This article appeared in the Fall 2022 issue of This Old House Magazine.单击此处学习如何订阅。
电力开始增光片后一个世纪，大多数美国房屋和弹出式摩擦式摩擦式摩atorate的供电，第二次电气化已经开始 - 这是旨HomeHome在减少化石燃料的使用。汽车制造商将在接下来的几年中引入数十个新电动汽车（EV）型号，使负担得起的电动汽车深入主流。
感应灶具的市场份额急剧增加，几个城市完全禁止了新的住宅天然气连接。同时，与使用天然气相比，全气候热泵技术现在可以使电力供暖和冷却。
在很大程度上，由于对气候变化的担忧，插电功率的趋势还提供了一个机会，可以通过在屋顶上发电来削减您的能源成本。A recently extended federal tax credit will give you back 26 percent of the cost for solar-panel installations in 2022, and 22 percent for those in 2023. (The credit will end after 2023, unless it’s extended by Congress.) And even though prices have bounced slightly in the last couple of years due to inflation, they are still way down overall, after dropping 64 percent between 2010 and 2020.
该技术也变得更好 - 好多了。现在，标准面板是全黑，没有引人注目的白色网格线，使其在屋顶上脱颖而出，并产生高达450瓦的五年前的450瓦。您可以获得效率超过20％的面板（在2001年仅13.5％bob体育app苹果下载），如果听起来不令人印象深刻，请考虑最好的植物光合作用效率约为8％。
更重要的是，隐bob体育app苹果下载藏的货架系统有助于将面板融合到屋顶上，您可以添加由系统供电的EV充电器和可以消除停电的电池备用。准备考虑太阳能了吗？这是评估您的选择的方法。
光伏阵列如何工作？
进行太阳能并不意味着与电网断开连接。由于仅当太阳闪耀时，太阳能电池板才会发电，因此您仍然需要在夜晚，阴天和冬季阳光下阳光下低的地方从公用事业中汲取电力。当您的系统在一天中间充满阳光时，您的系统将产生额外的电源，并将其推向电网供其他人使用，然后在太阳能离线时从实用程序中获得所需的东西。理想情况下，在一年中，付出和吸收的时间甚至会出来，您没有净使用净使用，也只能与公用事业公司的名义连接费用。
PV面板：The 60 photovoltaic (PV) cells typically found in residential panels absorb sunlight and use it to knock electrons loose and get them moving—in other words, to generate electricity.
逆变器：This device converts the direct current (DC) electricity generated by the panels into the alternating current (AC) that your house’s electricity-powered systems and plug-in devices need.
净表：像所有电表一样，这可以衡量您从实用程序中汲取多少电力。与其他人不同，它还可以逆转并归功于您对公用事业网格的贡献。
太阳能电池板的成本
会为您安装太阳能工资吗？
In most of the United States, it can take from 9 to 12 years for your energy savings to pay. back the cost of a solar system(5 to 15 years when you include outlier states like Hawaii and North Dakota); then your solar should provide free power for as long as two decades more.
The payback period depends on your latitude, the direction your roof faces, the amount of tree cover, the cost of electricity in your area, and your utility’s policies. For an instant estimate of your total cost, annual dollars saved, and payback period, plug in your address and average monthly electricity cost at项目天窗。
Financing solar
Though it depends a lot on where you live, a typical rooftop solar array (20 to 24 panels to cover an average home’s electrical needs in full) runs about $18,000 after mthe current 26 percent federal tax credit. You can finance the upfront cost—most people do—and the choice you make will have a drastic impact on your payback. Here are the options.
Solar lease
一家太阳能安装公司放入系统并拥有它。您在接下来的20或25年中支付预定的每月费用。Leases have a few downsides: The solar company gets the tax credit and other incentives, your monthly payments can increase over time, and your projected savings rely on the company’s assumption of future electricity rates, which may be buried in the fine print and, if overstated, could potentially make your solar more expensive than utility power. Plus, if you sell your house before the lease is up, you’ll have to buy out the lease (including the cost of the equipment) or transfer the lease to the buyer; it rarely pays to move the system to your new home.
