Affordable Solar Power, Breakthrough Solar Systems

September 7th, 2010 by Zachary Shahan

The more affordable solar power becomes, the more people are going to use it. This is simple. Poll after poll has shown that people like solar energy and think we need to use it more, but many people are turned off by high, initial capital costs (even if they’ll get their money back on those in a few years). An innovative solar start-up in Seattle, Washington, Clarian Power, seems to have come up with a good, breakthrough solution to help solve this issue.

Rather than $20,000-30,000 solar systems, Clarian offers “plug-in” solar energy for as low as $600-800 per panel. When you take into account the tax rebates you can get for installing solar power, this price can come down considerably more.

Clarian solar power systems are so cheap partly because the systems can be plugged directly into power outlets. Its plug-in power modules allow homeowners to plug solar (or wind) power into an existing outlet “without the expense and hassle of larger turn-key systems,” Clarian says. “Unlike existing micro-inverters which require a dedicated circuit and electric panel, our patent-pending SmartBox™ technology provides built-in circuit protection and converts your existing household wiring into a flexible plug-n-play power bus.”

Also, rather than buying a full roof installation, people can buy whatever number of panels they need or can afford. So, if you are very energy efficient, are planning to slowly make your house more energy efficient, or just want to inch your way into the world of home solar energy, you can start with a smaller number of solar panels.

Clarian CEO Chad Maglaque says that these plug-in solar panels can easily pay for themselves in 4-5 years. And you don’t have to use your life savings or take out another big loan to start on the solar trend.

via CalFinder

Photo Credit: Clarian

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Tags: Clarian, Energy, plug-in solar energy

About the Author

Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.

David M

If these or any other panels will pay for themselves over such a short period, I’m surprised that the manufacturers haven’t teamed with a bank to finance the sale / purchase transaction. Notwithstanding the interest cost, which I suspect is being ignored in their figures, a loan could be repaid within 5 years by the utility generated energy costs saved.

I’m all for solar or any other clean energy but if the payback numbers are correct, the panels should be racing for the exit doors. Either someone is missing an opportunity or something is wrong with the numbers.
- Pete
  
  I agree with you, Dave. It seems to me that photovoltaic panels have been around for long enough that if they were going to take off, they would have done.
  
  The truth is, solar panels are inefficient, expesive, ugly and unreliable solutions to a problem that we can solve with other, more practical, more reliable and cheaper alternatives.
  
  In the global energy future, I can only see solar playing a very small part, perhaps a slightly larger one in areas of great exposure to sunshine. It is almost certainly not going to be a direct major energy source for us in the future.
http://www.calsolareng.com California Solar Engineering

Cost is currently the only reason NOT to go solar- the cheaper they become and the better incentives follow-through the more we will all win.
Jacob

But how much power do they generate?
- Brandon Kountz
  
  Just checked the site its 200 W per panel