1. Where do I start?
Missouri Solar Living recommends starting with your goals and your budget. This website should help you get a sense of your solar options and what will work for your location. We recommend a big picture approach that first looks at your total energy use in your home or facility, and then helps you implement the best solar option that works for your budget. In most cases, a solar water heater is your most efficient use of solar and will significantly decrease your energy bill while improving your environmental impact. For others, a solar attic fan or tube light may be your best starting point to introduce solar into your home or facility at a relatively low cost. For those that want to achieve even more energy independence, solar electric (photovoltaics or PV) will start to free your home or business from fossil fuels and cut your energy costs. Please email or call us with your questions. We look forward to introducing you to solar living and to helping you achieve your solar goals.
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2. How does solar work?
In general, we use solar in two different ways: solar thermal and solar electric.

1. Solar thermal utilizes the sun's energy as a heat source. In our applications, solar thermal technology is typically used to heat water and that heat is transferred into a solar storage tank. This can be used to heat a home or facility's water for standard uses such as showers, washing hands, etc. On a larger scale, the stored heat can be use for space heating a home or facility. Space heating is accomplished by radiant floor heating or through a duct system with the use of a coil. In either domestic water heating or space heating, a back-up heat source (either electric or gas) will provide any additional energy to the system as needed. For example, on a cloudy day, the sun may provide 50% of the energy to heat the water and the remaining energy is supplied by the back-up source.
2. Photovoltaics use the sun's energy to create electricity. Solar modules convert the solar energy to electric energy when the solar energy displaces electrons within the solar modules. The displaced electrons are used to create direct current electricity. We then use an inverter to convert this direct current (DC) electricity to alternating current (AC) electricity that is used in most homes or businesses.
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3. What incentives are available?
There is a 30% federal tax credit for both solar electric and solar water heating systems. For residential applications there is a $2000 limit per system. You can take the tax credit on both systems if you install both within the same year. There is no limit on the tax credit for commercial systems. For example, a solar water heating unit that is installed for $5500 will have a net cost of $3850 after the tax credit. Unfortunately, Missouri does not have a state incentive currently. However, legislation is currently being considered. Call your local representatives and urge them to support solar and other renewable energy! Visit www.dsireusa.org to see current incentives in your area.
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4. What do the systems cost?
It depends on the size of the system and your specific needs. A solar water heating system will typically cost between $4500 and $6000 depending on the size of the family. An installed solar electric system starts in the range of $16,800 for a 1.8 kW system. Installed solar electric systems cost $7 - $10 per watt. For example, a 3 kW (3000 watt) PV system would cost between $21,000 to $30,000. In general, the larger the system, the less cost per watt installed.
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5. How do I know what size solar electric system I need?
Your best starting point is to look at your electric bill and determine your average daily usage in kilowatt hours. Most bills will have this displayed either as a daily average over the month or the total kilowatt hours used over the month. Most homes or facilities use more electricity at different times of the year, so an average over the year will give you your best estimate.

We can then estimate the size system you will need to produce a percentage of your building's energy. If a system has good southern exposure and no significant shading we know that we will average approximately 4.5 sun hours / day in our region. By multiplying the size of the system in kilowatts times the sun hours / day we can estimate the output of the system on a daily basis over the course of the year. For example, a 2 kilowatt system will produce approximately 9 kilowatt hours / day (2kw X 4.5 sun hours = 9 kilowatt hours / day). If your home uses 36 kilowatt hours a day, the 2 kW system in this example would eliminate 25% of your electric bill.

You may find other ways to further decrease your energy consumption, allowing you to increase the percentage of your home's energy production from a solar electric system. We recommend energy efficiency practices such as installing compact fluorescent light bulbs and increasing your insulation.

Furthermore, if your water heater is electric, a solar water heater can decrease your electric bill by 15-20%. In the example above, the solar water heater would decrease the energy usage to approximately 30 kilowatt hours / day. Then the solar electric system would eliminate 30% of your electric bill.

Solar attic fans and tube lights provide another method to further decrease your energy load and maximize your solar resources.
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6. Do the solar electric systems need batteries?
Batteries are not required for solar electric systems. Battery storage (off grid) systems are a good option if there is currently no electricity to a property and there would be increased costs to run electricity to the location. Batteries also allow people to achieve energy independence. However, batteries increase the complexity of the system and add approximately 20-30% additional cost to the system.

You can also have battery storage and be grid tied / grid connected. In this case, we'd recommend considering Gridpoint as an intelligent way to have both battery storage and grid connection. Gridpoint systems allow on-line monitoring of your system and will provide back-up power to dedicated locations in your home or facility in the case of a power failure.

