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

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

Overcome Hurdles

Despite many benefits solar panels give us, there are sometimes obstacles that prevent them from being installed on your property.

We’ll discuss 3 of them in particular and attempt to shed light on how to solve each type of problem.

Challenge #1: High Upfront Cost

This is a common one. There are a few ways you can still install solar panels without burning a hole in your pocket.

You can get a loan. There are many ways the bank can structure this loan. Often, your supplier can help you apply for it. Sometimes the supplier can even lend you the money.

Ultimately, loan repayment spread over many years. You have to pay a monthly installment to offset the loan. Your aggregate savings will not be as much as when you do without a loan (due to payment of interest).

But you’re better off this way, financially. Your solar panels help you save on energy bills. By having solar panels earlier rather than later, you can enjoy free electricity sooner.

Another way to go around this challenge is to install a small system that can be scaled up later when you have the money.

Or you can opt for used or refurbished solar panels. These may not be as efficient as new ones. Yet when you do your calculations, you can often get your money working harder for you with this option.

(Tip: Calculate how much power you can get in total for every dollar you spend.)

Challenge #2: Timing of Electrical Supply

PV panels produce electricity when the sun is shining. Often, your family use electricity only in the morning (before going to work) and in the evening (after coming back from work).

This means solar panels produce electricity when you’re not at home. Thus there must be some way of storing the energy so we can use it at our convenience.

One solution is to use large rechargeable batteries to store the entire day’s energy production. This is especially useful for homes that are located in remote parts of the country where it is too expensive to run transmission cables (just for a few families).

With batteries, the acquisition cost of your solar power system increases. Thus many people opt for a grid-tied solar power system.

This design allows you to channel unused electricity back into the power grid. For your power contribution, the utility company pays you at a rate known as the Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs).

At night, when your family returns home, electricity is drawn from the grid. Thus you are really using the power grid as an energy storage. And this is good for you as much as it is for the power company.

Challenge #3: Red Tapes

If you want to mount PV panels on roofs (or the building structure), you have to adhere to building codes. This is for your safety. When these restrictions are not adhered to, you risk damage and injury if you overload the building structure such as roofs.

However building codes are sometimes a pain in the neck. It’s not that we can’t solve this problem. But it gets irritating when you have to make many calls to government agencies just to solve simple issues at times.

The best way to tackle this problem is to share your concern with your contractor. He’ll likely be able to solve the problem better than you. This is because he would have encountered many of such issues and also solved them. Very likely, he’ll know who are those guys handling this stuff and may even know then personally.

Apart from different obstacles, there are also cautions that you must know about when handling solar panels. This are especially important if you are installing your own panels or repairing them yourself.

1. Danger of electrocution. PV panels supply your house with electricity. They are capable of generating a lot of energy. If you have to handle them, please use precaution. Remember to wear thick safety gloves and put on safety boots. If you need to climb onto your roof, remember your safety harness as well.

2. Risk of PV panel damage. If you have to handle your PV panels yourself, please make sure you have the necessary qualifications or knowledge. You may render your warranty void if you open or dismantle certain parts of your solar panel. You may also damage different components if you wire electrical connections in the wrong orientation.

When you meet with challenges, the best action you can take is to pick up the phone and call your contractor or an expert…or a friend who had prior experiences with solar panels.

Continue Reading:

1. Why Are Solar Panels The Best Investment For Your Home?
2. 7 Different Ways of Using Solar Energy At Home and In Your Office
3. Creating An Energy Efficient House – A Primer On Why You Should Do It and How

Generally, the techniques for harvesting solar power are classified into 2 main categories: active or passive.

Active solar techniques involve inventions like photovoltaic panels, pumps, and fans. These are responsible for converting solar energy into useful output. Passive solar techniques involve positioning materials (with desirable thermal properties) along the path of solar radiation and designing spaces that allow natural convection (air circulation).

You have to consider the benefits of each approach (active or passive) before you implement them. Active solar techniques are somewhat more expensive to implement. However it gives you more control and the energy can be converted into a wider range of output other than heat. Passive solar techniques involve careful thought to the architectural design of your house. However it does not drain as much financial resources. Most people will consider implementing both types of system that complement with one another.

The most common installation you can consider is the solar heater. They are cheap, easily installed and are efficient. These nifty devices can help you cut a large percentage of your energy bill by taking care of your heating needs. You can heat up your rooms without using any electricity. You can also heat up water so you can have a warm bath or swim after work.

Heat gathered during the day can be stored in materials with high specific heat capacity (or thermal mass). They act like rechargeable batteries for storing heat in the day. At night, they provide you with warmth while the ambient temperature outside falls. Some of these materials include water, bricks, cement and stones.

