News about Solar, Wind and alternative green power technologies

Mike Holmes, star of Holmes on Homes on HGTV, thinks homeowners with sun drenched roofs should lease solar panels on the space, mutually future proofing their technology as well as supplying any extra energy to benefit the grid.

Holmes talks about his own property just outside of Toronto, Canada where he has some extra land available. “I’m a general contractor, not a farmer so I lease the land to an area farmer who uses it to raise crops and to graze his herds,” says Holmes who was talking to CanWest Media. “This land could just be sitting here useless, not a bad thing at all, however, why not put it to a good use. What do you think would be the best idea?”

Holmes says there are literally millions of square feet of roof space available across the nation that are just as uncultivated, so to speak, as his field was. If solar farmers who, same as the local farmer leasing Holmes’s field could put that roofing area to good use, would then place leased solar panels thanks to the homeowner on those roofs to generate power.

The ideal scenario is to divert from centralized power generation. A portion of the expense for power production is not just from producing that power from coal and hydroelectric, but also transmission of that power out to millions of homeowners with the need. Holmes goes on to say that by decreasing energy distribution expenditures, energy efficiency will undoubtedly increase. Transferring our energy requirements to localized micro generation is far more sustainable and comes with a considerable environmental wallop. The pressure on the current grid is reduced and the production emissions are decreased.
There are numerous businesses, like Enmax Energy based in Alberta and Pure Energy from Ontario, making this idea available to homeowners, leasing out solar panels for use on rooftops. The energy supplier pays for the panels with little if any expense passed on to the homeowner. Once cultivated, the harvested energy is transferred back into the grid. This just makes perfect sense to Mike Holmes.

Switching over to solar power is an exciting option for many people. When you speak to these folks, they seem to understand the concept. These forward thinking people really love the idea of disappearing from the grid and going in a green direction. When installing solar panels, there is a hefty front end install cost that is higher than one would expect. The return is long in coming. There are many who just do not have the money, nor are they committed to the long term to make the switch to solar.

The newer solar technology, the payback will occur in sixteen to twenty years due to the fact that they are still very inefficient. Nevertheless, as the efficiency of the panels gets better, the investment return will improve in kind.

When you remove the cost of the front end installation away from the picture, the fact that homeowners will save on the electricity expenses, and aiding the environment at the same time, the decision than becomes a simpler one to make. People will buy into the idea since it is a win – win situation.

Not only that but add in that you would not only save money but potentially make some as well. You might receive a rebate for excess energy that you produce and push back to the grid.

The terms of the lease vary amongst the suppliers, though at the core of the plan, it would work as follows:

Due to the leasing of equipment, installation costs, sustaining and supervising the system are all part of the monthly lease expense. All of the energy you produce via your roof top system gets pushed into the grid. Whatever is not utilized is returned to you in the form of a rebate to your electric bill. If your use is higher than what the panels produce, you pay that part of the bill. When the lease finishes up, you could renew it or just have the panels taken away. You would have the option of paying just a small charge to continue with their usage and place a battery system as backup so you  can remain off the grid.

This will save the homeowner money as well as take advantage of the reduced requirement for energy produced by the grid. The more people who buy into a program like this, means fewer power plants will need to be constructed so we can provide to a population that is getting larger.

When you lease out your roof for solar power production, it does not mean you will not receive further power bills. However, for just a meager front end expense, your monthly energy bill will drop and you will be doing your bit for the environment. If you live in a region with a good deal of prime solar days, if your roof is not currently shaded by trees, check into the prospect of leasing your roof out. It is not like you do much with your rooftop anyway. Same as the farmer that leases out Mike Holmes’s land, you might as well put the space to good use!