In general, climate has a direct influence on sunlight intensity. Different conditions (as listed below) may restrict or permit the use of solar panels on your property:

1. Sunlight.

The southwest part of the U.S. gets the most sun while the northern states (and Canada) gets the least.

Obviously if your area doesn’t have enough sunshine, it won’t be cost-effective to install solar panels. But how much is enough?

Studies show that the amount of sunlight we experience across the United States is more or less within 20% of the sunshine level in Florida. This makes it possible for most households to have solar panels on their roofs.

Occassionally, there may be shade issues at specific locations, but this can be solved in one way or another.

Generally, the more sun your home experience, the better (and faster) return you’ll have on your investment. You can get data about the sunshine your area experiences from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). They recorded sunlight data on 239 locations all across the United States:

http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/pubs/redbook/

2. Cloud

If you are living in a cloudy region, it is still possible to use solar panels. This is because solar energy is present although it’s diffused. Surprisingly, there is an advantage to this. The orientation of your solar panels becomes less important since light is coming from different directions.

3. Snowfall

Snow covers your PV panels and weighs them down. Some parts of your property may accumulate more snow than others. This may be because some spots are warmer than others. You will want to locate your solar panels where there is least snow accumulation.

4. Fog

Pollutants, fog and smog in the air affect sunlight intensity. If this is an obvious concern, you (or your contractor) should measure the sunlight intensity at your area to determine if you can get enough solar energy on a long-term basis.

5. Temperature

PV panels are affected by temperature. The lower the temperature, the better its performance. You can generally get more power output from a cold, cloudy day than a hot sunny day.

6. Air Density

Air density affects the amount of sunshine you receive. However its effect is marginal compared to the other factors. If you live on the mountains where air is thinner, you receive more sunshine. The air temperature may also be lower. Thus your PV panels will likely be more effective than when it’s installed at sea level.

7. Wind

Strong winds can damage your solar panel installation by tearing it from its mounts. But this, by itself, should not deter you from using solar panels.

To handle strong wind, you can either (i) use stronger mounts for your solar panels, (ii) use vegetation to block the wind, or (iii) use wind turbines to dissipate its force and to generate more electricity.

Some wind is actually good for solar panels. It helps to cool them down by bringing heat away. This helps to enhance its efficiency.

Continue Reading:

1. 7 Different Ways of Using Solar Energy At Home and In Your Office
2. Survey Your Household Energy Usage Before Installing Solar Panels
3. Before You Install Solar Panels, Plug All Your Air Leakages

Sealing Off A Crack

Before you install solar panels, you need to perform an energy audit.

This serves a two-fold purpose – to determine the size of your solar power generator and to identify sources of energy wastage that can be avoided.

As you are doing your household energy audit, it is useful to check for air leaks. They account for as much as 5 to 30 percent of your energy wastage (when it comes to heating).

If your windows and doors are closed and you feel an air draft, you have a good chance of cutting down wastage simply by plugging the leaks.

The best time to test for air leaks is when it’s cold outside and warm inside. You can feel cold air quite easily this way.

A pressure test can quickly surface any leakages around your house. All you have to do is close your doors and windows, turn off all heaters and turn on your exhaust fans to full blast.

In this way, the pressure inside your house is slightly lower than the outside. Thus more air will flow through those leakages to equalize the difference in pressure.

Go around the house and look for leaks. Pay more attention to windows, doors, electrical outlets, switches, hatches and joints. Once you find a leak, mark them out immediately.

Before you seal off those leaks, you have to turn off the exhaust fans.

You can use transparent silicon caulk to plug all your air leakages. The best way to handle this is to use a caulking gun that has a pressure relief gasket. This allows good control of silicon flow as you plug those leaks.

Another way to plug air leaks is to use an aerosol can of expandable insulation. This is difficult to use, initially, as it is hard to control its flow. But it works very well. So if it’s your first time using this, get some practice on used magazines.

There may be several places that leak air. Windows and doors are easy to handle. But if you have to climb up to your roof, remember to take precaution so you won’t risk falling.

After you’re done plugging up the leaks, repeat the pressure test. Then mark out those areas you have to work on again and get cracking.

