How to Power Your Home Exclusively with Solar Energy

Why wouldn’t everyone want to make their home run on the sun’s energy? It sounds like a recipe for happiness, doesn’t it? Making the leap to solar power could bring major advantages, but be cautious: There’s a lot to consider before disconnecting from your local utility service.

Solar power is essentially free (once you’ve made the initial investment and account for maintenance costs). Solar power is also efficient (though some experts still debate just how efficient it is). And for many of us concerned about climate change, solar energy is also environmentally clean and pollution-free.

The initial investment for setting up solar power can be overwhelming. Additionally, once you commit to solar energy, you may face challenges like bad weather, which could interfere with your plans to live entirely off the sun.

With solar panels, you can still rely on utility power when your solar system can't generate enough electricity or if you have no stored energy. However, the ultimate goal for many is to fully eliminate dependence on fossil fuels, get rid of fossil-fueled utility companies, and embrace a sun-powered lifestyle.

Planning to run your entire home on solar energy demands substantial financial, mental, and emotional investment. The infrastructure is more complex than conventional setups. Building and operating your new system requires precise calculations. A misstep could leave you without enough power to get by.

Completely powering a home with solar energy is absolutely achievable.

Concentrating the Sun's Rays

The earliest known use of solar energy might have been when someone realized that glass, when positioned at the correct angle, could ignite fires and burn ants. We’ve made significant progress since then.

The first silicon photovoltaic cell was created in the United States in 1954. Modern solar panels are direct descendants of that original technology, with improvements in efficiency over the years.

Since the 1950s, a variety of residential and commercial buildings have been designed with different solar energy priorities. One office building became known for its solar water heating. Residential milestones evolved from sunrooms to hybrid solar/grid systems and eventually to fully solar-powered homes (the first of which was finished in 1983 in New York's Hudson River Valley). In 2000, a Colorado family built a solar installation that nearly fully powered their eight-person home.

In addition to rooftop solar panels, other innovative solutions have emerged, such as a modified radiant heating system. By strategically rerouting a home's plumbing, water can be heated by solar energy, and as it circulates through the house, the heat can be used to regulate the home’s temperature. The beauty of this system: it doesn’t add to the home’s electricity usage. In a nationwide solar home design competition in 2007, students from Santa Clara University in California developed a solar radiant heat system that not only heats the house but also helps cool it.

The concept is attractive, though execution has sometimes been challenging. Fortunately, ongoing innovations over the past decade or more have made affordable, highly efficient solar power more accessible to people around the globe.

Cost, of course, plays a major role in the viability of any solar energy project. For many, it remains a hurdle. Early solar technology prices were relatively stable before dropping by roughly 80 percent during the 1970s. In February 2009, First Solar, a solar panel manufacturer, announced that the cost of producing its panels had fallen to a dollar per watt — a long-awaited milestone.

Currently, installing a solar panel system for a home typically costs around $16,000, with prices reaching up to $35,000, depending on the panel type. This doesn’t include installation costs, which can add up to $25,000 [source: Forbes]. Additional costs, such as financing and permits, may also apply.

However, the potential savings can be considerable. How much money homeowners can save by reducing their reliance on the grid largely depends on varying energy prices. Online tools like EnergySage and PVWatts can provide estimates for the costs and savings associated with installing and operating a solar system [source: U.S. Department of Energy].

Experts assert that achieving "grid parity" is a key milestone for making solar power truly viable. Grid parity occurs when the cost of solar energy is equal to — or even lower than — conventional electricity, without relying on grants, subsidies, or rebates that currently make it affordable for many consumers. In many parts of the world, including China, various European countries, and California, experts believe grid parity has already been reached [source: PV Magazine]. However, as more regions approach grid parity, supply may struggle to meet demand, as some raw materials for solar panels are in limited supply [source: Hutchinson].

Like Vitamin D for Your House

To understand how solar power can meet the energy needs of an entire home, it’s important to cover some basic concepts. Many of us are familiar with the traditional solar panels — those flat, shiny, and somewhat clunky units that sit atop rooftops.

Solar panels capture the sunlight available and convert it into DC power. An inverter then changes the DC power into AC power, which is what is used to run electronic devices. For those aiming to run their entire home on solar energy, there are systems that can convert and store extra power in batteries, ensuring a source of power even at night or during poor weather. However, it won't help in cases where the system is poorly designed or lacks capacity.

Solar shingles offer a more subtle, streamlined alternative to traditional, larger solar panels. Made from the same materials as standard solar panels, they double as roof shingles and blend in closely with the rest of the roof, looking much like a regular roof — though slightly shinier. Contrary to popular belief, these modern panels can still generate power even under weak or scattered sunlight.

