[Cicero]

I'd be delighted to install solar power if it were affordable. Our power company's rates are among the highest in the country. But it still isn't practical.

[dogbyte12]

A man I know here in Southern California actually does run everything on solar, and quite well. It will take a while to pay off, he did it more as a vanity project. He actually does end up selling power back to the energy company more power than he uses, but the cost will take a good 15 years to even out.

If you live in a sunny environment and have the money, and are young, it isn't a bad investment in that regard. Getting checks from the power company every month that are actually profit, will come in hand nicely for retirement. I wouldn't recommend it now though, for anybody over 45 or 50 with the current state of technology.

[templar]

But it still isn't practical.

The practicality depends more on the storage system than on the collection system. although both are important. Harnesing the suns energy in an electric battery system and hot water is dependant on fairly high tech collection as well as expensive storage components, which is why it is so expensive.

Fortunately, there is existing technology that can collect and store solar energy quite affordably and provide both heat and electricity at a price almost anyone can afford to install in their home. This can also be used both on grid and off grid, depending on the practicality of transmitting from a central location (population density). There just doesn't seem to be much commercial incentive to use these systems, which is why most of the ones in use are, basically, home engineered by experimenters and tinkerers.