You can also check for leaks outdoor. Most often, they appear in cracks, around faucets, pipes, electrical wiring and electrical outlets. Unfortunately there is no way you can feel for air leaks outside your house.

The only way to handle this is to do a visual inspection. If you suspect a leak, give that area a touch of silicon caulk.

After you are done plugging all your air leaks, your heating system can be more efficient. Thus your indoor temperature can be maintained using less energy.

Continue Reading:

1. About
2. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3
3. 7 Different Ways of Using Solar Energy At Home and In Your Office

1. Panel certification. This is a pre-requisite for federal and state rebates in the US. There are specific sets of standards that manufacturers must meet. These are some of the most widely used standards:

· IEC 61215 (for crystalline silicon)
· IEC 61646 (for thin films)
· IEC 61730 (safety, for all module types)
· UL 1703 (safety)
· CE mark (for EU regulations)

2. Flash Report. A flash test measures the power output in response to a short burst of xenon light source. The flash lasts for 1 to 30 milliseconds at a light intensity of 1 watt per Meter Square. The spectrum of the light source closely resembles the solar spectrum. The results in the flash report are then compared to the specifications of the PV module’s datasheet.

3. Series Fuse. Every solar panel has to be protected by a surge-protection device. This is to prevent unintended damage due to high currents leaking from neighboring panels.

Such condition (called backfeeding) occurs frequently whenever one series string of panels experience shading or has a damaged circuit. Series fuses are often located in the combiner box or in the grid-connected inverters.

4. Maximum Power Voltage. This is the voltage (V) when the output power is at its maximum. It is one of the important figures that must be considered when choosing a particular inverter or controller.

5. Maximum Power Current. This is the current (A) when the output power is at its maximum. This figure is usually needed in calculations for PV array disconnect labeling as required by National Electrical Code (NEC) Section 690.53.

Voltage Measurement

6. Open-Circuit Voltage. This is the maximum open-circuit voltage of your PV panel when it is exposed to sunlight. Note that no load should be connected while the measurement is done. Since the output voltage increases with lower ambient temperature, the open-circuit voltage is measured at the historic low temperature. This will determine the highest possible voltage output.

This rating is important for making sure your components (panels, wiring, inverters, charge controllers, electronics, etc.) are designed to take the maximum possible voltage.

7. Short-Circuit Current. This is the maximum current produced by your solar panel when short-circuited. It is important to ensure that fuses and breakers are rated to handle high current surge during such events. Thus this measurement must be done.

More important facts and properties of your solar panel can be found at the following links:

(i) Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 1 of 3)
(ii) Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 2 of 3)

Continue Reading:

1. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3
2. How To Build A Sun Tracking Mechanism to Increase Your Solar Panel Efficiency by 40%
3. Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 1 of 3)

This is the third and final part of the “Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels” series. Have you done some calculations for your future solar power system yet? If you have been doing those mini exercises, you’ll most likely find a suitable solar panel for your home by now.

The next step requires us to find an appropriate-sized battery bank, inverter and charge controller. Let’s look at each of these:

1. The Inverter

The inverter you choose has to be sized according to the demands of the alternating current (AC) side of the circuit. Therefore you will choose a specification according to the loads in your house (with a little buffer in case you increase your loads over time). Pretty straightforward.

2. The Charge Controller

You’ll at least need a basic charge controller to begin with. Until you get fussy about how advanced you want this component to be, more affordable models will do just fine. You’ll need to get a specification that fits the output current (Amps) of your solar panel arrays. If you intend to scale up your solar power generator, you’ll do better with a larger charge controller with room to accommodate more solar panels than with two smaller-sized ones.

3. The Battery Bank

The size of your battery bank depends on how you want to use your solar panels. You can size your battery banks such that it can get you through thick clouds that pass by, or you can size them so you can get through three solid days of solar eclipse and a power outage at the same time. It really depends on you. But take note that over-sizing isn’t always realistic. You have to take into consideration the space they occupy and the how much they’ll cost you.

If your home is grid-tied, provided there aren’t frequent power outages, the size of your battery bank isn’t critical. Just size it to take care of cloudy days will do. You can still maintain your lifestyle by drawing power from the grid.

