SUR Financial Benefit Product Comparison Chart
The products below are sorted by Return on Investment, from highest to lowest. Much of what appears below is fact, and much is opinion. Each installer/integrator has their own preferences and way of doing business. We make every effort to be open-minded and to gather quality information based on the performance of installed products whenever possible. We reserve the right to make mistakes. We know if we are too cautious and don't state opinions many opportunities to learn will be lost. Please enjoy your exploration of renewable energy!| Technology Type | Carried by SUR Energy | ROI Rating | ROI / Payback / Financial Benefit Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind Electric Systems: Utility Scale | NO | 1 | TOP INVESTMENT ON PAGE (assumes good winds) |
| Solar Electric Photovoltaic "PV" Grid-tied without batteries, >10kW (about 900 to 1800 square feet) | X | 2 (with incentives) |
EXCELLENT with incentives, Up to ~$100,000 payback improves with size then tapers off |
| Solar Electric Photovoltaic "PV" Grid-tied without batteries, <10kW (about 900 to 1800 square feet, typical residential 2-3kW) | X | 2 (with incentives) |
EXCELLENT with incentives, MEDIUM to POOR without Learn More |
| Solar Hot Water with good load matching | X | 3; 1 for most residential situations, especially non-natural gas water heaters | Best available for most residential situations (gov't incentives being equal), especially non-nat gas water heaters |
| Wind Electric Grid-tied without batteries - class 3 or better winds, >30' diameter | X | 4 | EXCELLENT |
| Wind Electric Grid-tied without batteries - class 3 or better winds, <30' diameter | X | 5 | All of the benefits of wind power increase with FAST winds Learn More |
| Solar Electric "Off Grid" (no utility connection) with batteries | X | 5 (if savings on utility interconnect is significant enough) |
If savings on utlity interconnect is significant enough, payback improves. Learn More |
| Wind Electric "Off Grid" with batteries | X | 5 (if savings on utility interconnect is significant enough) |
Saving thousands on utlity interconnect helps payback |
| Solar Hot Water with shade | If not TOO much | 6 | Could be OK if shade is minimal. Not as devistating as for PV. |
| Wind Electric Grid-tied without batteries - class 2 winds, >30' diameter | X | 6 | MEDIOCRE |
| Wind Electric Grid-tied without batteries - class 2 winds, <30' diameter | X | 7 | MEDIUM to POOR Learn More |
| Wind Electric Grid-tied with batteries | X | 8 | Backup power adds expense Learn More |
| Solar Hot Water with small loads (not much hot water is used) | Standard drainback | 8 | Investing in capacity without load |
| Solar Electric Photovoltaic "PV" Grid-tied with batteries | X | 9 | Payback is not as good as most other choices |
| Solar Hot Water with heat for house | X | 9 | Payback for intial investment not as good as solar hot water |
| Solar Electric with shade trees | X | 10 | Shade greatly reduces PV performance. We measure shade on site visits. Learn More |
| Vertical axis wind turbines or turbines with high solidity | NEVER WILL (high solidity) |
10+ (for high solidity) |
Negative benefit for high solidity, maybe for low solidity vertical Learn More |
| Solar Hot Air to heat house | Not currently | Not rated | POOR payback unless VERY inexpensive |
| Solar Hot Air for heat and hot water | Not currently | Not rated | We prefer standard solar hot water for this. Learn More |