The next most common installation you can consider is a solar panel. Solar panels convert the energy from the sun into electricity via a process known as Photovoltaics (PV). Thus these contraptions are also known as photovoltaic panels.

Photovoltaic panels are popular because of their practicality and convenience. While solar heaters gives out only heat, electricity from solar panels can be converted into heat, movement and light. Electricity can also be stored in battery banks so there will still be electricity supply even at night or during an overcast afternoon. However the down-side of this installation is the cost. For the average household, it may require up to $8 per watt to install. A 2.5kW system can easily cost you $20,000. (This costing is not exact as it depends on several factors like your location and solar panel efficiency.)

There are also other systems that can be built into the architecture of your house. However using only the solar heater and photovoltaic panel, you can design a world-class home solar power system that can effectively gather energy from the sun for your household needs.

Continue Reading:

1. Build Amazing Home Solar Power Systems Used by Families Who Don’t Want to Pay For Their Utilities
2. Home Solar Power – Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Photovoltaic Generators to Power Your Home
3. 7 Different Ways of Using Solar Energy At Home and In Your Office

Home Valuation Increases When Solar Panels Are Installed

The payback for your solar panel investment doesn’t stop at monthly utility savings. When you have a solar generator on your roof, property valuators will take that into consideration.

The increase in your home valuation depends on the reliability of your solar panel system and its remaining lifespan.

Think of your solar panels and solar heaters as equipment that provides value (in this case savings) to the buyer.

If its (projected) remaining lifespan is longer and the brand gives people confidence in its reliability, buyers will be willing to pay more for this asset.

Suppose you decide to sell your home five years after installing PV panels (or a solar water heater) and your system saves you $50 per month on utility bills.

Prospective buyers for your house are willing to pay more for your home because you can help them save $600 every year on energy bills. On top of that, they don’t have to get a separate loan for the solar installation.

Some valuators feel that by having solar panels on your property, your home’s valuation improves by 125% of the solar installation cost. Thus investing in solar energy generators allows you to list your home at a higher price. You may also get it sold faster. This is especially true when oil price shoots toward the sky.

Between solar water heaters and PV panels, solar heaters will give you a better return on investment and also a shorter payback period.

This is because solar heaters are relatively cheaper, are much more effective and helps to reduce heating costs in significant ways.

Thus if you haven’t installed anything yet, consider this route. Use solar water heater to heat up your swimming pool, hot tub, shower room, living spaces, et cetera…whatever you can think of. There are numerous techniques to get heat flowing where you want it.

After you have experienced the benefits of solar heating, then move on to photovoltaic panels. After all, more than 44% of our utility bill is attributed to heating cost.

With the combination of solar heater and photovoltaic panels, you have a good chance of moving towards self-sufficiency. After the payback period, your utility bills will no longer be a pain, because it’ll be free.

Read Part 2 of this series here:

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

Read Part 1 of this series here:

http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com/how-to-determine-the-payback-for-your-solar-panel-investment-part-1-of-3

Continue Reading:

1. Why Are Solar Panels The Best Investment For Your Home?
2. 7 Different Ways of Using Solar Energy At Home and In Your Office
3. Survey Your Household Energy Usage Before Installing Solar Panels

Calculate Your Payback Period

The payback for your solar panel investment is the amount of time needed (in years) for your investment to pay for itself (break-even).

A simple calculation gives you a clear picture:

You should divide the total upfront cost by your monthly estimated savings. This gives you the payback period in months.

Dividing this by 12 gives you the payback period in years.

To figure out your monthly savings, you can follow these steps:

1. Determine your average monthly energy usage by referring to your power bills

2. Estimate how much energy (in percentage) you will replace with your solar panels

3. You’ll find out your monthly savings by multiplying the numbers you got from step 1 and step 2 above

For example, you found out that your monthly energy bills cost you $200. If your solar panels are designed to supply about 60% of your energy usage, your monthly savings will be: $200 x 60% = $120

Thus if your solar equipment and installation cost you $14,000, your payback period is $14,000 / $120 / 12 = 9.7 years.

For all the gains you’ll receive from your investment, you have to take a look at what your risks are.

I’ve listed the major ones here so you can consider if owning solar panels are indeed worthwhile:

Risk #1: Efficiency declines over time

Solar energy systems (like everything else) decline in efficiency over time. After a period of 10 years, you can expect a 15% drop in efficiency.

Different systems deteriorate at different rates though. The expected efficiency deterioration is subtly implied in the manufacturer’s warranty condition.

