DYER -- Investing in renewable energy requires a significant outlay of cash, whether for solar heating of hot water or to generate electricity.

Before making the decision to invest, there are a number of actions that should be done first; then one can decide on the optimum renewable investment.

The basic sequence of actions can be easily remembered as the C-I-R principle: Conserve then Insulate then Renew.

Conservation is as simple as turning off lights when leaving a room but also involves investments such as replacing all incandescent light bulbs with compact florescent lights. One must stop wasting or misusing energy before one starts to generate.

Insulation is the natural follow-on to conservation. One should seal leaks around windows and doors, then put in double-pane windows. One should add insulation to the hot water pipes and around the hot water heater before employing solar hot water heating.

Conservation and insulation methods have been identified in the Valley Electric Association monthly magazine Ruralite and are available at the VEA office, so there is no need to go into additional detail here.

The next task is to renew. The first investment in renewable energy should always be solar hot water heating. Not only is it the least expensive renewable option, it is also the most effective and efficient use of solar radiation.

A number of solar hot water heating options are available. The optimum option will vary with the circumstances of the user. The Valley Electric Association's Conservation and Renewable Energy Ambassador Committee is a good source for information and suggestions.

After installing solar hot water heating, the next step is to generate electricity. In most of the VEA's territory, photovoltaic modules are the prime solution. Although wind generators can be used in some locations, the output has less predictability and most locations have less wind energy than one might expect.

The ideal photovoltaic (PV) module installation consists of a number of PV modules wired to an inverter that is connected to the grid. The PV modules are mounted on racks.

If sufficient space and solar exposure is available, these should be mounted on poles that have single or dual-axis tracking of the sun to optimize annual output.

Otherwise, the racks can be mounted on a roof, which while lowering output due to increased temperature and lack of adjustability, is often the only option available in urban settings.

Unless one requires uninterrupted power availability for medical equipment, battery back-up systems are a poor investment. Not only are they very expensive and require replacing on a periodic basis, one must also add a number of other expenses, including charge controllers, specialty combiner boxes, larger wire sizes and extra metering.

If one is far from a grid connection, then one needs batteries; however, if a grid connection is available going "off-grid" is a poor economic decision.

The grid is essentially a large battery, whose service fee for use is trivial compared to the cost of batteries and battery maintenance.

When connecting to the grid, there are a number of safety requirements that must be met in order to protect our linemen. These are very reasonable and easily met with standard inverters available from a variety of suppliers.

With or without a battery back-up for medical equipment, one can still connect to the grid through standard inverters and meters and receive compensation from VEA for excess production.

A residential grid-tied renewable energy system should always be sized so that the annual production is slightly less than annual usage, as purchasing the extra demand from VEA is much less expensive than installing excess capacity.

The VEA Conservation and Renewable Energy Ambassador Committee may be reached at 775-727-5312.