If you are one of the typical Americans who drives about 40 miles a day, then you should consider an atypical scenario if you happen to be planning on building a new home.
If you are taking out a mortgage to build a new home and are willing to take advantage of the falling price of photovoltaic panels, then you have an opportunity to increase the value of your home and stop throwing money away on transportation fuel.
40 miles per day in a car that gets 30 miles per gallon will cost you about $140 a month (assuming a gas price of $3.50 a gallon).
This is $1680 a year that you will never see again.
Solar panels in your home mortgage and an electric car in your garage make financial sense.
It takes about 34 kilowatt hours (kWh) to charge an electric car like the Nissan Leaf for 100 miles of driving.
It takes about 13.6 kWh for a charge equal to 40 miles of daily driving.
Even in cold, gloomy northeastern cities like Boston, with an annual average of 7.5 hours of daylight and 3-4 hours of actual sunshine a day, a 4 kilowatt array of photovoltaics should be able to produce the 13.6 kWh needed for the daily commute.
Assuming a conservative price of $5 per watt to purchase and install the solar panels, you would be adding about $20,000 to the price of your home.
If you are buying an average priced home for about $272,000 with a typical 30-year mortgage
This would increase your monthly mortgage payment by about $80 a month.
By putting solar panels on your house and an electric car in your garage you would reduce your monthly expenditures on transportation fuel by about 60 bucks a month.
The biggest barriers to implementing sustainable technologies are often financial. True sustainable design considers the financial scenarios that make implementation achievable in addition to the physical and aesthetics considerations of integration. Paying $20k out of pocket for solar panels is a financially daunting prospect but if you can pack it into a mortgage it makes a lot of sense to substitute reoccurring monthly expenses into financed renewable technologies that add to the value of your home.
Electric cars are often presented as a compromised automobile that reduce transportation freedom with a limited mobility range and an unfamiliar refueling process. Personally, if I was going to choose a car that offered freedom, I would pass on 100-mile+ road trips in favor of freedom from carbon emissions, unpredictable gas prices, and reliance on oil companies.
Electric cars and solar panels present the opportunity to own your own fuel supply. This concept of independence should be as just as important to American culture as muscle cars and the open road.
Note: This scenario assumes a grid-tied net-metered house that would avoid the added cost of home energy storage technologies.
Follow Ben Uyeda on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BenUyeda
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Why a positive energy future could be closer than you think
So to buy the solar electric generating equipment at $12,600
It will in 25 years produce $90,222 of electric fuel for my EV
Gee that looks like a profit of $77,622
Wowie like a yearly rate of return on my investment of 12%
Every year 12% return. And is on my house safe on my property under my control, panels guaranteed for 25 years.
And will produce over 30 years looks like a 700% ROI in 25 years.
Buy a new Camry $19,720
Gas 15 year cost $73,668 assumes historic 7% yearly increase
15 year cost $93,388
Buy a new Leaf $20,280 in CA, - $25,000 rest of US, - $17,280 In San Joaquin Valley,
by my house!
Electric fuel cost $ 4,275 - 25 years. assumes historic 7% yearly increase
Time of use rate, 5 cents a Kwh. Charge at night only why pay high rate?
Cost of fuel from a solar electric generating station making your own little cheaper
15 year cost $24,555
Savings 25 years $68,833 PROFIT
but that is a Profit as you are enriched by $68,000 in 15 years
In what you keep in your pocket do not spend pretty good return on investment.
It is the cost of fuel not price of car that makes difference.
In my experience there aren’t a lot of one size fits all solutions that works for every lifestyle, budget, and ideology. The scenario I outlined will NOT work for everyone and will NOT change/save the world but it will work for some. I just it's fun and interesting to look for the specific opportunities that exist today instead of waiting for a miracle technology or massive government intervention.
Thanks again for your time and comments send me a message on twitter @BenUyeda if you have any questions or ideas.
On my electric motorcycle in 4 years commuting I made a $4,500 profit
Taking cost of conversion, cost of solar electricity from what I did not pay for gas for
20 miles commute to work. 80 cents a week to go to work!
Considering that batteries are expensive, have extended charge times, and are heavy items to transport around. Wouldn’t compressed air vehicles be move advantageous? They can be recharged from a reservoir or compressor run on night time off-peak electricity. Be replenished quickly at (air) gas stations for longer journeys. Be lighter, cheaper and a more practical proposition for commuting.
As far as commuting goes, I recommend a bicycle in the summer and public transportation in the winter (in areas where it snows.) Clean(er) deisel is currently being used by many cities, on public transportation.
On electric cars; pv panels for them is currently under development and that includes the ones that are sprayed on. Soon, they won't be just used by one foriegn car manufacturer to power the ventilation system. Their efficiency ratings are getting better. Also, buses, with their flat roofs, make a good platform for solar panels. Guess what? There are now pv that work at night. In any event, electric cars are being made and more will go into production. They will get cheaper,(at least to make,) have already gotten lighter and more powerful.
This is not the time to think of ways to detract from progressive efforts. But, don't worry. The work is being done without either of us and will continue with or without our support.
While you're at it, you'd be well advised to cover the energy consumption of any AC in the new house too. In a sunny place that would dominate your driving energy costs. With a ground-loop heat exchanger system you can avoid having to buy natural gas in the winter too.
It seems the author here has identified the most wasteful consumer use of energy, the gasoline-powered car, and chosen that for his comparison, to make solar power appear at its best. However, domestic solar does not really work for commuting as presented here. If the car is charged at night the consumer needs to know the electricity price at night. If the solar panels are powering something else in the daytime the consumer needs to compare his solar investment and his savings on the utility bills.
Otherwise Mr Uyeda makes a well-written and compelling case, and he's right to make us consumers stop and think about our energy usage for a minute.
The digital smart meter at the service panel acts as your residentiaÂÂl power exchange. What does that mean? Excess power generated by solar panels -- flow past the meter (is recorded) -- continuing along the grid until it finds a neighbor who demands power.
When solar panels are dormant -- desired power flows from the grid -- into the residence (again recorded).
At the end of the year, either you consumed more power -- or delivered more power -- to the grid. Deliver more power and your use is 100% generated by your solar panels. Use more power and you owe the power company for the offset (what you consumed) – which means recalculatÂÂe and ad more panels if you like.
grid tie net meter no problem
you produce say 12 Kwh during day use 2kwh you send 10 kwh to grid
you have 10 kwh to use at night to charge
what I like about grid tie is its like having a 100% efficient battery
send 10 Kwh get 10 Kwh back you are using the utility as your storage battery
If there's a feed-in tariff system too, you'd also make a handy profit.