太阳贷款
同样，太阳能公司不需要预先安装系统，但是在这种情况下，您获得了税收抵免和任何其他可用的激励措施，并且您拥有设备，因此它成为房屋的一部分，很容易将其包括在内如果您决定出售它的功能。您每月还清贷款，并且通常可以选择所需的贷款期限，例如，在保持与当前电费相同的付款时，尽快偿还贷款。如果您在贷款还清之前出售房屋，则太阳能阵列将转移给买方，您可以使用销售收益以一次性偿还贷款。许多太阳能公司提供低于市场的利率，但要注意 - 折扣通常带有明显的价格，因此请务必确保贷款和现金价格相同。
Home equity loan/HELOC
从当地银行或信用合作社借贷使您可以与太阳能公司保持简单，而只需支付现金价格。如果您使用房屋净值贷款（具HomeHome有固定利率）或信用额度（具有可调利率），则您可以为利息进行税收减免。同样，您使用贷款全额支付太阳能安装，拥有系统，并可以轻松地用房屋出售，收集所有激励措施，并随着时间的推移偿还贷款，或者在您出售房屋时全部付款关闭。
与太阳能电池板转售
“带有太阳能出售的房屋更快，他们以更多的钱出售，” TN Smoky MTN Realty的特工Thbob体育app苹果下载eresa Raymond说。“我们看到每千瓦的价格为5,000美元。”对于一个典型的6.5千瓦系统来说，这大约是30,000美元，这比您付出的要多得多。bob体育app苹果下载
Toh Pro提示：太阳能很有意义，而且价格下降了很大，以至于对于更多人来说，它负担得起。bob体育app苹果下载但是像任何技术一样，它需要正确设计和安装，以产生最佳的性能和投资回报。”-Ross Trethewey，Toh家庭HomeHome技术专家。
如何雇用太阳能电池板安装程序
在选择公司来投入太阳能系统时，请记住这一点：
- 从您信任的朋友，邻居或商人转介的公司中，至少要获得三个出价（以全面了解期权和价格）。
- 投标应包括联邦税收抵免和任何可用的当地激励措施，但您可以检查您所在地区dsireusa.org的可用内容。许多太阳能公司将在接下来的税收季节之前向您的税收抵免提供不利的贷款。
- 检查您是否使用隐藏的货架系统获得了全黑单晶面板。西方大学的工程教授约书亚·皮尔斯（Joshua Pearce）说，不必担心制造品牌或国家。只需确保面板在保修期至少25年，即使不是30年。
- Have your attic evaluated before the bid is finalized to make sure the framing can handle the weight of the array (about 40 pounds per panel)—a problem only if you have undersized or damaged rafters—and see if you can include any needed reinforcement in the installed price (which may yield you a tax credit on that work, too).
Use an online shopping tool
能量is an online solar marketplace that was developed with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to promote affordable, accessible solar. Users simply enter their address on the site to get custom bids from multiple prescreened local companies, along with EnergySage’s apples-to-apples comparison and ratings of each proposal’s products, pricing, and net savings, as well as the contractors themselves.
激励措施之后，Energysage客户平均为太阳能系统支付的太阳能系统付出了约5,000美元。首席执行官兼创始人Vikram Aggarwal说：“那是因为太阳能公司在营销和销售上的支出要少得多。”“网站上的安装人员倾向于提供比其他任何地方低10％至30％的价格。”Energysage用户还可以上传他们在其他地方收到的报价，以进行比较和建议。所有这些服务都是免费的。要求全黑单晶面板，而没有明显的白色网格线。
Types of Inverter Technology
The biggest difference between solar proposals is often the inverter technology. Inverters take the direct current (DC) produced by the PV panels and change it to alternating current (AC) to power your house. There are several ways to do that, each with its own advantages and disadvantage.
Best for affordability: String inverters
Your solar panels are “strung” together like Christmas tree lights and connect to a single inverter either on the side of the house or in the basement. This technology has been used for decades and is the lowest-cost option; however, a string inverter typically lasts only 10 to 12 years, so expect to spend around $1,000 to replace it a couple of times during the 30-year life of the solar array.
Also, because the panels are all linked together, system performance is drastically compromised if they receive differing amounts of light, either because of partial shade or if a panel goes bad. And the high-power DC wiring that comes down from the roof needs to be encased in a heavy-duty aluminum conduit.
最适合用树木的多个屋顶音高和院子：微型发电机
每个太阳能电池板在其下方都有自己的微型逆变器，提供了几个优点：即使面板经历了不同量的阳光，或者完全下降时，系统也可以很好地运行；没有大的逆变器可以找到安装的地方。而且在房屋侧面沿着标准的交流线不需要大量的导管。
Plus, the system can monitor individual panel performance to identify problems. Microinverters, such as those from Enphase, typically add about $1,000 to the cost of the solar system, but the warranty on microinverters should match the full 25-year term of the solar roof warranty.
最适合电池备用：带有串逆变器的直流优化器
如果您正在使用太阳能系统安装电池，请考虑DC优化器。每个太阳能电池板都具有自己的优化器，具有类似于微型逆变器的面板级的性能优势和诊断工具，但是该网络仍然连接到字符串逆变器。
DC耦合系统的最大优势是直流电源直接将其路由到电池，并且只有在将其从电池中拉出以供使用，简化系统并提供最大效率时才将其转换为AC。DC优化器（例如Solaredge的优化器）通常会增加几百美元的串线逆变器，并拥有25年的保修。但是，您仍然需要在整个阵列的生命中替换几次逆变器。
备用电池
皮尔斯说：“大多数人惊讶地发现太阳能阵列在公用事业停电过程中无法提供电源。”但这是有道理的。它们在电网上关闭时关闭，因为否则它们会将电源发送到落下的电线中，并且可以电载杆工人。
地区的频繁的中断,work-around: whole-house batteries. The excess power your panels create charges your batteries first, and then any additional electricity goes to the grid. When the sun goes down—or the grid goes down—you draw power from the batteries.
