The number one hindrance to any solar project is cost. We get questions every day about the cost of going solar and most people have no idea how they can start saving money with solar. There are quite a few people who think that they can just go down to the local harbor freight and pick up some panels and see their power bill drop to zero.
This is not how it works, and most solar systems are much more involved and require careful planning. However, there is an alternative that most people still don’t know about: PV direct. Many people still don’t understand the beauty of using a PV direct option instead of a whole house system.
What is PV Direct, and Why Should I Care?
PV Direct simply means you are directly powering something instead of going through some type of inverter, battery system or other “middle-man”. Therefore, the cost is much lower because you can focus on solar panels and racking and go directly to the appliance or equipment you need to power.
Common types of PV Direct systems are the solar air conditioner, solar direct hot water, and PV direct water pumping.
Consider PV Direct before Whole-Home Solar
Most whole-home solar systems start at $20,000 at the very low end. You can try out our Solar Cost Calculator and see for yourself. This high price tag is what prevents most people from considering solar further. Most people who do end up building a whole-home system know that the system will pay for itself eventually, but it usually takes a minimum of 7 years for a system to pay for itself.
This payback time frame may be acceptable for some people, but not everyone has that kind of budget. What if there was a way to start using solar without building an expensive whole-home setup? Here are a few easy solar projects that you can do right away. These solar projects will help you save money and are not as costly as building an entire home solar system.
Solar Direct Hot Water
If you look at some of the PV direct systems though, the payback time lowers drastically. For example: our solar direct hot water controller has a typical break even time frame of less than 3 years! To put this in perspective, most water heaters account for around $50 of the total power bill. Sometimes it is more in the winter and less in the summer. You can purchase a hot water kit for $1500 or less depending on the racking you choose to use and immediately see a decrease in your power bill.
Not only can you decrease your power bill, you also don’t have to worry about batteries at all. The energy actually is being stored thermally. There is no loss. This even works off-grid! In an off-grid setup, you could still heat your water even if you have no grid input.
With this small project, we were able to save money in the long run and create an off-grid hot water backup in the process.
Solar Air Conditioning
Air conditioning: The most power-hungry part of any home. Often times people try to build a whole-home solar system that satisfies the demands of their 5-ton air conditioner. Air conditioning like this made a lot of sense when power was cheap. Nowadays, power is rising in cost and people are opting for mini-splits instead of larger units. Mini-splits are typically much more efficient machines, and they can be selectively used.
You could use a mini-split in your bedroom at night and not worry about the rest of the house, then turn on the rest as it gets warmer. Each mini-split also has its own thermostat, so they can run according to the demands of the part of the home they are in. So switching to mini-splits would help overall efficiency, but what about a PV direct air conditioner?
We have been using the PV direct air conditioners for years! These units run when the sun is hot and can drastically lower the cost of heating and cooling a home. Not only are they efficient, but the solar also makes them cost nearly nothing to run. Another amazing thing about these air conditioners is that they can run with no grid input at all. This means that even in an off grid application, you could continue to run the air conditioners when the sun is up. It also requires no batteries.
Solar Water Pumping
One of the projects we do a lot is solar water systems. Pumping water from a well to a storage tank is one of the greatest off-grid projects anyone can do. Water is by far the most important resource. Having a water storage option is a great prepping plan for anyone. Whether you have a few filters for emergencies or a full blown off-grid water system, water is the most important resource. PV direct water systems are not usually built for the same reason that a whole-house solar system is built.
