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However, the installations have dropped in price in recent years and the grants and subsidies have increased. The Spanish Energy Saving and Diversification Institute (IDAE) stresses the high efficiency of solar installations, that are also clean and silent, not to mention their longevity: 20-30 years. Adelaida González explains the steps to follow for all those looking to harness this inexhaustible energy.

If you wish to install solar panels in your home and use this solar energy to obtain hot water and heating you should first enquire at the IDAE where you will be provided with a list of solar panel installation centres in the autonomous community in which you live.

The professional you choose will advise as to the most appropriate system for your needs:
- Photovoltaic solar energy: traditionally this was used in isolated areas (such as mountain refuges, for example) and consists of a generator and accumulator, which stored the electric energy collected by the solar panels. Thanks to recent changes in the regulations, these can now be installed in homes connected to the electric grid.
If you are connected to the grid via the door to your home, all the electric energy obtained is sold directly to the electric company, which is required to buy it at a good price: up to 0.41 euros/kwh. Hence, you sell it for a good price and buy it back at a much lower price: 0.09 euros per kwh consumed, the IDAE spokesman explains.

- Thermal solar energy: More expensive than the photovoltaic. Uses a system based in solar collectors that capture the suns rays and warm up pipes leading to a deposit in which hot water is stored for use.
This system, which is used to heat up water above all, can fail on cloudy days or days of little sun. In the north of Spain it is thus insufficient, the IDAE spokesman adds.

Costs and available grants
The initial investment costs of a solar installation remain high, even though prices have dropped some 20% in recent years. In an average home that consumes some 10 kilowatts/day of electric energy, the installation could cost you some 20.000 euros, a figure that can be recouped and becomes profitable after 10 years.

The authorized installer you choose will take care of all the steps required to apply for grants: there helps of various kinds: non-refundable, some 40%-50% of the total; central government grants, amounting to around 20% of the total as well as an interest bonus; there are also numerous loans available at very low interest, even zero interest, says the IDEA expert.

According to IDAE data from 2001, there are only 500,000 square metres of thermal solar installations in Spain. However, according to the same source, the global solar radiation over horizontal surface ratio in Spain is around 3.2 kw/h/m2/day in the northernmost parts of the country, reaching up to 5.3 kw/h/m2/day on the island of Tenerife.

Did you know...?
-The sun radiates over 4,000 times more energy on to the surface of the planet every year than is currently consumed, which shows the extent to which this energy source is underestimated and underused.
-Germany has very few days of sun a year, yet it is the European country with most solar installations totalling around 62% of the installed solar capacity on the continent.