Solar Energy

Environmental Issues
By: Rob Russell, Rebecca Watson, Pat Williams, Christian Porreca
November 2017

For the purpose of this assignment, solar energy and three solar companies were researched in
hopes to apply solar panels to a shed in Dr. Dans backyard (see figure 1). This assignment required
research on different aspects of a solar panel installation. Solar panels are good for generating electricity,
and depending on your electricity demand, may be able to have an effective system with only a small
number of panels. Although solar energy is relatively new (only about 75 to 100 years old), it has become
popular as the realization that fossil fuels will become scarce (Rizk & Chaiko, 2008). Solar energy
systems such as solar power, contribute to the sustainable development of human activities (Tsoutos et
al., 2005). With new technologies emerging, it has become easier for homeowners to add solar panels to
their homes and reap the benefits associated with using them as a source of electricity.
The process of applying solar panels requires knowledge about the angle of the roof that the
panels may be equipped on, the orientation of the roof, or direction it is facing, and how much sunlight
the area will receive throughout the year. With the shed that we are looking to apply the panels to, we
found that the angle of the roof that we will place the panels was 30 degrees, and we found this using the
special right triangle formula. This means that the panels will be place at 30 degrees to the ground, or
facing slightly in one direction (southeast), but more towards the sky. The orientation of the roof is east
south east, which is good because it is recommended to have your panels facing south by a little bit. The
roof will see different sun exposure because of the four seasons as well as the angle, latitude and
longitude, and overall sun exposure. Factoring all of these different aspects of sun exposure in, we found
that there will be 1,343 hours of usable sunlight per year (Project Sunroof).
When trying to decide how many solar panels need to be purchased, it is important to know the
measurements of the roof. The roof is approximately 118 x 259, or 9.8 x 21.5. This results in the roof
being approximately 212 square feet. Given that the roof is 212 square feet, a 2 kW system would be ideal
for this task (Solar Power, 2017). On average, solar panels used for are 65 x 39. Since each solar panel
is approximately 17.55 square feet, this allows about 12 solar panels to be installed. On average, solar
panels and the mounting equipment weigh between 2-4 pounds per square foot. This is an acceptable
range for most roofs. However, since the roof of the shed is approximately 20 years old, it is
recommended that a new roof should be installed along with the panels.
Looking at figure 2, the advantages, disadvantages, and costs of the different types of solar panels
can be seen. Considering that monocrystalline panels are the most efficient for small areas and have the
longest life expectancy, we are opting to install this type (Maehlum, 2017). The price of purchasing a 2
kW monocrystalline system would be approximately $2,000-$4,000 depending on your location. There
are a couple options available to do this. For example, we can hire a company that can sell the panels and
then install them. Near Oreland, PA, there are a few companies that can do this.
The companies that were researched included Vivint in Folcroft, Solar City in Norristown, and
Solar States in Philadelphia and found that Solar City is 20 miles away from the place of installation.
Vivint solar is about 30 miles from the location of installation, and Solar States is about 10 miles away, so
Solar States would be the closest company (see figure 1). With Solar City panels can be purchased
individually or with the installer. Vivint solar requires that you install using the included installation
when using their company, as well as Solar State. The last two offer an all in one solar service including
engineering, design, installation, permitting, and electrical.
Considering the different options available from each company, we have decided to purchase a
DIY 2 kW solar kit from Home Depot. We chose to do this because the roof that the panels are going in is
relatively small and we believe that we can install it. However, we will still need to contact an electrician
that can connect our system to the grid. The overall price of the DIY solar system is approximately
$3,499. This will negate the costs associated with the installation process, so it will be much cheaper than
if we hired a company to install them. Additionally, approximately half of the electricity used at this
home would be offset by a 2 kW system producing around 8kWh per day.

Comparison of solar panel options (2 kW system)

Type Advantages Disadvantages Cost
Most efficient out of the three. Most expensive option available.
Are capable of converting up to 20%
of the suns energy into usable Snow or shade cover can cause the entire
Monocrystalline energy. circuit to break down.
Silicon Solar
Monocrystalline cells produce four
Cells
times as much energy as thin film $1.00-$2.00 per
silicon cells. watt, or $2,000-
$4,000 for a 2
Life Expectancy: 25-35 years kW system.

Costs of polycrystalline cells are

less than mono cells.
Polycrystalline A larger amount of space is required to
Silicon Solar They are capable of converting 13- produce the same amount of energy as $0.90-$1.00 per
Cells 16% of the suns light into usable mono cells. watt, or $1,800 -
energy. $2,000 for a 2
Life Expectancy: 23-27 years kW system.

Current models are approximately

7-13% efficient.
Life Expectancy: 14-17 years
Thin Film Solar It is the least efficient out of the three.
Cells This is the cheapest option of the $0.70-$1.00 per
three listed. watt, or $1,400 -
$2,000 for a 2
Requires the least amount of kW system.
 material.
Figure 2: A chart showing the different types of solar panels available with the advantages, disadvantages, and
costs of each.

