Home solar photovoltaic energy: Produce your own electricity
In this article we explain if it might interest you, Home solar photovoltaic energy . Despite the fact that for several years the Government has managed to create the feeling that we cannot install photovoltaic solar panels at home, this is not the case. One of the most common questions is, am I really interested in solar energy for my home? Although it is true that for some time there have been obstacles and difficulties, today it is profitable and it is interesting. si esta intersado puede ler la solar energy definition.
Home solar photovoltaic energy
For most of our readers and clients, the highest monthly expense is always related to the expenses of their home ownership.
The problem with acquiring a house is that the expense goes far beyond building a roof under which to shelter, since we must keep our home in reasonable conditions of habitability and comfort.
For this, it is necessary to contract a series of supplies such as running water, electricity or gas.
For a short time you are at home, at least we need a minimum supply of electrical energy so that you and your family can live in your home with minimum standards of habitability and comfort.
But, when signing the electricity contract, many people feel that they are losing freedom and independence, since consumers have to accept yes or yes the conditions offered by the companies (even if they are not satisfactory).
But there is an alternative so that you do not completely lose your energy independence: it is about self-consumption of electricity through domestic solar energy , the only way to consume the electrical energy that you generate yourself.
So why is there the belief that it cannot be installed and that the domestic use of solar energy is not of interest ? For this reason we have written this article, to clarify doubts of all those clients and readers, who are thinking of building a new house or renovating their current house and want to invest in domestic solar energy .
Domestic solar energy is affordable, efficient and easy to maintain, which makes it the ideal option to start self-consumption and reduce or eliminate the electricity bill. Domestic solar energy has become the best alternative to save on your electricity bill. The installation of solar panels is essential to enjoy this clean and free energy in your home.
Home solar photovoltaic energy: 7 Reasons to Install it.
1.- Economic savings.
The first of the reasons, we find it in the desire to save on the electricity bill of our houses. Obviously, investing in solar energy will be more attractive where energy consumption is highest. The larger our home, and the higher our energy consumption, the more interesting it will be to invest in an installation of photovoltaic solar panels .
Every year, in the winter months, the price of electricity shoots up, due to the weather and CO2 emission rights, according to the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU). A rise that is becoming more and more significant and that exacerbates energy poverty, year after year.
According to a study by Facua, the electricity bill has risen by 78% in the last 15 years, leading Spaniards to pay an average of 926 euros during 2019 (approximately 400 euros more than in 2004). The study highlights, above all, the unstoppable rise in the fixed term of the electricity bill, which has risen in the last 15 years by 152.8% (from € 1.73 / kW to € 4.36 / kW in the present).
But don’t worry, it’s not all bad news. It is estimated that the cost of “an average photovoltaic solar energy installation ” has fallen by about 75% in the last 15 years.
This decrease in the costs of installing solar energy, together with the unstoppable increase year after year in the electricity bill, makes investing in solar panels very interesting .
The payback period is currently between 4 and 7 years.
In addition, the maintenance of photovoltaic installations is minimal maintenance, preventive and very economical.
Two aspects to take into account. On the one hand, ensure that no obstacle casts a shadow on the solar panels. Let’s not let the trees grow too big and cast a shadow on our solar panels.
Another aspect of the maintenance of our installation is to keep our photovoltaic solar panels clean . This will prevent loss of performance due to accumulation of dust, pollen and dirt.
2.- Contribution to the environment.
Yes, I know that surely you are not a member of Greenpeace. But don’t tell me you don’t want to leave this planet a little better than you found it. Surely you have ever thought about your legacy, about the inheritance that we are going to leave to our children, our grandchildren. Therefore, I would like to give you some information to add another reason to the installation of domestic solar energy .
A single installation of photovoltaic solar energy in housing , offset 178 tons of carbon dioxide over 30 years, equivalent to 10 football fields planting trees.
Instead of burning fossil fuels that are slowly killing the planet, solar panels do not harm the environment. It does not emit any type of residue or polluting gas.
