SPRINGFIELD -- Sunshine has a funny way -- even on a cold day -- of making life better and brighter. But can it really be harnessed in a way here in the Ozarks that's cost effective?

"The sun's the source of all energy," said Nathan Jones of Powersource Solar. "Our sun hours are actually better than a lot of places really going great guns with solar."

The company recently put in two 2,000-watt photovoltaic panels at Ryan O'Reilly's new house south of Ozark to pull in the power of our big ball of fire in the sky.

"There's more than enough sunlight to carry any kind of house," said O'Reilly.

O'Reilly built the home with "green" in mind. It has solar panels outside, geothermal heating and cooling inside and dual pane windows. They all work together to be extremely energy efficient.

How energy efficient is his nearly 3,000-square-foot house?

"Uh, I think my utility bill last month was 650. That's six dollars and 50 cents," he said.

I bet that got your attention. I'm sure this will too. Two solar panels cost him about $40,000 to install. That's no small chunk of change but it's typical. It's estimated an average house will cost between $20,000 and $50,000 to supply a portion of its electricity thru solar panels.

O'Reilly knows not everyone can foot such a a bill for solar panels.

"You can always make your home ready for those and add them later but the first step is having well insulated, efficient home to start with," he said.

Power companies in Missouri are required by law to work with customers who create their own power; offering what's called net metering. It allows your meter to run backward when you create more power than you're using. So far, there hasn't been much interest.

City Utilities of Springfield, for example, has 110,000 customers and only has two people applying for its net metering program. There seems to be one big reason.

"I think more people will take advantage of it when the cost of solar voltaic comes down in the future," said Cara Shaefer, City Utilities' director of Energy Management and Conservation. "But right now, it isn't that cost effective for people to do even with net metering, unfortunately."

So if you're thinking green -- and have the green to do it -- solar power can be a real option. But you'll have to consider it an investment.

"You're not going to do without hot water, not do without electricity, and you'll pay the price for it and, if you're paying a third party provider, you're just renting a commodity you'll never own, for the rest of your life," Jones said. "Here you have a sense of ownership and at some point, it's free."

Just when that point is is a subject not agreed upon by the solar company and the power company. In fact, there's a sizable discrepancy.

According to Powersource Solar, it will take you 15 years to pay back your investment in solar panels.

According to CU, which has solar panels and has been monitoring their output since 2003, it would take you more than 100 years to pay back the same investment.

The best thing you can do when building a house is make it energy efficient from the start. Then, if you add solar power, it will make a difference for you. If you were to add solar panels to an energy inefficient house, you'd basically be throwing money away.

There are some more cost effective ways to take advantage of the sun's power, including solar water heating, which is considerably less expensive than the solar panels Ryan O'Reilly has.

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For more information, here's a report in a Quick Time video, from Stacy Johnson, who does the Money Talks reports seen on KY3 News.

Here's the script from that video:

It would be great to get all your home’s power from the sun. But that’s
an expensive proposition… up to $40,000. If you’re short on cash, though,
there are cheaper ways to go solar.

“Your hot water bill is about 30% of your electric bill, so, if you go to
a solar domestic hot water system, it’ll cost you less than
$5,000 and it’ll give you free hot water forever.”

-Paul Farren, The
Energy Store

That’s one idea, another is tubular skylights: basically
light tunnels that take sunlight from your roof to a dark area of your house.
Average cost? $150 to $600

Keeping your attic cool can reduce your A/C costs, and a solar-powered
attic fan can do it. Average cost? $300-$700 each.

Give your cell-phone, laptop or other small electronics a charge with a solar
charger. Especially handy for outdoors people. Cost? Anywhere from $20
to $200.

Last and least expensive: Solar outdoor lights. They’re
not only cheap (as little as $10 a piece) but they also allow
you to add outdoor lighting without digging up your yard for wiring.

Bottom line? One day solar may be affordable for all your electricity needs.
But there’s no reason you can’t use the sun right now to save a little money
and reduce your carbon footprint.