PHOTOVOLTAIC (fō'tō-vŏl-tā'ĭk)

Amazing what you can do with the power to run 35, 100 watt incandescent light bulbs. Remember the easy bake oven? 35 cakes in 15 minutes. The heat generated to create the light is the wasted energy. That waste heat can actually be used to cook with. New technology has been developed and is currently being developed that greatly improves the efficiency of a light bulb. For example: A 22 watt Compact Fluorescent (CFL) is the approximate equivalent of a 100 watt incandescent lightbulb. Before CFL's, 25% of the average home energy budget was used just for lighting. New technologies now exist and are improving rapidly. Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights are already available and the pricing is trending downward rapidly. The power requirements of an LED is approximately 4 watts to match a 100 watt incandescent bulb and last 100 times longer.
What does this have to do with anything? Well if you are building a house today, it is possible that you are considering installing a photovoltaic (PV) system. A 3.5 kW PV system will generate enough power roughly equivalent to the power consumption of 35, 100 watt bulbs. How many LED fixtures will it operate? What can you do with the left over power?
As an architect, I am frequently presented with the opportunity to provide advice about building options that are value judgements. Each client has their own set of values, and as an architect, it is not our responsibility to judge, but to provide objective information to subjective questions. We actually have a unique opportunity to provide insights that are commonly lost in everyday life.
So, PV panels or not? If you are making a business decision based solely on money, I can not advise anyone to install PV. The return on investment (ROI) period varies on location, installation and system, but generally it will take 7 to 12 years to pay back. That means it will take that much time until the PV panels produce enough energy to pay for the purchase and installation. Considering the potential life span of these systems, an ROI analysis may not be the right approach. Because these panels are expected to operate for longer than 20 years, a life-cycle cost analysis over the duration of the life of the system will be a more attractive comparison.
There are other reasons to install a PV system, but it requires a value system that finds merit outside of money. I believe that there is a paradigm shift occurring in how we make decisions in this country. We have run the entire course on a value system that is based solely on money and the inevitable result is a failed financial system. The reality is that money is important, but not the sole reason to make any decision.
A good example of a decision that is made using a value system that includes factors in conjunction with money is where to buy or build a house. People rarely build a house in the cheapest location and rarely in a place that is the most expensive. If money was the sole factor in making this decision, there would be only two real options. Why is it not appropriate to consider making the same judgment when deciding whether to install an alternative energy system?
If you want to talk about the financial positives, the PV panels will produce a large chunk of electricity when a house is unoccupied. That production will help to offset the operational costs. The PV system will add another layer of protection to the operations of the house. If the house is lived in more frequently, the operational costs will be reduced. Also, I'll bet that carbon generated energy will be taxed within the next ten years. A carbon tax will ultimately level the playing field on the costs of coal produced electricity and increase consumer costs in many parts of the country, thus making PV more competitive.
Whether or not to install PV panels is not an easy decision to make. It requires reflection. I see it as an opportunity to refine a value system. Our power system in the United States has been controlled by a very few companies. The future will be in distributed power systems. It's much more democratic and certainly plays to the independent nature of the people in this country. This is The Progression.