When you design your battery bank, you’ll have less power loss (through wires) if the voltage is higher. If you are able to design a 48-volt system, you can conserve more power than when you use a 24-volt or 12-volt system.

Continue Reading:

1. DIY Solar Panels — Charge Controller Basics
2. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 1
3. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 2

There are many solar water-heating systems in the market, yet only a few designs are worth considering. We’ll take a look at them here…

1. The integral collector system (ICS). The ICS is a simple construction with no internal pump. It is also the cheapest among the systems mentioned.

This system is connected between the cold water outlet and water heater. It forms a 2-step heating process. Cold water is first heated up by the ICS. If the water is not hot enough, your electrical water heater contributes more heat to get water to its required temperature.

The ICS allows water to retain in the collector and this can cause damage if water freezes. (Thus you must drain its water before freezing occurs on cold days.)

This system can only be used in mild climates when temperature doesn’t drop below freezing point. Even though large collectors have the ability to withstand these conditions, they are not encouraged to. This is because collector damage is expensive. There is no point to take such risks…

2. The drainback system. This is a system to ensure that your collectors and loop piping doesn’t get damaged due to freezing. It drains water from the collector when it is not absorbing heat.

Each time the pump shuts off, water in the collectors and piping drains into an insulated reservoir tank. There is often a sight glass at the drain-back reservoir to indicate if all the water has flowed out from the collectors. If it hasn’t, a slight tilt at the collector will help.

The drainback system uses a heat exchanger to heat up water in the solar tank. Distilled water is commonly used as its heat-transfer medium. This is because it is affordable, safe and prevents possible mineral buildup within the system.

3. Closed-loop antifreeze system. This system is the best at preventing damages due to freezing. However the anti-freeze solution occasionally breaks down and becomes corrosive if the weather gets extremely hot.

Because it works well in almost any climate, this is one of the most popular solar water heaters used today. They happen to be the most expensive too.

Closed-loop antifreeze systems require an expansion tank. It accommodates the expansion of the antifreeze as it heats up during normal use. This prevents high internal pressure from tearing the system apart. When pressure drops, antifreeze flows out from the expansion tank to equalize the pressure.

A small electric pump propels the antifreeze through a heat exchanger, heating water inside the hot water tank. The antifreeze needs to be replaced occasionally through a fill valve when it expires.

There are other types of solar water heating systems in the market. These are not as popular, but can still be found in some homes. Some of them include the Recirculation System, the Thermosiphon System and the Open-Loop Flooded System.

After understanding the type of common solar water heating systems, you in a  position to decide which one is most suitable for you.

To start off, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do you need your solar water heater to work in freezing climate?

Climate is perhaps the most important factor in deciding which system to choose. If you are living in freezing conditions, try out a closed-loop antifreeze system. Although it requires a little maintenance, it beats having to clean up burst pipes and damaged collectors.

If freezing is not a common occurrence where you live, any other system works fine. You just have to remember to drain water from the collectors frequently. If you locate your drain valves in easily accessible places, this shouldn’t be a problem.

2. Are you exposed to high-temperature conditions?

Some systems (like the ICS) may burst if the water inside boils. You can add a pressure-release valve to prevent this from happening, or let the hot water faucet drip into your hot tub whenever the weather gets really hot.

3. How much hot water do you need?

Water heaters are rated in terms of BTUs. This is the same for collectors. If you need more hot water, you’ll have to get bigger systems.

Generally, any solar water heater system can replace most of the heat supplied by electrical heaters.

Of course there will be days when it’s cloudy and you cannot get enough heat from the sun. Yet on most days, a solar water heater can help you cut your power usage significantly.

Continue Reading:

1. What Are Solar Heaters, How They Work And What They Are Used For
2. What You Need to Know about Solar Water Heaters
3. 7 Different Ways of Using Solar Energy At Home and In Your Office

There are obviously costs involved in setting up residential solar panels. Today, we’re going to look at these and balance them up with the financial gains you’ll experience. It’s a busy day, so let’s get right in:

Cost #1: Equipment.

