When choosing solar panels for your Southwest Florida home, there are three major type of solar panel you can select from. The type of solar panel you pick depends on your goals, as no single type can do everything. Different solar energy technologies excel at different tasks.
Solar Electric (Photovoltaic) Panels
Solar electric panels generate electricity for use in your home. Modern grid-interactive solar energy systems work in parallel with the utility company to provide seamless electricity to your home while reducing your utility bill. These are the most expensive type of solar panel, but they provide a great return on investment for home owners who want a long-term reliable investment that will give them control over rising energy costs for decades to come. Solar electricity is, by far, the most popular type of solar panel installed today nationwide and worldwide.
Choose solar electric panels if you want a long-term reliably low utility bill.
Solar Pool Heating Panels
Solar pool heating panels are the most popular solar panels chosen by home owners in Southwest Florida. Our abundance of swimming pools, great weather, and ample solar energy makes this area one of the hottest markets for solar pool heating. These solar collectors work by sending your pool water through them to get heated up. It’s really that simple. This simplicity, coupled with a very attractive price, makes selecting a solar pool heater a popular choice. The best part is that it’s free to heat your pool after the initial investment because the system uses your existing pool pump for circulation! If you are already using a traditional heater (electric heat pump or gas) to heat your pool, a solar pool heater will reduce your electric bill.
Choose solar pool heating panels if you want to enjoy your pool more with no additional operating cost.
Solar Water Heating Panels
Solar water heating for household use is a hybrid in a way between solar electric and solar pool heating. These solar panels heat water for domestic use in solar thermal panels, but the goal is to reduce your electricity bill. Because most people in Southwest Florida use electricity to heat water, running your domestic water through a solar panel reduces the need for the electric element, savings money on your utility bill. We recently declared solar water heating is dead, but there are applications where it can be beneficial. Popular for decades, solar water heating in homes has become expensive relative to solar electric panels coupled with new, efficient heat pump water heaters. We only recommend solar panels for households with heavy hot water usage.
Choose solar water heating panels if your household has very heavy water usage and you want to reduce your utility bill.
Making Your Selection
Discussing your goals and budget with a solar energy professional will help you decide on what type of solar panel to choose for your needs. Every home and every client is different, and there is no one-size-fits-all solar panel solution. Many times a combination of technologies is the right answer. Your interests, lifestyle, investment time horizon, budget, and even your available roof space all play into the complex decision to select the right solar panel for your needs.
When you are ready to discuss your goals and needs, contact us for expert consultation!
Comments
I had no idea there were so many different kinds of solar panels so I really appreciate your very clear explanation of what each one is for. I always just assumed there was one kind of solar panel that just could kind of do everything, which is clearly not the case. I think I just assumed the solar electric panel was what was used, probably, as you say, because it’s one of the most common ones. I’d love to know what the price differences are between these different kinds? Seeing as all of them are solar panels, how much does the price vary and how come?
Solar pool heaters range in price from about $2,500 for the smallest spa-sized systems to over $6,500 for larger residential pools with most costing somewhere in the middle.
Solar electric systems start at about $12,000 and can go well into the tens of thousands – it all depends on how much energy you want to offset.
Very good information! It is great that you allow for many different options considering the amount of different rooms configurations out there is many.