Risk #2: Lifespan of solar panels

Everything has its lifespan. For solar panels, warranties usually cover your equipment for 20 to 25 years. You system is insured against defects and drastic drop in performance during this period. However solar panels can last much longer, sometimes beyond 30 years.

There will come a time (that is not definite) when your PV panels cannot generate the amount of electricity you require and it’s ready to be discarded.

Risk #3: More efficient technologies

Some years in the future, technology will improve. Occasionally engineers discover breakthroughs that make solar panels efficiency improve by leaps and bounds. In this case, unless you have lots of cash to throw away, you are bound to the old photovoltaic technology.

In Part 3 of this series, we’ll take a look at how solar panels can improve your property’s value. This helps in the payback period, definitely.

Part 1 of this series can be found here:
http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com/how-to-determine-the-payback-for-your-solar-panel-investment-part-1-of-3

Continue Reading:

1. Why Are Solar Panels The Best Investment For Your Home?
2. Challenges and Difficulties In Using Solar Panels And How To Overcome Them
3. Survey Your Household Energy Usage Before Installing Solar Panels

Different manufacturers produce varying solar panels quality. While better quality panels command higher price tags, they tend to last much longer. This additional lifespan often justify the added expense. However many people will rather save money by choosing lower quality solar panels than cough out the difference for higher quality ones. This is understandable.

As solar panels produce electricity under the effect of sunshine, they begin the irreversible process of aging. When they age, their resale value decreases. Thus it is important to verify with your sales representative the age of solar panels you are receiving. Stored solar panels, on the other hand, maintain their full lifespan. Thus solar panels do not lose their value while kept on shelves unless a new technology renders them obsolete. By then manufacturers will have to slash their price to move them out of the storehouse.

Despite their image, used solar panels aren’t all that bad when it comes to payback period. Although they have a shorter lifespan and a slightly lower efficiency, most of them are still in good working condition and can last many more years. Best of all, they’re cheap. Therefore you should keep your mind open — as long as the price per watt and warranty conditions justify the purchase, you should be on your way to purchase cheaper energy.

As technology improves, the cost (per watt) of solar panels decreases. Currently, consumers often get solar panels below $5 per watt. Understandably, prices vary from location to location. Therefore you have to contact a few solar panel manufacturers to understand how they price their products before you sign on the dotted line.

If you want to install a solar panel system that can supply your entire house with power, it is not surprising to find manufacturers quoting you a whooping $25,000 to $30,000 for the entire installation. This may appear to be expensive. But the system can serve you for more than two decades and they usually pay for themselves slightly after the first. Therefore you’ll be able to live on free electricity for another ten years after the payback period.

Certainly, a manufacturer’s quotation depends on how big your house is and your average electricity consumption. If you’re able to find and eliminate energy wastages around the house, you may reduce to a smaller system. This means you end up paying less. In every household, there are wastages that account for a huge portion of energy consumption.

An alternative to commercial, off-the-shelf system is the DIY solar panel. Those of us who are apt at working with simple tools and electrical circuits can make for ourselves a homemade solar power system. Do not be mistaken…these are not some shoddy projects that over-the-edge enthusiasts make. The solar cells and related components are from renowned manufacturers. The DIYer’s only involvement is putting various components together to make a solar panel, and then install this solar panel on their roofs. These can last as long as commercial panels at a fraction of the cost.

Whatever your choice may be, understanding the cost of solar panels involve a little fact find. Hopefully, if you compare between suppliers, you may be able to find a solar power system that suit your budget and energy needs.

Continue Reading:

1. Cost Of Using Residential Solar Panels
2. How To Determine The Payback For Your Solar Panel Investment (Part 2 of 3)
3. How To Determine The Payback For Your Solar Panel Investment (Part 3 of 3)

FiTs is a policy designed to encourage the use of (eligible) renewable energy generators like solar panels and wind turbines at home and on commercial buildings. Homeowners and business owners are paid a premium price for any renewable electricity they produce.

(This policy is also known as the Feed-in Law, Advanced Renewable Tariff or Renewable Energy Payments.)

Under this policy, different tariff rates are set for different types of renewable energy technology. The rates are partly determined by the cost of resource development. In simple terms, the rates you receive for electricity produced by solar, wind or geothermal energy differs.

Whatever the rate is at your area, it helps you to defray the initial cost of investment for your solar panels.

Home Solar Panels

Thus when calculating your expenses and recurring cost and returns for your solar panels installation, you must consider FiTs.

When you know your feed-in rates, you can also decide if you want to store your excess electricity in rechargeable batteries or feed them back to the grid.

