Solar Energy Showdown - which solar energy is best for you?

Like a lot of things in life, it depends. It depends on your needs, what solutions you are after, and what your house conditions are like.

There are many kinds of solar panels. When evaluating a solar solution, here are some of the factors to look for.

Some systems are more labor intensive to install. Others are quick and require little in the way of paperwork and council fees. Some can be incorporated into a new house design with a few strokes of a pen.

What's the Best?

And the Worst?

Let's take a more detailed look...

How long before the solar panel 'pays itself off' and starts turning a profit. This can be a simple equation - when the power bill savings equal the cost of the solar panel. A more complex equation takes into account the value added to your house by installing solar panels.

Sometimes this means that your system is instantly profitable - on paper at least. This profit is realised only when you go to sell your house.

Here are a few of the main types of solar energy systems. Some are made for domestic use, and others have a way to go. Some require installation by a registered mechanic, others can be implemented with a few pen strokes while designing a house.

Durable and reliable, these panels have been around for more than thirty years. They are widely used for houses. These solar panels usually come with a twenty to twenty five year guarantee. They can be relied on to produce solar energy even in cold situations, provided there is sunlight.

While their intitial cost is relatively high, there are many rebate programs in place that can knock 20 - 70% off the cost of your installation.

This is a cost effective way to harness solar energy. Hot water accounts for about 20-40% of your power bill. Depending where you live, solar hot water can pay itself off in 5-10 years.

In cold climates an indirect heating method can be used to ensure that pipes do not freeze and burst. Solar hot water has also been used for many years. There a many solutions for different parts of the world. Solar hot water often requires its own specialized hot water cylinder.

The best times to install solar hot water is when you are building a new house or upgrading your hot water cylinder.

If you are building a new house, this is definately worth looking into. Solar passive techniques involve good design and sunlight. By window placement and orientating your house to catch the sun in different seasons you can heat your house naturally.

Passive solar design can minimise your power bill. With sunlight you can warm your house during the day and store the heat in the building materials. This heat is then given off during the night. You can also provide natural light and ventilation.

The first solar panel to be competitive with coal, dollar for watt. Solar thermal is mainly used in large power plants. However, applications have been developed for domestic size.

If you're interested in solar power for it's environmental impact, you can buy power from solar power producers.

Cheaper than traditional photovoltaics, thin film panels are slightly less efficient. Recent breakthroughs mean that their price has dropped dramatically.

Thin film solar is mainly being produced for large power plants. It has some very interesting applications in houses. Because of its flexibility it can be incorporated into roof tiles. This can mean a less intrusive aesthetic for your house.

For small portable solar eg. mountain expeditions, sailing, tenting, thin film solar can also be very useful.

This is a promising field. These solar panels are still in the development phase. They have the potential to be very efficient. Plant dye solar panels copy they way plants absorb energy. This means that they can absorb low light and more of the light spectrum for maximum energy.

Another interesting feature of plant dye solar is that it can be transluscent. This could mean solar windows and skylights in the future.

The best designs use a combo of these techniques...solar hot water, solar passive and solar electricity panels.

As solar becomes more accessible, it may become a matter of course to include solar design from the start.

In fact, traditional houses were often much better at designing for maximum solar gains. This was before the invention of air conditioning, so houses were practically designed to be warm in winter cool in summer, and make the most fo the natural heat supplied by the sun. So once again, it's back to the future...