Image courtesy of Australian Natural Energy.HALIFAX, Nova Scotia- Green Power Labs Inc., a solar energy assessment and consulting company, has launched a new online interactive education tool designed to allow user to enter information about their property and determine if solar energy for generating electricity and heating hot water is worth the investment.
The tool, SolarRating Online, will be free to visitors today in honor of Earth Day. “The site is designed to be a first step in helping people understand how solar might be used at their home or business. Once they complete this step and feel more comfortable with their level of knowledge, we certainly would encourage them to look for a reputable solar installer in their area to see what specific options best fit their property,” said Marlene Moore, vice president of public relations at Green Power Labs.
Among the variables that the tool looks at are the:
- Geographic location of a property from a global perspective.
- Orientation of the roof or wall segment to be used.
- Slope of the angle of the surface where the solar panels will be placed.
- Shading surrounding the property.
The geographic location of a property is a factor in determining the amount of solar energy that can be generated because the closer a location is to the equator, the higher level of solar radiation, according to the company, which adds that, moderate latitudes still have ample solar energy.
Ms. Moore illustrated this point, saying, “One of the projects that we just finished here in the city is a community solar energy analysis of Dalhousie University, which has 95 buildings. We built a solar map and did an analysis of all of their buildings; understanding where they could put solar technology on their buildings; what kind of energy they could generate; what kind of savings, etc. It was a community analysis of solar energy. Beside a live analysis, one of the sites that we did oversees was based on architectural drawings.”
Beyond geographic location, the orientation of the solar panels is also an important factor because the more southern the placement, the more solar-friendly, according to the company.
The best advice with regard to the slope of the panels, according to Ms. Moore, is “generally if you have a flat roof, it’s generally best to have the panels, give or take, at the same angle as the latitude of your house. That is a very general rule of thumb.”
In addition, regarding of the location of the property, its surrounding shading will also have an affect as to the amount of solar energy that can be generated, according to Ms. Moore.
She illustrates, in this regard, that “if a property has a lot of big trees around it, a person could add more panels, but at some point, the return on investment in terms of what is paid for the panels vs. the energy that will actually be generate might make the system economically unfeasible. The great thing about our site is that it helps people make informed decisions about what is right for them.”