Why does the idea of converting to solar power sometimes need a bit of convincing? In the United States, homes typically use gas or electricity, which are usually supplied by local utility companies. For someone who wants to go completely off the grid, the electricity from solar power must cover all energy needs: heating, air conditioning (one of the biggest power drains in homes), essential infrastructure like lighting and ventilation fans, all major appliances (fridge, stove, washer, dryer), and electronics such as TVs, stereos, and computers. This list isn't exhaustive, of course — don't forget the constant charging of smartphones or tablets!

If your home is large or you're a heavy power user who leaves electronics running all day, a more robust solar setup will be required. Ideally, those seriously pursuing solar conversion are already conscious of their consumption and make efforts to reduce power use, such as using insulated window shades rather than relying on air conditioning, or avoiding the use of a dishwasher that consumes hours of power. However, as solar technology becomes more mainstream, eco-conscious early adopters may not constitute the majority, so they'll require a stronger system.

A smart consumer assesses their electricity needs and then designs a solar panel setup that meets those demands. If the proposed system seems overkill, it may be worth reconsidering energy consumption habits and cutting back.

While designing and building a solar-powered home from scratch can be complex and costly, it offers certain advantages for those with the resources. Planning a residential solar system for an existing home, however, requires considering several factors. The design of the house itself is critical. How large is the roof's surface area (affecting the potential solar area)? In which direction does the roof face, and how steep is its pitch? Are there objects that cause partial shading?

Location also plays a key role. A house in Scandinavia, with its famously short days, won't perform as well as one located closer to the equator. The number of sunny days is another important factor; if it rains until night, it doesn't matter how late sunset happens. If you're building your own solar-powered home, you'll have more control over some of these variables.

To determine how much power your solar system will generate and how much you'll need, it’s useful to review local meteorological data. This data shows how much sunlight your area typically receives each month, based on past averages. Also, keep your utility bills handy to understand your power consumption. With this information, you can assess if your desired system will produce enough electricity.

General guidelines suggest a system that generates 1 kilowatt per 1,000 square feet (93 square meters) of house space. However, don’t let enthusiasm cloud your judgment — you need to ensure your system will provide enough power for the worst-case scenario, not just the ideal conditions. Prepare for that proverbial rainy day.

Paying for What's Free

Although sunlight is readily available to all, transforming it into usable power requires costly equipment. However, solar panels have become one of the most affordable forms of renewable energy.

Large-scale solar projects are now considerably more affordable than coal plants [source: World Economic Forum]. While this drastic reduction in cost may not yet apply to smaller projects, like residential homes, don't let that discourage you — there could still be options to make it work.

Energy incentives and rebates differ widely and are subject to frequent changes, so anyone thinking about converting their home to solar power should carefully examine the specific benefits available in their state. With the right mix of grants, tax credits, and per-watt rebates, the upfront cost might be more manageable than many homeowners realize.

In 2020, Congress approved an extension to the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), also known as the "solar tax credit," for newly installed solar systems. This credit reduces federal income taxes by allowing a portion of the cost of a photovoltaic (PV) system to be deducted. There is no cap on the credit, but it will expire in 2024 unless Congress renews it [source: U.S. Department of Energy].

You may also qualify for credits at the state or local level. Some local utility companies may provide financial incentives to install a system. If you decide to sell your solar-powered home, the investment could be a major selling point. As utility prices increase and your neighbors face rising costs, you could even receive a refund from your utility company, making it an attractive offer to potential buyers.

If your solar panels generate more energy than your home needs, you can sell the surplus power back to the grid. Solar installation companies often highlight this as a way to recover your investment, which can appeal to buyers. However, the results and laws governing what utility companies can do vary by location.

Some cities have worked to make solar power more accessible to the public. Berkeley, California, and Boulder, Colorado, have municipal solar programs where the cities invest in the infrastructure and recover costs through taxes. Other areas offer special loans that are repaid through increased property taxes. Additionally, a few companies have developed leasing programs (similar to leasing cable boxes or satellite dishes) targeting states with high energy costs to reach as many consumers as possible.

The journey to affordable and widespread solar power has not been straightforward. Germany once spent over $130 billion on solar power subsidies but decided in 2012 to phase out those benefits. Officials argued that the infrastructure was too expensive and inefficient to implement on a large scale, despite the sun's rays being free.

In 2020, Germany saw a 25 percent increase in solar rooftop installations, with the government now setting a goal to double the nation's solar power plant capacity by the end of the decade [source: PV Magazine].

Even in regions where solar power has faced challenges, it's time to step outside and celebrate. If you're interested in converting your home to full solar power, the technology is now available to make it happen.