Our home solar panel industry is growing steadily thanks to increased publicity, better advertising, a more positive reputation and improving technologies. That said, we are still years behind Europe when it comes to getting solar energy into the residential market.

I find that strange, especially considering our manufacturing base and the amount of sun at least half the country gets on a daily basis. We lag way behind Spain and Germany whose solar energy strategy has been helped considerably by their government enforcing feed-in-tariffs.

We have those in many states now and we are catching up, but considering that we pretty much invented the technology, we are still far behind. Getting home solar panels out there should be a priority for our own government. They are cheaper than new power stations, help our own panel manufacturers, and will help meet emissions targets.

Notice I said use our own manufacturers? Despite our somewhat unfair and ineffective protectionist legislation, Chinese manufacturers are flooding the market with much cheaper solar panels than we can make here. In fact, China is now the largest manufactures of home solar panels in the world.

President Obama wanted to make us the world’s leading exporter of renewable energy, but it’s already too late. China is already way ahead, and, thanks to government subsidies, the Chinese manufacturers can sell the home solar panels for less than it costs to make them.

Some Chinese companies are even setting up factories here to assemble their panels to circumvent our legislation. I’ll keep my opinions on international trade to myself for now, but I can’t help but be encouraged at the ramping up of home solar panel production.

Sure, we need to encourage domestic manufacturing and buy American wherever we can, but we also need to remain competitive. By making solar power more affordable, the Chinese are still helping our economy.

Home solar panels cost less, so a solar PV system costs less. We spend less on utilities, which we are then able to spend in the economy or pay off debts. So while I encourage everyone to buy American wherever they can, buying home solar panels from elsewhere still has some benefits.

So, back to the subject of falling behind, I found a news article from the UK yesterday that cemented the idea that we are lagging. A British council in the city of Birmingham approved a plan for fit home solar panels to 10,000 homes in its district free of charge.

The scheme aims to reduce the carbon emissions of the city and promote renewable energy to the rest of the country. This is all going to cost them $160 million (£100 million). In the middle of a recession, that’s quite a commitment to green energy.
While the world surges forward with solar technology, we’re ambling along at our own speed. It isn’t going to be long before we are too far behind to catch up.

It’s not often our blog inbox contains useful stuff. It’s mainly spam emails, like the other millions of website owners around. Most of them are trying to sell me home solar panels, which is odd. But yesterday I received an email from a homeowner who was inspired by this site. I now feel justifiably proud of myself, and have their permission to reprint the email here.

If I needed vindication, or a feeling of smug satisfaction I would feel justified after receiving this email. So thanks John Ross of Bloomington. You’re now on my Christmas card list. For the rest of you, if you were doubting the real world application of home solar panels, think again.

As the move towards green or renewable energy gathers pace, families are often left wondering if it’s really worth the money. When it comes to higher tier investments like home solar panels, that is a legitimate concern.

The main thing we hear at Ftisolar, is that while our energy prices seem to be steadily increasing, they are still a long way off needing desperation measures, and still far cheaper than generating your own.

While there is merit to that argument, it’s only part of a much wider issue. Firstly, energy wastage is not good, however you get your power. Secondly, efficiency can only ever be a good thing. Thirdly, there is much you can do before spending money on home solar panels to save money.

The average American home isn’t very energy efficient. They aren’t well insulated, the appliances aren’t efficient, heat and AC is wasted through old or inefficient windows, and we don’t live in an efficient manner. All these things can be addressed long before you need to spend money on solar power.

Having a home insulated can save a lot of your heating and/or cooling costs. Up to 80 percent of the energy we consume is used in space heating or cooling. Opening a window, putting on warmer clothes, turning the heating down a degree, or being more efficient in the way we live can save hundreds of dollars a year in energy bills.

Replacing appliances with efficient ones can add to that electricity saving. As they wear out, spend a few extra dollars on something with a high efficiency rating and it will begin paying for itself right away.

Using energy saving light bulbs around the home not only last longer than traditional ones, but also use far less electricity. Instead of leaving TVs and other appliances on standby, switching them off saves even more.

So you see, there is much that can be done before considering home solar panels. Each and every one of these energy saving tricks will begin paying for themselves immediately. If you replace appliances when you would have to anyway, none of them cost very much.

It’s only when all these methods have been exhausted that it’s really worth considering generating your own electricity. As you will already have reduced the energy consumption of your home, it means your solar power system will also be able to benefit from that.

Considering buying home solar panels is something that should be viewed long-term. They will pay for themselves, but not as quickly as other energy saving measures. For the average domestic solar system, you’re looking at 10 to 15 years for them to pay for themselves.

In that time though, you will be contributing to a greener world, contributing less pollution, and stepping outside energy security concerns. You will have fewer black, or brown-outs and will have your very own source of renewable, permanent energy.

Those reasons alone are enough to make home solar panels well worth the investment.