Chiras - Power from the sun: a practical guide to solar electricity

Note: Some additional minor variations not listed in this table may apply.
N/A = Not available.
Lost = Excess electricity credit or credit not claimed is granted to utility.
Retail rate = Final sale price of electricity.
Avoided cost = Wholesale price of electricity (cost to the utility).
* Depending on utility.
** Massachusetts distinguishes policies for different classes of systems.
*** Only available to customers of Austin Energy, CPS Energy, or Green Mountain Energy (Green Mountain Energy is not a utility but a retail electric provider; according to www.powertochoose.com).
Source: Freeing the Grid

DAN CHIRAS is Director of the Center for Renewable Energy and Green building through which he teaches workshops on solar electricity, wind energy, passive solar design, natural building, and green building. He is also president of Sustainable Systems Design, Inc., a company that installs residential solar electric and wind energy systems and consults on passive solar design, residential renewable energy, and green building throughout North America. Dan is the author of 32 previous books, including The Homeowners Guide to Renewable Energy and Power from the Wind.

Books

Boxwell, M. Solar Electricity Handbook, 2015 Edition: A Simple, Practical Guide to Solar EnergyDesigning and Installing Solar PV Systems. Greenstream Publishing, 2015. A book that covers the basics well, but leaves out some information installers need to know.

Chiras, Dan. Green Home Improvement: 65 Projects that Will Cut Utility Bills, Protect Your Health, and Help the Environment. RS Means, 2008. Contains numerous simple projects to make your home more energy efficient and reduce your energy bills.

Chiras, Dan. The Homeowners Guide to Renewable Energy. New Society Publishers, 2/e, 2011. Contains information on residential wind energy and solar electric systems.

Dunlop, Jim. Photovoltaic Systems. American Technical Publishers, 2010. If, after finishing my book, you want to learn more, check out this book. It is a superb resource for future installers and other solar energy professionals.

Ewing, Rex and Doug Hargrave. Got Solar? Go Solar: Get Renewable Energy to Power Your Grid-Tied Home. PixyJack Press, 2005. Great little book for those interested in installing a grid-tied PV system.

Perlin, John. From Space to Earth: The Story of Solar Electricity. Aatec Publications, 1999. A detailed history of the development of PVs.

Schaeffer, John. Solar Living Source Book. New Society Publishers, 2014. Contains a lot of useful information on PV systems and PV products. I wrote the chapter on passive solar heating.

Solar Energy International. Solar Electric Handbook: Photovoltaic Fundaments and Applications. Pearson, 2011. A great book with wonderful illustrations for those interested in becoming an installer or individuals interested in installing their own PV systems.

Articles

Berman, Brad. Fueling with Sunshine, Home Power 165, 4246, 2015. Great article on powering electric vehicles with solar energy.

Calwell, Chris. Efficient Home Lighting Choices, Home Power 165, 3439, 2015. One of the best articles Ive ever encountered on the efficiency of light bulbs.

Cohn, Lisa. Safeguard Your RE Investment: Finding a Policy That Works for Your System, Home Power 128, 7276, 2008. An insightful look at insurance for RE systems.

Dankoff, Windy. Lightning Happens, Home Power 107, 6064, 2005. Important information on protecting a renewable energy system from lightning.

Dankoff, Windy. Top Ten Battery Blunders, Home Power 115, 5460, 2006. Important reading for anyone installing a battery bank.

Davidson, Kelly. Enervee: Scoring High Marks for Energy Efficiency, Home Power 161, 14, 2014. An interesting look at a new service that will help us determine the efficiency of appliances and electronic devices.

Donahue, Topher. Solarscapes: A New Face for PV, Home Power 122, 3640, 2007. Looks at an alternative way of mounting PVs to increase output and create shade.

Gocze, Tom. Heat-Pump Water Heaters, Home Power 156, 5864, 2013. Another must-read for anyone who wants a much less costly and more efficient alternative for solar hot water.

Gudgel, Bob. Get Maximum Power from Your Solar Panels with MPPT, Home Power 109, 5862, 2005. Excellent article on how maximum power point tracking works.

Guevara-Stone, Lauri and Ian Woofenden. Choosing Your RE Installer, Home Power 127, 4852, 2008. A good guide for hiring a professional installer for a PV system.

Hren, Rebekah. Monitoring Batteryless Systems, Home Power 164, 3036, 2015. Overview of ways to monitor PV systems.

Livingston, Phil. First Steps in Renewable Energy, Home Power 118, 6871, 2007. A good primer on home energy savings, vital to slashing the cost of a PV system.

Meyer, John and Joe Schwartz. Battery Box Basics, Home Power 119, 5055, 2007. Superb reference for individuals who want to build their own battery boxes.

Munro, Khanti. Battery Monitoring, Home Power 128, 9294, 2009. A general overview of battery-monitoring hardware.

Parker, Tehri. Choosing the Right Site to Maximize your Solar Investment, Home Power 115, 3033, 2006. A great description of how the Solar Pathfinder is used to assess solar resources and shading.

Perez, Richard. Off-Grid Appliances: AC or DC?, Home Power 115, 5253, 2006. A frank and useful discussion of DC appliances for anyone thinking of installing a DC only system or DC circuits to bypass the inverter for their off-grid home to save energy.

Russell, Scott. Starting Smart: Calculating Your Energy Appetite, Home Power 102, 7074, 2004. Great introduction to household load analysis (to determine household electrical demand).

Sanchez, Justine. PV Energy Payback, Home Power 127, 3236, 2008. Shows that PV systems produce as much energy as is required to make them payback the energy required to make them fairly quickly.

Sanchez, Justine. PV Racks with Integrated Equipment Grounding, Home Power 166, 3641, 2015. Important reading for anyone who wants to learn more about rack mounting options and grounding.

Sanchez, Justine. Adding Battery Backup to Your PV System with AC-Coupling, Home Power 168, 3843, 2015. Shows ways that grid-tied systems can be converted to grid-tied with battery backup.

Sanchez, Justine. PV ModulesUpdates and Trends, Home Power 169, 4449, 2015. Good overview of improvements in modules.

Sanchez, Justine. Railless PV Array Mounting, Home Power 171, 4047, 2016. Well-illustrated piece on this increasingly popular system to mount modules on roofs.

Sanchez, Justine with Jsun Mills. Adding Battery Backup to Your PV System with AC-Coupling,