ORMOND BEACH -- Solar power technology, once exclusively used for hot water heaters and raising the swimming pool temperature a few degrees, is now powering homes, may soon power cities and may even be collected from outer space.
"The technology has been around for 25 years or so," said Andy Barbaro, vice president of Wayne's Solar. "What's made it more popular is the increased efficiency, and the rising cost of electricity has made it more affordable. It's not for the millionaires anymore. But what's really driving the increase here are the state rebates and federal tax credits. They can pay for almost half the cost."
Installing thermal solar panels was Wayne Phillips' main business for more than 25 years, along with other solar businesses in Volusia and Flagler counties. But, about half of Phillips' business now is installing solar electric panels -- known as photovoltaic cells -- to provide homemade electricity. Business is up about 30 percent from last year.
"Building homes with pools was big business around here for a long time, but that is hurting now," Phillips said. "The solar electric panels have really taken off in just the last year and a half."
Thermal solar panels have been used in Florida since the 1940s to heat water for showers and washing the dishes. Larger systems were designed to heat pools to extend the swimming season a few months. The panels functioned like a radiator. Water, either stored on or pumped to the roof, runs through a set of tubes heated by the sun.
Solar pool heaters still function the same way, but home water heaters have improved through the years where hot water can be stored in heaters with computerized sensors regulating when water is sent to the roof collector for heating -- usually during the day when the sun is shining.
The early solar water-heating systems are intended to save homeowners money, but they can cost money, Barbaro said. If water is taken from the ground at 72 degrees and run through rooftop pipes during cooler night temperatures, the water must be reheated, using conventional electricity.
A new home solar water-heating system costs between $2,000 and $2,800, but could reduce electrical bills 20 to 30 percent, he said.
The popularity of solar electric systems has also created new jobs because licensed contractors must install the systems for a homeowner to be eligible for rebates and tax credits. The number of persons sitting for contractor classes and tests is soaring, said Bruce Kershner, executive director of the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association.
"The numbers have gone from less than a 10 a year to a couple hundred this year. You would not see an increase like that unless there is a demand," he said.
Roof-top mounted solar electric panels can reduce electrical bills from 30 to 80 percent depending on the number of 3-by-5 foot photovoltaic panels. System costs start at about $8,000 for a minimal 2,000 watt system that generates 2 kilowatts an hour when the sun is shining. It may take eight or more years of savings off the electrical bill to pay for the installation.
However, with the rebates, a 25-year warranty on panels that may last 40 years, the economic benefits are obvious, Barbaro said.
Lou and Judy DePaul of Ormond Beach initially got a thermal water heater about a year ago and then recently added a large solar electric system to their 1,800-square-foot home.
""We liked the results from the water heater, so we added the electric," Judy said. ""We saw a $35 electric bill the first month. We love it."
To encourage more use of renewable energy, Florida started a solar rebate program in 2006. The legislature approved $3.5 million last fiscal year and $5 million this year.
Homeowners can get a solar electric rebate of $4 a watt up to $20,000. A commercial project could see a solar electric rebate up to $100,000. Rebates of $500 a home and $5,000 a business are available for thermal water heaters and $100 for a home pool-water heater.
A swarm of applications exhausted last year's pot. This year's money paid off last year's waiting list and was quickly exhausted. A new list is developing. The program is slated to expire in 2010.
Federal incentives provide $2,000 tax credits for solar electric and thermal water heaters, but none for pool heaters. That program expires at the end of the year and renewal has been difficult. Congress has failed eight times to pass a new bill.
Progress Energy provides a $450 credit to offset the purchase of a solar water heater. Florida Power & Light does not have a rebate program.
""Solar struggled for years with pool heaters and some hot-water heaters," Kershner said. "Rebates and tax credits make it more cost effective. If we don't have the tax credits extended and adequate money for rebates, it will severely cripple the industry. Any renewable energy source is expensive to provide and it needs time and incentives for it to be successful."
Most solar electric panels do not provide all of a home's electrical needs. That would require many batteries and be costly, Barbaro said. Instead, he looks to reach the rebate levels and then work with customers to tailor a system. However, during peak electrical generating periods -- bright sunny days while the homeowners are at work -- the system could be adding power to the electrical grid and be making money for the homeowner as power companies are required to buy the surplus power at retail prices.
While most solar energy equipment retailers are focused on retrofitting existing homes with thermal and electrical systems, a few homebuilders are starting to make solar systems optional amenities to new homes. It's cheaper to add the systems during construction.
Shea Homes builds "green" homes in the Victoria Gardens section of Victoria Park in southeast DeLand. Solar-powered attic fans, dual-pane windows and motion/occupancy sensor lighting are standard features. The California-based company also is offering solar electric systems to new homeowners, even a free $30,000 package through Aug. 31.
"We have been building green for a long time. This is just an extension of our green efforts. It just makes sense as the next step," said Jeff Gersh, Shea Homes area vice president. "It also brings added awareness to the benefits of solar technologies."
For some, the goal is to build a self-sufficient solar powered home.
Progress Energy has teamed with the Florida Solar Energy Center at the University of Central Florida Brevard campus and Palm Harbor Homes to build a manufactured home with a roof outfitted with solar electric panels. The program wants to combine the efficiency of mass produced housing with advances in photovoltaic-panel technology.
The team is studying the six homes it built in 2001 and placed around the coastal county.
Progress Energy and Florida Power & Light are working on larger projects as well to reduce the use of coal, natural gas and oil.
Last month, a state agency approved a $17 billion plan for the company to build two nuclear power reactions in Levy County with the hope of having them operational by 2017.
FPL at the same time gained permission to build three solar power facilities for $688 million in Brevard, Martin and DeSoto counties. The plants would produce 110 megawatts (110,000 kilowatts). When the announcement was made, the plants would generate the most power from the sun and would power about 35,000 homes.
That changed last week when California-based companies Sunpower and Optisolar announced plans to build two solar plants to produce 800 megawatts of power. That is equal to a small nuclear or a large coal plant. It is 10 times the amount of power from any existing solar power plant. It would power 239,000 homes.
The debate over solar and other none-oil based power system has grown to be one of the top issues in this year's presidential campaign.
But solar power dreams are limited to the planet.
Collecting solar power in outer space, where there are no clouds and the sun shines all the time, was considered during the 1970s by NASA and the Department of Energy. Costs were prohibitive then, but as the cost of energy continues to climb, it is becoming more of a possibility.
The major hurdle, along with getting to and working in space, is how to transmit the collected energy to earth, according to Pravna Mehta, director of India operations for Space Island Group, a company developing solar satellites.
"The cost of energy is not going down, that's for sure," Barbaro said. "Every little bit helps."
Payoffs Energize Solar Power
$2,000-$2,800 Cost of a new home solar water-heating system
20%-30% Percentage that electric bills can be reduced by solar panels
$8,000 and up Cost to install roof-mounted solar panel system
8 years + For roof-mounted system to pay off
30%-80% Percentage that electrical bills can be reduced with roof-mounted solar panels
Florida Rebate Program
Florida started a solar rebate program in 2006, which expires in 2010.
Up to $20,000 Rebate for Florida homeowners at $4 a watt
Up to $100,000 Rebate for Florida business owners
$500 Rebate for home thermal water heaters
$5,000 Rebate for business thermal water heaters
$100 Rebate for a home pool-water heater
$2,000 Federal tax credits for solar electric and thermal water heaters (program expires this year)