In a society that is increasingly aware of the environment, many of the companies and families that have chosen to install solar panels have done so solely and exclusively with the intention of contributing their grain of sand in the preservation and care of our planet.
And it is that avoiding CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, unlike what happens when energy is obtained from the combustion of non-renewable sources such as oil or coal, is an issue that is increasingly being sought in all areas and sectors.
If we dare to affirm that solar energy is the energy of the future, it is precisely due to the zero environmental impact of its use. It is the energy of the future, because in our opinion it should be the energy of the present. This energy transition has been slowed by the interest of a few, but this process is unstoppable.
3.- Increase in the value of your house or property.
Domestic solar energy increases the value of our property, since our property goes from being a liability, which takes money out of our pockets, to being an asset that generates money and savings in our checking account.
Home solar energy will continue to be a profitable investment for your home.
A recent study by the US Department of Energy showed that prospective home buyers are willing to pay a premium of $ 15,000 for a home equipped with a mid-size solar photovoltaic system . The average solar system uses 3,200 watts.
4.- Improvement of the Energy Certificate.
An installation of solar panels also improves the classification in the energy certificate of our home or property. This certificate is mandatory since 2013, and is required both for the purchase and sale of a home, as well as for the rental of it.
5.- Self-sufficient, free and independent home.
Generators can break down, fossil fuels can run out, and utilities can be dissolved. Solar energy is inexhaustible. In fact, the sun supplies approximately four million tons of energy every second, and humanity only uses 0.0001% of that amount in energy consumption globally. So you never have to worry about it running out.
Self-consumption will make you independent from expensive energy providers. Unlike an electricity supplier, the Sun will never increase its rates.
Have you ever thought about investing in a retirement isolated from everything known? Well, if you did, self- consumption would be practically your only energy option. Since the further our house is from an urban center, the more it will cost to install electrical energy.
6.- You can benefit from aid and subsidies.
The different administrations promote a series of grants so that whoever wants to generate domestic solar energy and the installation of photovoltaic solar panels is less expensive .
Some Spanish communities such as the Valencian Community for example, give aid of up to 20% of the price of the installation of solar panels , making this investment much less expensive and thus promoting the use of renewable energy.
Also in many municipalities there are grants with reductions in the IBI (Real Estate Tax) that we pay every year.
Furthermore, adequate financial products already exist to finance these facilities in good condition.
7.- You can collect the excess energy you produce.
Yes, you read it right. Collect the excess energy that we pour into the grid. The current Law allows electricity companies to compensate for the excess energy that we produce and pour into the grid.
It cannot be considered strictly as a net balance. The compensation consists of “energy for economic consideration”, that is, the owner of the installation of the photovoltaic solar panels , receives an economic compensation for his surplus energy.
The value of the energy discharged is stipulated at the hourly market price deducting the marketing costs, being the obligation of the electricity trading companies, the calculation of these amounts.
Do not be scared, you already know that today there are many marketers, you do not have to go and beg Iberdrola or cry to Endesa as in the old days. There are other companies like Holaluz, which make it easier for us to sign this type of contract.
With the introduction of these compensation measures, the simplification of processes or the approval of long-awaited shared self – consumption , Royal Decree 15/2018 leaves behind a legal framework that penalized energy self- consumption with renewables.
The current Law encourages domestic solar energy , thus equating Spanish regulations with those of other European countries and placing our country in a better position to meet the renewable energy targets established for 2030.
How much does it cost to install solar panels in my house ?
Someone will tell you that it is very expensive, even that someone you know was ruined investing in solar gardens , that the administrations help little, that there are no qualified professionals to do this type of installation, that the investment is never amortized, etc. We are going to dismantle these topics.
It is normal that there are people who speak with all these topics. But we are going to analyze the current situation of Self-consumption in Spain and its expectations. Today we can position ourselves in a new scenario that, due to prices and administrative facilities, has changed very favorably in a short time.
At the beginning of the 2000s, the world was already aware of the global challenge we were facing with climate change, especially in Spain due to our dependence on oil. The installation of a photovoltaic kilowatt cost at that time between 6 and 7 times more than it costs today.