There are many economic, social, and environmental benefits to installing solar panels. Economic
benefits include rebates, subsidies, and other benefits such as net metering and Renewable Energy
Credits. The Federal government offers a Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for homeowners that are
applied to their personal income taxes. The credit is used when the homeowner purchases a solar system
outright and has it installed on their home. In Pennsylvania, net metering as well as solar renewable
energy certificates (SRECs) are available. According to UnderstandSolar, Pennsylvania residents are able
to use net metering to send energy back to the utility at the same price in which they would purchase it
(2017). For this specific project, the utility company is PECO and there are procedures and requirements
that the homeowner should follow in order to benefit from net metering with them. On PECOs site, they
have a list of procedures, applications, and even the fees required (2017). Solar renewable energy
certificates are part of a program that provides these certificates for every megawatt-hour of solar
electricity created. In 2016, Pennsylvanians were able to sell their credits for roughly $15 per megawatt
hour (Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, 2016).
In New Jersey, net metering is possible allowing the homeowner to buy and sell electricity from
the grid. New Jerseys SREC is equal to one megawatt hour resulting in one credit. On the market, they
can be sold to the utilities market to help meet the New Jersey Renewable Portfolio Standard. In 2016,
New Jersey residents were able to sell one credit for $280 (U.S. Department of Energy, 2017). New
Jersey residents can also see solar tax exemption as solar systems are 100% sales tax free. Similar to solar
tax exemptions, New Jersey residents will not have to pay additional property taxes if the solar panels
increase property value (U.S. Department of Energy, 2017). These incentives are designed to encourage
NJ and PA residents to purchase and install solar systems by lowering taxes, including property tax. A
study conducted by Liu and his colleagues showed that there are benefits to purchasing over leasing:
purchasing a system with cash will result in a higher net electricity price relative to all other cases
however, there is less than a $100 difference in annual costs between leasing and loan options with
depreciation (2014).
The environmental benefits of solar panels are abundant. Solar panel installation can help to
reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and criteria air pollutants, which include sulfur dioxide (SO2),
nitrogen oxides (NOx), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (Evans et al., 2013). By lowering these
emissions, homeowners are able to reduce their carbon footprint and help their local environment. A
study conducted by Kalogirou showed that a large amount of pollutants such as carbon dioxide, sulfur
dioxide, and hydrocarbons are avoided by using solar energy over fossil fuels (2004). Eliminating the
need for fossil fuels can help the world move in a step closer to a more sustainable future.

References

EnergySage (2017). New Jersey solar rebates and incentives. Retrieved from
https://www.energysage.com/solar-rebates-incentives/nj/

Evans-Siler, K., Azevedo, I.L., Morgan, M.G., and Apt, J. (2013). Regional variations in the health,
environmental, and climate benefits of wind and solar generation. Proceeding of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(29), 11768-11773. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/42712477

Glunz, S., (2007) High-Efficiency Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells. Hindawi Advances in OptoElectronics.

Home Advisor (2017). Learn How Much It Costs to Install Solar Panels: 2017 Solar Panel Cost Guide,
Average Home Solar System Installation Prices.

Hongxing, Y., Zhou, W. (2009) Optimal design and techno-economic analysis of hybrid solar-wind
power generation system, In Applied Energy, Volume 86, Issue 2, Pages 163-169, ISSN 0306-2619

How Much Do Solar Panels Cost? Find the Cost of Solar Energy. SolarCity. Retrieved from
www.solarcity.com/residential/how-much-do-solar-panels-cost.

Kalogirou, S.A. (2004). Environmental benefits of domestic solar energy systems. Energy Conversion
and Management, 45, 3075-3092. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2003.12.019

Liu, X., ORear, E.G., Tyner, W.E., Pekny, J.F. (2014). Purchasing vs. leasing: A benefit-cost analysis of
residential solar PV panel use in California. Renewable Energy, 66, 770-774. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2014.01.026

Maehlum, M. A. (2017, August 5). Which Solar Panel Type is Best? Mono- vs. Polycrystalline vs. Thin
Film. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://energyinformative.org

PECO (2017). Customer-Generated Power: Net Metering and Interconnection with PECO. Retrieved
from https://www.peco.com/MyAccount/MyService/Pages/SelfGeneratedPower.aspx

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (2017). Alternative Energy. Retrieved from

http://www.puc.pa.gov/consumer_info/electricity/alternative_energy.aspx

Pennsylvania Solar Power for Your House - Rebates, Tax Credits, Savings. Solar Power Rocks
Project Sunroof - Solar Calculator. Google.

Rizk, J. and Chaiko, Y. (2008). Solar Tracking System: More Efficient Use of Solar Panels. World
Academy of Science, Engineering, and Technology, 41, 313-315. Retrieved from
http://www.mugla.edu.tr/data/03060010/belgeler/solar%20tracking.pdf

Solar Power (2017). How many solar panels do you need? Retrieved from https://solarpowerrocks.com
Tsoutos, T., Frantzeskaki, N., Gekas, V. (2005). Environmental impacts from the solar energy
technologies. Energy Policy, 33(3), 289-296. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-
4215(03)00241-6

UnderstandSolar (2017). Solar Panels in PA. Retrieved from https://understandsolar.com/pennsylvania/

U.S. Department of Energy (2017). Pennsylvania Solar Rebates and Incentives. Retrieved from
https://www.energysage.com/solar-rebates-incentives/pa/

http://www.puc.pa.gov/consumer_info/electricity/alternative_energy.aspx

https://www.peco.com/MyAccount/MyService/Pages/SelfGeneratedPower.aspx

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/price-of-pennsylvania-renewable-energy-credits-doubles/370932/
Figure 1: A map created by Pat Williams showing the location of the installation site as well as the three solar
panel companies.

Solar Company
Distance from home address
Solar City 19.8 miles
Vivint Solar 33.8 miles
Solar States 12.3 miles