The high share of the housing sector can be attributed to the impact of the tax deduction at a rate of 30%. For instance, when purchasing and installing solar panels worth $18,000, their owner can receive an income tax deduction of $4,500. This amount may include costs for the installation of generators and the purchase of energy storage devices with a capacity of 3 kilowatt-hours (kWh) or more. The development of the microgeneration sector is also aided by the declining cost of solar installations. The EIA estimates that the cost of bringing photovoltaic panels into operation in the United States fell by more than half between 2013 and 2021, from $1,895 per kilowatt (kW) of capacity to $1,428 per kW (the data are provided in current prices, unadjusted for inflation; in real terms, capital expenses dropped even lower).
Since they are easy to use in everyday life, solar panels remain the leader among renewable energy sources (RES) in terms of the pace of their implementation in the housing sector. However, technical innovations could also make the use of small wind and hydro generators more affordable. For instance, Aeromine Technologies designed a wind turbine suitable for mounting on the roof of a private house. The device looks like a 3-meter-tall box whose walls are formed by two air spoilers resembling a similar part of a racing car, but installed in a vertical position. Between the two walls there is a pipe, at the bottom of which there is a propeller with a diameter of 91 cm. The air spoilers, which face each other at an angle of approximately 45 degrees, form a low-pressure zone that is supposed to trap air and activate the wind generator. The unit has a capacity of 5 kW, which is commensurate with the aggregate capacity of 21 standard solar panels mounted on a roof.
Another example is a small hydropower plant produced by Turbulent, which can generate electricity on a river or a water channel with a height difference of one to five metres. The unit operates by diverting water into a bypass channel, through which it enters a turbine and then returns to the mainstream. The main element of the turbine is a mechanical impeller, which rotates with the flow, creating a low-pressure vortex. The hydropower plant can generate 120,000 kWh to 560,000 kWh of electricity per year, which is enough to provide 50 to 500 private households with power.