Equipment forms the largest part of the entire solar power setup. These are PV panels, inverters, battery bank, regulators, et cetera. Equipment cost can be spread out over time if you want to expand your solar power generator over time. Perhaps your goal is to be able to build up one more solar panel every weekend. Thus your cost really spreads out over time. It can really be less taxing on your wallet this way.

Cost #2: Installation

If you want to do the installation yourself, you won’t have to worry about this cost. But if you want to get a professional or contractor to do it for you, remember o budget for this as well.

Cost #3: Interest

If you took up a loan to pay for your PV panels and other photovoltaic components, the interest is going to build up and this must be factored into the overall cost as well.

Cost #4: Permits, Fees and Taxes

In some locations, you’ll need to pay for permits and fees when you install solar panels over your roof or on your property. Generally, most states let you install solar panels without imposing taxes on them. But be sure to check with your local authorities so you know if you need to pay for any taxes.

Cost #5: Clearing Refuse

If you need someone to clear out any refuse for you, you may need to pay for their service.

Now these are all costs…how about the benefits, I hear you ask. Well, here are the financial gains you’ll enjoy:

Benefit #1: Lower Energy Bills

The most obvious benefit is the reduced (or eliminated) electricity bills. If you are adding solar panels gradually to your collection of “solar harvesters”, your energy bills will gradually reduce and may finally be eliminated.

Benefit #2: Hedge Against The Rising Cost of Energy

The cost of energy is set to rise as inflation and scarcity forces its price upward over the long term. We all experience this effect — everything seems to get more expensive! Yet when you’re tapping energy from the sun, it doesn’t get more expensive then when you first bought the photovoltaic equipment. Therefore while the rest of the world pays for electricity through their nose, you can quietly enjoy cheap electricity using solar panels.

Benefit #3: Appreciation

The price of your property will probably appreciate because you installed an asset. Depending on the valuation, you may get back what you paid for. This mean you’re really using all the energy for free through the years. If you built your own residential solar panels, you’re definitely going to get back more than you invested in equipment and other photovoltaic components.

Continue Reading:

1. Benefits Of Using Residential Solar Panels
2. Why Are Solar Panels The Best Investment For Your Home?
3. Residential Solar Panels — Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

Solar Panels Installation

Buying (or making) solar panels is an investment you make toward a better future. For every investment you make, you have to find out the risks involved and its potential payback.

This is the same whether you invest in equity, put your money in the bank or use it to buy a solar energy system.

Even if you know (or have an intuition) that investing in solar panels for your home is a great decision, it doesn’t hurt to estimate how this decision can help you financially.

First, let’s look at the big picture: There is an upfront cost for owning PV panels, and this hurts initially (for many of us, at least). Thankfully this is about all you’ll pay for the next 30+ years, as long as your solar panels last.

When you add up the total cost of your utility bills for the next 30+ years, your perspective will change. This is because it will almost always be more expensive. To make things worse, energy rate only goes skywards over time. And the bill you’re paying now will probably double in 30 years time.

Do you remember what the energy rates were 30 years ago?

Next, in order to know how long it takes to recoup your investment, we have to consider the total upfront cost for a commercial solar panel setup.

Here is a list of things you have to invest in:

1. Equipment cost. This includes your PV panels, inverters and rechargeable batteries, if applicable. This cost can be paid in one lump sum, or you can get financing from the bank or the supplier. When a loan is involved, you also have to include interests to the total cost.

2. Installation cost. You can hire a professional installer…or you can do it yourself, if you are handy with these tasks. Installers can charge you an hourly rate or quote you a net price for the installation job.

3. Maintenance cost. You’re lucky…solar panels need very little maintenance. And damages are usually paid for by the warranty.

4. Miscellaneous costs. There are other costs involved. You may have to pay for permits and fees to carry out solar panel installation on your roof. Although rare, there may also be taxes involved as the value of your home appreciates due to solar installation. When your solar panel has reached the end of its lifespan, you may also have to pay people to haul your equipment away.

Fortunately, the costs above are defrayed by subsidies and rebates that you may be qualified for. Your utility company, the state and federal government or even the manufacturer often provide these benefits.