As of recent years, feed-in laws have been exercised in more than sixty major countries. Some of them include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Republic of Korea, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and the United States. Many policy developments are also underway in China, India and Mongolia.

If China and India are able to implement this policy on an effective scale, it can surely improve the lives of many people by bringing investors to regions where electricity supply is inconsistent.

Feed-in tariff was implemented in the US in 1978. Two important policies were introduced — the National Energy Act (NEA) and the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA). This was a response toward the energy crisis and concerns over air pollution. The enactment of PURPA led to significant amounts of solar energy generation in sunny states like Florida and Maine.

The effect of these laws helped to encourage energy conservation and the development of natural energy resources such as wind and solar power.

Many people have benefited from these policies. However, as you know, not every state in the US implements this policy in the same way. Adaptations are necessary according to regional needs and demands. So check your facts first before you spread out your solar panels to every inch of your roof.

Continue Reading:

1. Privacy
2. Solar Panel Efficiency — How Does Dirt on Your Solar Panels Affect The Amount Of Electricity Produced?
3. Solar Energy Storage – Where To Keep Excess Energy Generated By Your Solar Heaters Or Photovoltaic (PV) Panels

Commercial solar panels cost at least $20,000 (usually much more than this) and you need to wait at least 12 years before your investment pays back. Of course the actual price and payback period depends on how much electricity you require and the amount of sunshine at your location.

Even though solar panels seem expensive, owning them can help your finances in the long run. Beyond its payback period, solar panels are essentially free. Thus you are actually using free electricity from that point on. If oil price continues to rise (quite certainly), the savings you realize will only become greater.

On top of that, your property value appreciates the moment you install solar panels on your roof.

Installing PV panels at home or office may be one of the best few decisions in your life. If you buy the correct solar energy system, it’ll reward you handsomely in time to come.

Why solar panels?

Solar panels convert solar energy into electricity. Since the sun will not burn out in the next few billion years, this is a perpetual source of energy we can use. Many solar panels can operate for up to 30 years. Thus they provide us with a long lasting source of electricity.

Solar panels are suitable for providing electricity in remote places that are far away from the main electricity grid. If your home is situated in such places, solar electricity may be the cheapest and most convenient source of power for you.

PV panels do not require much maintenance. In fact all they need is an occasional jet of water for 5 to 10 minutes. This helps to wash away the dirt and dust that accumulates on the glass panel after months and months of use. Besides this, no other regular maintenance is needed.

Solar power does not pollute. It neither gives off toxic nor foul-smelling gases. There is no way solar panels can harm your health and well-being when it generates electricity. In fact, it doesn’t even produce any noise. Thus solar panels do only good and no harm.

The only time when pollution is involved is when solar panels are being produced. Energy is needed at production lines, and this likely comes from burning fossil fuel. Fortunately it does not take long to manufacture each PV panel. Thus its indirect damage to the environment is negligible as compared to its advantages.

For many homeowners, using solar electricity is a means to hedge against the rising cost of fuel. It is quite likely that oil price will double again after 15 or 20 years…who knows. But the price of solar panels keeps dropping. Today, you can get solar panels for as low as $3 per watt. And this (one-time cost) is all you have to pay for the next few decades. What a good deal.

Different Types of Solar Panels

Solar panels are made from single crystal (monocrystalline) wafers, polycrystalline wafers or by depositing photovoltaic material onto thin films.

Monocrystalline solar cells are made by cutting single crystal wafers into 1/3 to 1/2 millimeter slices. This is a costly process. The silicon used must be of very high purity and must have an almost perfect crystalline structure. This makes the final product expensive. Therefore even though monocrystalline solar cells have the highest yield, they are not as popular.

Polycrystalline wafers are made by pouring molten silicon into a mould and allowing it to set. Then they are cut into thin slices, similar to how monocrystalline wafers are made. Since polycrystalline wafers do not require very high purity silicon or a near perfect crystalline structure, they are cheaper to produce. However it produces less electricity than monocrystalline cells under the same illumination per square foot.

Yet polycrystalline solar panels are very popular. Unlike monocrystalline solar cells, polycrystalline cells can fill the solar panel with more photovoltaic material (due to its shape). This allows it to produce almost as much electricity per square foot as monocrystalline solar panels. Hence it is more cost effective to use polycrystalline solar panels.

Amorphous silicon cells are made by depositing a layer of silicon on a substrate. Amorphous silicon is just one of the product of thin-film technology. Other products include thin multicrystalline silicon, copper indium diselenide/cadmium sulphide cells, cadmium telluride/cadmium sulphide cells and gallium arsenide cells.

