They also use solar energy to heat their house, but they used passive solar design.

Question. How do you think the different solar houses worked out for these two families?

Answer. After the couple moved in to the first house and winter came, they found that the solar heating system did not seem to be working. When the builder failed to fix it, they filed a complaint with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors. During the testimony, the builder's supplier, a partner of the builder in a separate solar business, testified that calculations indicated that the large solar system – which cost over $50,000 – could supply only about 12% of their heating needs. The buyers next filed a lawsuit.

The owners of the second house have solar "collectors" that also serve as windows, which provide some of the finest views in town. They report that they have been perfectly comfortable and never have had to use the backup heating system they included just in case. They are very happy with their house.

All of these tales are based on real stories that we have heard from people in Tucson. In fact, most of these stories have been reported by the news media also. Some of the houses of the second kind have been on the Tucson Innovative Home Tour and you will be able to see some of them this year too!

Sometimes it's nice to have friends who have already gone through the learning curve. That's why the Tucson Solar Alliance was formed: to help everyone share their knowledge and experiences and make choices from a position high on the learning curve.

Community and Choice for a Brighter Future

Solar energy works really well for many people – and it can work for you too.

Put the power of community on your side. Join the Tucson Solar Alliance. Here's how!

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