For many people, the best option is to be grid tied without battery storage. With a grid tied system you can think of the utility as your battery back-up. If your system were to produce more than the building is using, your meter will run backwards and give you credits to use at another time. This is called a net-metered system. For safety reasons the system will not produce power during a blackout. A grid connected system allows you to create your system on a modular basis, meaning that you don't have to power your entire home from the beginning (which can be relatively expensive). Rather, you can start with a system that aligns with your goals and budget and then add on later if you desire. In many cases you can still eliminate a significant portion of your energy bill.

Finally, in a solar water heating system, consider your storage tank as the equivalent of batteries. The storage tank will keep sun heated water warm from the prior day to utilize on a following cloudy day. For this reason we recommend an 80 gallon tank (or even 120 gallon tank) in many cases -- to give you more solar storage and maximize the efficiency of your solar system.
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7. Do I have an acceptable location for solar?
In the majority of cases the answer is yes. We need a relatively south-facing area that gets sun from approximately 9am to 3pm. The systems work reasonably well even when facing west or east if that's your only option (decreased output is typically 15 - 20%). We can mount the systems on the majority of roof types including shingled or metal roofs. The systems can also be tilt-mounted to face south if your roof does not face south. Systems can also be ground mounted. Please see our portfolio of work to see examples of how other customers integrated solar into their homes or businesses.

Finally, we perform on on-site evaluation of your location prior to an installation to ensure optimal production from your solar system and to be certain that the system design and location meets your expectations.
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8. Is there a back-up for the solar water heating systems?
Yes, solar water heating systems have a back-up source that is either gas or electric. In the gas option, a gas tank is plumbed in line with the solar storage tank and will provide the additional energy as needed. In the electric option, an electric element in the solar tank will provide the additional energy as needed. The back-up heat source will typically only need to work 25% of the time of a standard water heater.
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9. How does a solar water heater compare to a tankless water heater?
Tankless water heaters instantaneously heat the water which decreases standby losses in a storage tank. These more efficient systems decrease the energy to heat the water by 20-30% compared to a conventional tank. However, a solar water heater will both decrease standby losses and provide energy to heat the water. This will typically eliminate 75% of the energy to heat your water compared to 20-30% with a tankless water heater.
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10. What about preventing freezing in the solar water heating systems?
We accomplish this with either a drainback system or a glycol system. They both achieve freeze protection very well in our area. Drainback systems work by using gravity to drain the fluid from the collector into a drainback storage tank when the sun is not heating the water. Glycol systems work by circulating anti-freeze through the system to prevent freezing. Both systems work well and we can tailor the system to the needs of the location.
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11. Will my family have to change their habits with solar water heating or PV?
No. As we mentioned above, water heating systems always have a back-up heat source in case of multiple cloudy days. If your PV system is connected to the grid you'll always have the grid as your back-up energy source.
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12. How long do the systems work and how durable are they?
Both solar thermal and solar electric systems are expected to last more than 25 years. We design and install the systems for minimal if any maintenance and a long functioning life. Many systems (both thermal and electric) that were installed in the 1970's and 1980's are still functioning today. The solar electric panels have a 25 year warranty and the solar water heating panels have a 10 year warranty. They are both hail tested for one inch hail at 50 mph.
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13. What is the expected return on investment?
Solar water heating systems will pay for themselves within a 5 - 7 year range in most cases. Solar water heating will decrease your energy to heat your water by 75%. For many families that is equivalent to 15 - 20% of their energy bill. As energy prices rise, the return on investment will improve. When the solar water heating system cost is included in a home loan for new construction the savings will be immediate in most cases as you'll save more per month than the system costs. Solar electric systems are more expensive and will take longer to return their investment. However, given their longevity, the systems are expected to pay for themselves within their lifetime while producing clean, green energy that benefits more than just the bottom line. Solar attic fans and solar tube lights are also good investments, typically paying for themselves in less than 5 years in many cases.
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14. What about heating my pool with the sun?
Solar pool heating is a great use of the sun's energy. The savings with pool heating can be quite significant with a system often paying for itself in less than 5 years. The system typically uses the pool's existing pump to circulate water through the collectors and heat the pool. The systems are sized based on the square footage of the pool. We typically recommend that the square footage of the collectors is equal to or greater the 1/2 the square footage of the pool. For example, a 20 foot by 40 foot pool would require 400+ square feet of collectors. A solar pool heating system allows you to extend your swimming season and significantly cut your energy costs to heat the pool.
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15. How much will I be helping the environment?
Solar is one of the best ways to help the environment and decrease your carbon footprint. The great thing about solar is that you can decrease your energy costs and do your part to save the world. For example, a solar water heater helps the environment as much as a hybrid car! A solar electric system will offset the energy to produce the modules in less than 3 years - that means truly clean energy for the remaining life of the system over the next 30 plus years!
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