Among these 3 types of solar cells, thin-films produce the least amount of electricity per square foot. However they are light. Therefore they are used widely in portable applications.

In the process of manufacturing thin-film solar panels, very little silicon is wasted. This is in stark contrast to the manufacturing process of monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar cells where almost half the silicon is wasted as saw dust.

When choosing solar panels, it is important to know what type of technology is involved. More importantly, you must calculate the price you are paying per watt for the particular PV panel you chose.

A Typical Solar Power System

In a solar power system, one single solar panel is not sufficient to provide enough power for your house or office. An array of PV panels must be used in order to get the necessary amount of energy.

Other than the solar panel array, a control panel must be installed. It is used to regulate power from the panels. For an off-grid system, electricity must be stored in deep-cycle rechargeable batteries so you can use it later (usually at night). For an intertie (or grid-tied) system, this is not necessary.

Power coming from the batteries or your solar panels is in the form of direct current (DC). To run electrical appliances that use 110 VAC, you need an inverter. This device converts DC to AC power.

Even after all these are setup, you may want to consider having a backup source of power. This is important if you are not connected to the grid. One type of backup power you can consider is a diesel generator.

If you have a large solar power system, installing a solar tracker can help you recover some power that would otherwise be lost. What this device does is track the position of the sun and aligns the solar panels toward it. The increase in electricity supply can more than offset the cost of a solar tracker if your system is big enough.

You can also tap another source of renewable energy together with solar power. Wind turbines are commonly installed for residential use. The power generated by wind can charge your solar panel batteries. Instead of lining your roof with more PV panels, this is a good way to increase your electricity production.

Solar Panels Installation

Where your solar panels are sited is of utmost importance. The solar professional must help you determine the best location to install your solar panels. He must also inform you about the shading condition at the site he choose.

During installation, your solar panels will be tilted southwards. The angle of inclination depends on where you live. If solar panels are not installed properly, you may not get as much power as you expect. As a result, your solar panels may end up producing below its potential throughout its lifespan.

To improve the shade condition at the installation site, your contractor may advise you to crop some trees at your property.

When you work closely with a trusted solar professional, you can be certain he will be your best partner when it comes to providing renewable energy for your household.

Continue Reading:

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

Solar panels account for less than 1% of the U.S. electricity production

You may have heard that solar energy is both renewable and sustainable. But is this really true?

In order to answer this question, we must first understand what is renewable and what is sustainable.

Renewable sources of energy are non-nuclear and are able to constantly replenish themselves. This means they never run out. This is good, yet falls short of the ideal.

There are many sources of energy that are both renewable but environmentally damaging. Take wood as an example. They are renewable as trees can always grow again, albeit rather slowly. However burning wood cause pollution and also depletes the forest of its trees.

Even though this source of energy is renewable, it will not serve us for long unless it is also sustainable. This means the supply of energy must meet our present needs and also have the ability to meet the energy needs of future generations.

There are many sources of energy that are both renewable and sustainable. Some examples of these are solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, geothermal energy and biomass energy.

Let’s look at solar energy.

Solar energy comes from the sun. It is a natural source of light and heat that is also constant.

The wonderful thing about the sun is its longevity. For the next 4 to 5 billion years, the sun will keep shining to provide energy for mankind. When the life of the sun comes to an end, every living creature on Earth will die anyway.

A few billion years is an extraordinarily long time. Thus solar energy is indeed sustainable as much as it is renewable.

Theoretically, solar energy alone can fulfill the world’s energy demands. Unfortunately the economics behind harvesting solar energy does not make sense for many situations. It is still cheaper to use fossil fuel.

In fact, more than half of the United State’s electricity is generated by coal. Almost 20% of the electricity we use is generated by nuclear power. Solar generated electricity accounts for far less than 1% of the total production. This should be quite indicative of the investment needed to install solar panels on a large scale.

Yet if we can somehow get enough capital to setup solar panels massively, it can be is cheaper to run our world on solar power. At least, when solar panels are in such high demand, economy of scale helps to lower photovoltaic (PV) panel costs. Many competitors may also enter this market so market forces can also drive prices down.

Solar energy is one of the most convenient sources of energy (compared to other renewable energy) since we get exposure to sunlight everywhere. Not every location has strong perennial winds or has water running down from higher elevations. Thus even though these energy may be renewable and sustainable, they are not as practical as solar energy.

Continue Reading:

1. Will Solar Power Be The Solution To Mankind’s Energy Problems?
2. Why Are Solar Panels The Best Investment For Your Home?
3. Residential Solar Panels — Reducing Your Carbon Footprint