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How much will it cost me? When do I see a benefit in my wallet? These questions are fundamental in any business or feasibility study and is worth a page of its own. The ability to sell a product or a new system has to have the fundamental ability to sell itself. There are very few people who can afford to put ROI as a non-issue and to look at the system for its moral purpose-only. For most of us, this is a key determinate in what we can do to make the system come to fruition.
We will look at the most popular and widely accepted sustainable energy systems and try to encompass most people's anticipated experiences. Technology, energy costs, material availability, competition, and other unknown factors changes regularly so like most facts and figures we present in this site should be taken as a guide, and not a specific quote. Like with anything localized, a quote from a local professional needs to be given for the best accuracy.
We only look at energy ROI strictly because it's a major source of long-term impact which is the easiest to measure (based on anticipated energy costs). There are other areas of ROI which do exist (local business involvement, quality material selection, etc), but quantitatively is more difficult to measure and is a harder sell to prospective buyers.
With any efficient system discussed, the most important aspect of sustainable design is to put a system in place that serves its purpose with as little "over-sizing" as possible. Why pay for something when it will not be used. So to make any new energy system the best "bang for the buck," one must analyze the current energy requirements and find out what can be done to reduce it. Yes, hopefully you can reduce your current consumption before you need to venture here. Refer to other sections such as our Green Steps and Green Product Certification and Labeling Quick Reference for more information on some ideas where you can "reduce" cheaper and more efficiently than getting an oversized system.So, once you've exercised all your other options and can move to the next step, this guide will help you to see how fast it will return its cost to you.
We'll discuss: