Nov 19 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Tara Bozick Victoria Advocate, Texas

While a full solar technology system for the home may be too expensive, Victorians can choose smaller green initiatives, like using the sun to heat water.

A complete photovoltaic electrical system would cost the average homeowner between $20,000 and $30,000, said Neil McQueen, owner of Third Coast Solar in Corpus Christi, which also serves the Coastal Bend area.

While McQueen believes the price would eventually go down, he said that, right now, the cost is hard for most people to swallow.

Last month, 20 colleges and universities entered solar-powered homes in the U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored Solar Decathlon at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The houses they designed cost around $800,000 for less than 1,000 square feet, said Chip Dence, decathlon judge and life director with the National Association of Home Builders.

Dence, 59, a partner at East End Builders in Victoria, said the student teams designed homes with the latest innovations in green technology.

In South Texas, he said, what's important is passive cooling, like window positioning and using high-performance glass in the hot climate to offset air-conditioning costs.

Using solar electricity for air conditioning isn't yet cost-effective here, he said.

"It takes a lot of energy to use air conditioning," Dence said. "Homeowners have to weigh the payback times."

The most viable option for Victoria homeowners to go green would be solar water heating, Dence said.

Also called solar thermal, using the sun to heat water is the best, most cost-effective way to get into renewable energy, McQueen said. Systems can cost between $2,500 and $4,000, depending on how sophisticated they are.

Ranchers and homeowners in remote locations may benefit more from solar energy by using it to power gates, electric fences or water pumps instead of running electric lines that would cost thousands of dollars, Dence said.

Chandler Drilling in Yoakum offers solar-power water pumping for wells, owner Mike Chandler said. Most of his customers use it to pump water out in the middle of a field for livestock.

A 110-watt solar panel would cost $5,000 and pump 625 gallons per day, he said. Adding more panels would increase the energy and the pumping rate.

"Over next couple of years, we'll see a lot more competition in solar pumping and the price should go down," Chandler said.

"It all starts somewhere," Dence said.

Tara Bozick is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6504 or tbozick@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com