Q: Where is solar energy headed? Are there any exciting advancements happening now that will change going solar in the future?

A: With recent energy economics, solar applications for homes and businesses have become a real alternative. Solar panels are popping up on homes across the landscape, and photovoltaic (PV) systems that tie into the utility grid are increasingly generating keen interest.

One of the most exciting trends on the horizon is the move away from the concept of centralized power production towards a more cooperative view of energy generation. For example, residences and commercial structures across the country can generate excess power in small bites that collectively add up to a very large contribution to energy production. Millions of homes can add power into the national grid during the day and then draw back that power during the night for use in their home. Large companies like Google and Intel, among others, have installed PV solar systems on their headquarters. Production plants, such as Applied Materials, a semiconductor equipment manufacturer for Intel, also make components for solar panels.

This increased availability of solar applications, which is sure to continue into the future, may be due to an increased role of refined silicon in the production of solar panels, making them more available to a wider range of consumers. The thin film technology now being used for panels allows solar companies to use less polysilicon (an expensive material due to more demand than supply) while increasing conversion rates and improving efficiency. Industry watchdogs predict that polysilicon will become more available in the next year, resulting in a sharp drop in the price of PV solar panels by 2010 (some analysts predict as much as a 50 percent drop).

The opposite prediction is true for oil and natural gas, which continue to rise in price. The result? The cost of solar energy installations will continue to drop even as the average utility bill continues to rise. In the near future, it will most likely be cheaper to install solar on new or existing structures than to rent power from the local utility company. With federal and state rebates, the tax write-off for a solar project and the tax deduction for the interest on the construction loan, it’s cheaper to finance a solar electrical installation for 10 years at seven percent than it is to pay a monthly utility bill. In the end, you own your system, whereas with your local utility company you’ve merely rented power with no return on your investment.

The source of solar energy, our sun, belongs to no one company or nation. It’s free, present every day and available to all. As the cost of installation falls in the future, it’s likely many more homes will look towards the sun for their power needs, and, before long, energy will be generated on the rooftops of millions of residences and businesses across the world, easing the demand on coal and nuclear fuel. The shift to solar energy production is about to take a giant leap forward. Are you ready?

Send your home questions to healthyhome@newlifejournal.com.

Michele Skeele is the office manager for Advanced Thermal Solutions, Inc., a solar company owned by her husband, Skip, and brother-in-law, Tomas Koenig. She continues to learn the solar business by keeping her eyes and ears open and reading articles that Skip clips for her. ATS, Inc. can be reached at 828-693-3334 or by visiting their showroom at 1630-C Spartanburg Highway in Hendersonville, NC.

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