Part 2 of this series talks about how long it takes to recoup your investment in the light of the above costs. The article also illustrates how much savings you can expect by installing solar panels at home.

Read on…

View Part 2 here:

http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com/how-to-determine-the-payback-for-your-solar-panel-investment-part-2-of-3

Continue Reading:

1. Building A DIY Solar Panel – My Personal Experience
2. Why Are Solar Panels The Best Investment For Your Home?
3. Survey Your Household Energy Usage Before Installing Solar Panels

These are some of the most important information you have to know:

1. Solar panels frame. Most commercial solar panels are made using aluminum. This is because aluminum is resistant to rust and is light. However solar panel frames can occasionally be made from stainless steel or plastic.

2. Backside Material. The most common material used for the backside plane includes EVA (ethylene-vinyl-acetate) and PVB (polyvinyl-burial).

3. Solar cells are made from 3 major types of technology — monocrystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous (or thin-flim) solar panels.

4. The efficiency of solar panels depends greatly on the type of PV cells used. Environmental conditions also play an important part. Some of these include temperature, solar irradiance, angle-of-incidence and solar spectral (air mass).

Solar panel efficiency is measured in percentage. It is the ratio of output power to input power from the sunlight, which is the proportion of light energy that gets converted into electricity. The higher the value, the more electricity is generated.

However you must bear in mind that the efficiency of the solar panel is about 1 to 3 percent lower than what’s stated in the datasheet of the solar cell. This is due to several factors like reflection, heat and frame shadowing.

5. Performance factors. Commercial PV panels have to be rated for different performance factors such as maximum rated power, open circuit voltage, short circuit current, maximum power voltage, maximum power current, and temperature coefficients.

These are measured under the industrial Standard Test Conditions (STC). This means the solar panel is subject to a controlled environment where there is solar irradiance of 1,000 W/m² with zero angle of incidence, solar spectrum of 1.5 air mass and 25 degrees celcius cell temperature

6. Fill factor. This is the ratio of the actual maximum power as compared to the theoretical maximum power of the solar panel. It is measured in percentage. Commercial solar panels have a fill factor greater than 70%. The fill factor for Grade B solar panels ranges from 40% to 70%. Higher fill factor implies lesser resistive (series and parallel) losses within the solar cells.

7. Connector type. Solar panels must be fitted with output terminals that are weatherproof. Many manufacturers are also fitting their solar panels with lockable connectors to prevent untrained people from unplugging the panels.

8. Solar Panel Defects. Defects can occur on both new and used solar panels. Thus you have to inspect you solar panels before purchasing.

Some common defects include:

· Scratches on the frame and/or glass
· Gap between frame and glass due to poor sealing (sometimes moisture can get trapped on the inside)
· Significantly lower output than data sheet figures
· Significantly lower fill factor than data sheet figures
· Inconsistent solar cell colors

There are other important facts and properties you have to be aware of about solar panels. You can continue reading about them at part 2 & 3 of this series:

(i) http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com/important-facts-and-properties-of-a-solar-pv-panel-you-must-know-about-part-2-of-3

(ii) http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com/important-facts-and-properties-of-a-solar-pv-panel-you-must-know-about-part-3-of-3

Continue Reading:

1. Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 2 of 3)
2. Important Facts And Properties of A Solar (PV) Panel You Must Know About (Part 3 of 3)
3. How Do You Know If Solar Panels Are Suitable For Your Property?

While you are working on your solar panels or solar heaters, you can also explore other small projects that can make your house a better place to live in.

Here are some projects that take you less than a day to implement. And many of them are very helpful in lowering your energy bills as well.

Most of them do not cost more than $100+, so if you have a little time and a little cash, you can begin right away:

1. Install solar screens

Solar screens help to keep your house cool during summer. It prevents heat from coming into your house through the windows. As such, your air-conditioners will not need to work as hard.

Most solar screens are quite affordable. The best ones are those with a metallic, reflective surface. They reflect radiation away instead of absorbing it. They are also pretty durable.

2. Solar ventilators

Ventilators can be installed at your attic, powered by solar energy. During summer, you can activate these fans to pump the heat out of your interior. This alone can cool your house considerably.