The Government of Spain, decided to stimulate the installation of photovoltaic solar energy , through subsidies for production, which over time proved crazy and unsustainable.
With the onset of the crisis, all this aid was withdrawn and caused funds, investment groups, banks, companies and individuals to reap losses that occasionally led people to ruin. Nor do we speak of the Self-consumption facilities of those dates, which due to their exorbitant cost, could not be amortized over the useful life of the facility.
In addition, the Government that emerged from the crisis published the Sun Tax Law of 2012, which halted any possibility of growth in domestic solar energy in Spain.
Today this has radically changed, first due to the collapse in the prices of photovoltaic panels and secondly due to the repeal of the Sun Tax.
For example, an installation of 3.2 kWp (kilowatt peak) that cost in 2007 about € 30,000, today costs only about € 5,000 approximately.
This installation of solar panels could be a typical installation in most Spanish homes. This installation, with the law of 2012, could not pour energy into the grid. The legalization of the installation of domestic solar energy was complex and tedious, with a process full of obstacles, slow and expensive.
I will tell you something that happened to the owner of a country house. His electricity bill did not fall below 150 euros a month. She lives all year in a Chalet in the country, because she doesn’t like the city too much.
No matter how little he consumed, he always paid more than 120 euros a month. Everything in his country house worked with electricity, the pump to draw water from the well, the lighting of the streetlights, the kitchen, the pool treatment plant, the irrigation of the lawn … etc.
The owner invested in an installation of photovoltaic solar panels , at a cost of about 5,000 euros. He has gone from paying 150 euros a month, to only 70. He has a saving of 80 euros a month. Your investment will be paid in just 5 years.
As of September 2019, this whole situation changed radically, how could it be otherwise. Today, to legalize a domestic solar energy installation, all you need is an electrical certificate. Legalizations have been simplified, thereby simplifying the cost of installation.
Current law allows you to pour excess energy into the grid, without penalties. This also enables the cost of installation to be reduced. Installation is much easier. In addition, the surpluses produced by our domestic solar energy installation will be compensated with the “net balance” that we have already commented on in this article.
Can I heat water with my solar energy installation ?
Generally, in the solar industry, thermal solar panels and differentiate the solar photovoltaic . A thermal solar panel is designed for, effectively, water heating and heating generation.
Then there are photovoltaic solar panels . These plates are the ones that will provide electricity to my house and will allow me to sell my excess energy not consumed to the grid. It is true that, with proper conditioning, an electrical resistance connected to the photovoltaic panels and inserted into a water tank, can also have this function, although it is not the most common.
Could my house run only with photovoltaic solar energy ?
The answer is yes, but it would lead to another question, are you interested? As its name says, energy is produced when there is sun, so if we have night-time consumption we will have to install energy storage batteries. The greater and more constant the consumption, the greater the batteries to install and the more expensive the installation.
This type of facilities called Self – consumption , are ideal for homes or buildings that are very far from urban centers.
Our recommendation is to avoid the installation of batteries, as long as we are close to an electrical distribution line.
How long will my photovoltaic solar panel installation last ?
It depends on the materials, but the photovoltaic panels are prepared to last a minimum of 25 years, being usual that they can have a much longer useful life. Batteries are the element that has the least useful life, and it will depend on the use that is given and the charge and discharge cycles that it supports, but they are usually changed between 5 and 10 years depending on the technology. The rest of the components depend on the location and their maintenance, but they must be able to live for at least 15 years. All components have warranties and the panels must also have a manufacturer’s warranty that assures you that they will generate at least 80% of the nominal power 25 years after commissioning. The most important guarantee is that of the solar panel manufacturer.
Domestic solar energy . Conclusions.
Home solar photovoltaic energy is not expensive and if you can implement it, do not hesitate to do so. If you are thinking of investing in your self-consumption installation , contact us so that we can make you a budget without obligation. Once you accept our budget, you do not have to worry about anything, we will take care of the installation, the certificates, projects, permits, subsidies and everything you need so that you only have to enjoy clean and free energy. You will not have to worry about anything.
