It is really interesting to see all the neat examples of people who have taken things in their own hands and built solar panels for their homes. I know for a fact that there is an enormous interest in residential solar energy in the U.S., in spite of the poor understanding of renewable energy sources shown by the previous occupants of the White House.
Luckily, we now have a man of very different stature in that position — Mr. Obama. I personally have great hope in the new administration under his leadership, that they will at long last turn the country around and introduce some sanity in how the present serious challenges are dealt with.
Let there be solar panels on all the homes in America! And sprinkle some home wind generators in there also, in suitable windy places. If this really happened, the dependency on fossil fuels would be reduced to a small fraction of what it is today.
And another thing: people would save money! Once installed, photovoltaic panels harvest FREE energy from the Sun. That is the real beauty of it.
Sure, the real hard-core enthusiasts are not motivated so much by saving dollars as by the desire for independence. They may spend money on heavy-duty batteries so as to live completely off-grid, and don’t mind the extra expense.
I think this is commendable, but most ordinary folks are concerned with the bottom line: how much money can I save by going solar?
This varies of course, but if you do some assembly work yourself you can probably make substantial savings. (Reminds me of the old saying: “A penny saved is a penny earned!”)