In general, a battery backup designed to power the whole house will double the cost of your solar system, Pearce says. The cost of a battery system sized for powering just essential circuits like the fridge, Wi-Fi, and key lights and outlets might net out at around $9,500, after incentives. As long as you include the batteries during the solar installation, that work also qualifies for the federal tax credit and any other available incentives.
Consider a large battery
您的下一辆车将成为电动汽车吗？您打算今年安装中央空气吗？Los Gatos，CA，Solar Installer和Energy Podcaster Barry Cinnamon说，在安装太阳能之前，考虑到太阳能的时间可能会昂贵且有问题，因为在安装太阳能之前，请考虑到您的电气需求的任何重大增加。您可能需要更换逆变器，而新面板将无法与现有的面板相匹配。肉桂说：“面板设计的变化与平面电视一样快。”
Sizing the solar array for your future needs means, in the short term, you’ll be generating more power than you consume—and almost surely won’t be able to turn a profit on the net extra power you’re putting out onto the grid. Few utilities will actually make a cash payment to their customers, so overbuild only for expanded usage you foresee happening within two or three years. Some states and utilities won’t allow oversizing a solar system at all, in which case, you should consider holding off on solar until you make those electrification upgrades—and do them soon, so you’ll still be eligible for the federal solar credit.
您应该在哪里放置太阳能电池板？
The best place for solar panels is a south-facing roof—since in the Northern Hemisphere the sun is always in the southern half of the sky—without any shade. But you can get plenty of power from east- or west-facing roofs, too. You could also consider other structures, such as a freestanding garage, barn, shed, or pergola oriented toward the sun, for at least some of your panels—or even a ground-mounted array if you have space on your property. Wherever you put them, your installer can also maximize power output by angling the panels toward the sun, typically somewhere between 30 and 45 degrees, depending on your latitude.
Solar without the install
What if your, house is in deep shade, you live in an apartment or condo, or your home faces south and you are unwilling to put panels out front? In 40 states (and counting), you can participate in a community solar program that generates your electricity at a solar farm for a discounted price—typically about 10 percent less than conventional utility-supplied power.
Not huge savings, to be sure, but there’s no upfront cost, all it takes is a few mouse clicks, and you’ll drastically reduce your carbon footprint and support the growth of solar- energy generation in your area. There’s no change to your electrical service: You still get your power using your existing lines; the green energy you buy just gets added to the utility’s supply.
太阳热水
除了被动太阳能外，它利用屋顶上的阳光或穿过窗户加热房屋外，第一种太阳能技术是太阳能热水。在1970年代的能源危机中普及，至今仍在使用，这涉及从热水器或锅炉或更常见的封闭式热转移液中的水环，通过屋顶上的面板中的管道网格划过bob体育app苹果下载被阳光变暖，然后将水进入热水器或锅炉中。
尽管这比PV面板便宜得多，通常是激励措施后约6,300美元，但这已经不再是一个常见的选择了。bob体育app苹果下载皮尔斯说：“由于光伏面板和电动热泵都变得如此高效且负担得起，所以现在使用在屋顶上产生的电力加热热水比在屋顶上加热水更便宜。”
为您的房屋准备太阳能电池板的提示HomeHome
如果时间尚不合适，那么罗斯建议采取一些简单的步骤，使工作更加轻松：
如果您正在翻新
从阁楼到地下室，在电气服务面板附近运行刚性金属导管。这将避免太阳能安装人员必须非常明显地向您的房屋外部划出该管道。
If you’re roofing
确保你的屋顶结构是固体。而何use built in the last 30 years likely won’t be a problem, with an older home or one with 2×4 rafters, have a structural engineer verify that it offers enough support. Have rafters inspected mfor any damage and repaired or beefed up as needed. Relocate all penetrations—including stacks, bathroom vents, and cooktop vents—away from the area where the solar array would go, so thepanels can be installed in a regular and even pattern—rather than awkwardly wending around those penetrations.
如果您要完成地下室
在电气服务面板附近留下约5个线性英尺的墙壁空间，以供逆变器（如果需要）。这样，您就无需将其贴在房屋外部，并且将来会有电池的空间。
光伏技术的未来
来自特斯拉，Certaindeed，Gaf，Suntegra，Luma等的新的人造板屋顶，其PV细胞直接在带状疱疹中。因此，您的屋顶是您的太阳能电池板，您的屋顶上不需要安装面板。一些公司甚至提供可用于不需要太阳能的屋顶部分的匹配的非层瓦。但是，尽管这些产品取得了进展，但罗斯目前谨慎谨慎：
“Since we’ve seen some failures, and we’re talking about the weather seal for your house, I would recommend waiting for future generations of these products.” Solar shingles are just the beginning of a new generation of PV technology that will be incorporated into the building itself. Already in production: early versions of windows that have transparent dyes in the glass that absorb ultraviolet and infrared light and turn them into electricity while allowing visible light to pass into the house. Eventually, solar may be integrated into a home’s exterior cladding, patio pavers, awnings, and virtually any part of the house that gets sunshine.