Thanks to the MicroFIT program which pays a premium price for solar energy, homeowners in Ontario are turning their roofs into money-making ventures.
Because consumers now pay five to 10 cents a kilowatt hour for power they use, while the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) is offering to buy solar energy at 80.2 cents a kWh for the next 20 years, installing solar panels can bring in a tidy little windfall (Cashing in On Solar Power, Eric McGuinness, The Hamilton Spectator, Mar 13, 2010).
However, don't just order some solar panels for your home without doing some research first; as the article warns, you have to be in the right place (South-facing preferred) and be able to do enough of an installation to make it profitable.
Still this program create two hot business opportunities (excuse the pun!): using your own home to create solar energy and operating a small business installing solar panels for others.
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In fact, this is not a home business installing Photovoltaic Panels for others. That is a very uneducated and non-research simplistic statement.
To get into the business, one must become a member of an organization related to this field, must be certified, and must have substantial financial backing. A 10 KW system would cost 80,000 to 150,000 in materials, so you need to have money to buy the materials. Beyond that, there is a need to work with structures, roofing structures or on poles, support structures. This means you need engineering involvement to make it work and get the requisite permits before starting any work. Insurance, you will need insurance and lots of it. You will need to involve and engineer, construction people to put up the proper poles required for loads such as weight and wind. Building permits for all kinds of things, electricians, people to work with the interconnects, the software systems, the controllers, the system designer, and the Ontario Power Authority, the Provincial Government, the local Power Authority, the regulations and interpretations and the requisites licensing and a whole lot more.
You do a dis-service to people to make it out like any Tom, Dick or Harry can hang up a shingle and be in business in this field. Did I mention owning a few trucks, lining up suppliers, the provincial regulations on content to get into MicroFIT, a few labourers, a warehouse to store materials in process and more.
Sheesh, rather a simplistic view, indeed.
Your point is well taken speaking of installing solar panels for others. Obviously I haven’t phrased this one well. My point is that pretty well any Tom, Dick Harry or Beth can have solar panels installed on their own home, (assuming, as I point out, they’re in the right place etc.) and can have their own home business operating because of that.
This is a really good post. Solar Power really helps a lot and would definitely make the future look sunny.
If properly installed, renewable energy systems could help reduce the effects of Climate Change and Global Warming.
I know of another company that was among the first to provide engineered solar thermal and solar electric solutions to customers in Eastern Ontario.
In its first seven years of operation, this company celebrated several key achievements including the completion of over 100 solar electric and solar thermal installations and the displacement of more than 300 tonnes of green house gases.
Please visit http://www.isolara.com
here you will find what I’ve been talking about.
Solar power is complicated enough with demands varying from each household which differs in size and energy consumption. It may seem like a drag at first but the deal is definitely worth it when you get your first energy bill with solar power installed on your roof.
“you have to be in the right place” yes this may be true for solar, but remember that you can also use wind power and magnetic power. I got a renewable product guide that helped me build both a solar and a wind turbine from http://www.solar-energyhome.net . there are also magnet plans but I havent had time to tackle that yet. so really you can use renewable energy anywhere.