From an environmental standpoint, is it better to convert to Natural Gas from #2 Oil or Install Solar Panels?

Question

I can only afford to do one at this point in time at my house. Financially, it is a wash (The outlay for Solar Photovoltaic is much higher but is offset by savings on my electric bill and substantial New York State subsidies & tax credits. I assume switching from oil to gas for heating is a financial wash after the up-front conversion costs). Here are the relevant facts for my house: we burn, despite all our conservation efforts, about 1600 gallons of #2 heating oil a heating season. I can fit a 4.590kW Solar Array on my roof that is expected to net 5116(kWh) a year. I already bought a Prius so don't suggest that as a better environmental solution. Any help with this decision would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Solar

Answer 2

Depends on your location!

The major advantage of solar is that because sunshine is free, they have no operating cost. Unless you happen to be in the cold four month winter season between late September and March, the solution is gas!

The advantages of gas are low initial cost installed including a propane storage tank, for a typical residential home the ability to maintain a desired temperature during almost any weather conditions, and very fast recovery (the period of time needed to bring the whole house up to temperature.) The principal drawback is operating cost. For a typical heating season propane costs to maintain a 15X30 (USA). While many home owners now consider gas prohibitively expensive, you may want to consider it as a winter supplement to another, more cost effective form of heating if you need to be indoors for ie medical reasons.

Another plus for environmentally concerned home owners is that solar energy is renewable and non-polluting. The major disadvantage is that solar does not provide heat on demand. In other words, the solar system can only put into the house the heat which is available from the sun on any given day. You cannot make more solar energy the way you might burn more gas or use more electricity to maintain your house heating system (used in conjunction during the winter- used more than double) from four months to nine or ten months every year in cold countries and areas.

Answer 3

I would be cautious when evaluating the amount of power your panels will generate. The net amount may be correct on average, but will unfortunately also be predominantly available when you need it least and woefully missing when you most want it. Most of your best power-producing days will be during the summer, so that won't cut your heating oil consumption at all. Snowfall will have to be kept off the panels and cold, cloudy days are going to be very low productivity. Nighttime is when you need it the most, and that's when you get nothing at all! (The rate of heat loss in your home is determined by the difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures).

Batteries for storing the electricity are still very toxic and environmentally damaging to produce while also being expensive and of limited lifetime. I believe we are likely to see significant improvements over the next few years, but for now battery technology is pretty poor.

I'm afraid that solar will only have a minimal impact on your need for other heat sources. However, natural gas is not that much friendlier environmentally than oil (yes, it burns cleaner, but you are still emitting loads of CO2). NG is, however, better from a social point of view since it helps move us away from the awful politics of oil.

You could also consider using wood pellets as a eco-friendly heat source:

http://www.pelletheat.com/index.php

At least that makes a closed loop in terms of CO2: trees store the carbon, you burn them and emit CO2, the new trees build themselves out of that CO2, you burn them.... (cycle continues). With fossil fuels we are taking the carbon from the ground and pumping into the atmosphere with no good way to close the loop. NG, oil and coal all suffer from this problem.

Google "pellet heat" for lots of helpful sites if you want more information on wood pellet stoves.

Answer 4

Environmentally speaking the solar panels are the best choice. It will cut down on exhaust emissions from the consumption of a fuel. The sun is a renewable source and is very economical to capture. My vote would be for the solar panels, but you have to do what is best for your situation.

Answer 5

If the solar panels will give you enough power, i would go that way.

that way you won't be at the mercy of fluctuating oil or natural gas prices.

Answer 6

another simple option that you could consider is to switch to bioheat (conventional home heating oil containing biodiesel) in the interim while considering your above options.
http://www.biodiesel.org/markets/hom/
http://www.biodiesel.org/markets/hom/faqs.asp

You could also consider converting your current furnace to run on an alternative fuel (SVO, biodiesel, or used motor oil).
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/altfuelfurnace/
http://www.altfuelfurnace.com/forum/