All you need is a small fan, a small vent that comes with a cover and a small solar panel. You don’t even need rechargeable batteries. It stops working when it becomes dark, but you won’t need it at night.

Try it.

When the weather gets colder, remember to cover them properly so heat doesn’t escape through these vents.

3. Solar powered air circulation

When you heat up your house, warm air rises to the top. They are all trapped at the ceiling or attic. Heat is not distributed evenly. You can install a ceiling fan to push the heat down, or use solar power to pump warm air down to ground level.

The effect: Your home warms us faster and you’ll feel more comfortable.

For this project, you’ll need a small solar panel, a set of rechargeable batteries, a long pipe and a small exhaust fan.

4. Landscaping

Planting trees, scrubs and bushes around your house can give you many benefits. You will not only create a beautiful and rejuvenating environment… You can prevent bitter cold winds from blowing against your house in winter and shelter your house from strong sunshine during summer.

5. Install solar light tubes

Solar light tubes allow natural light to enter your house while keeping the heat and precipitation out. They cost a little more. But you can experience the benefits of full spectrum lighting in your room without expensive illumination technology.

Continue Reading:

1. 7 Different Ways of Using Solar Energy At Home and In Your Office
2. Challenges and Difficulties In Using Solar Panels And How To Overcome Them
3. Survey Your Household Energy Usage Before Installing Solar Panels

Solar Panels -- Our Best Investment At Home

Electricity produced by solar panels used to be the most expensive option.

But things have changed.

Government and large institutions investing into this technology encouraged economies of scale. This caused the price of solar panels to come down over time.

Nowadays, solar panels have become affordable to the point where average households often consider owning them.

Even though solar panels may seem a little costly at first, they can actually help you financially. This happens in a few ways:

1. You can enjoy significant savings on your monthly energy bills.

2. Your property value increases

3. You may be qualified for grants and rebates when you use renewable energy

Since buying PV panels is really an investment, we must be able to quantify monetary returns over a specific period of time. This involves some basic calculations.

Here are some numbers that you need to figure out in order to know if installing solar panels make sense (financially) for you:

(a) Calculate your payback period. This is the number of years it takes to recoup your upfront cost. The savings you enjoy every month adds up. The time (years) it takes to reach the total cost of installing solar panels is your payback period.

An example: If you spend $3,000 on a solar heating system and that saves you $50 every month, your payback period is 60 months. This is also equivalent to 5 years.

If the cost of oil rises (every so often), you’ll save more money. As a result, your payback period becomes shorter.

Other purchases around the house will not give you such advantage. They usually result in zero (if not negligible) returns on your investment, no matter how long you wait.

And if you were to put that same $3,000 into the stock market, you could be making a windfall…or end up losing your shirt. The returns are just not as certain as investing into solar panels.

Note: Your payback period is directly influenced by the solar panel’s efficiency and the amount of solar radiation your property experiences. It is advisable to get a qualified personnel to help you with these figures if you are not familiar with the calculations.

(b) Find Out About Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs). This is important if you are using a grid-tied solar power system. Essentially, you are using the power grid as storage. Whenever your PV panels generate more electricity than you can use, they are channeled to the grid for others to enjoy. The utility company will then offset your energy bills according to their feed-in tariff rates.

There isn’t much to calculate here. As long as the FiTs are almost equivalent to the rate they’re charging you, it makes sense to use grid-tied systems. Otherwise you’ll need rechargeable batteries, which are not cheap. This, unfortunately, increases your payback period directly.

(c) Ask About Rebates. This is different for every state. The rebate you receive can either encourage or discourage you from installing PV panels. Some states offer reasonable rates while others seem to be nonchalant about using solar generated electricity. If the rates are good, your payback period shortens.

After some calculation, you will almost always agree that solar panels are the best investment for you home. Therefore we should all consider installing them (even on a small scale) sooner rather than later.

Continue Reading:

1. About
2. How You Can Benefit from Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) with Electricity Generated by Your Solar Panels
3. Challenges and Difficulties In Using Solar Panels And How To Overcome Them