Home Solar Power Systems

This article will paint a thirty thousand foot view of this plan and then discuss how we can implement it. Then I’ll let you in on further resources that will help you with solar energy calculations, construction and installation.

Building a home solar power system involves a few major steps:

(1) Determining the household energy requirement. This influences the number of solar cells needed to produce the required electrical energy.

Most households will not want to take their homes completely off-grid. After calculations, the majority of families seem to prefer their solar panels to bear roughly 75% of their total energy consumption.

Why do they not want their house to be totally off-grid and be 100% powered by green, renewable energy? Because there will be periods when the light intensity is insufficient. It’s during these times when we’ll need to tap into the grid again.

(2) Constructing the solar panel. The photovoltaic cells are responsible for converting solar energy into electrical energy. It is also a major cost driver. Therefore the solar panel is the most important piece of the puzzle.

If you’re on a budget, you’re able to construct a solar panel by joining broken solar cells together. If you have money to burn, buying ready-made, commercial solar panels can also be an option. These come with long warranty periods (like 25 years and beyond) and are framed in high quality aluminum.

(3) The inverter. This component converts direct current (DC) generated by the solar panels into alternating current (AC) that’s usable by your household appliances. After that, this is channeled to the power distribution box via a synchronizer so that electricity from the grid and electricity from the solar panels can be combined before each appliance in your home uses them.

(4) Installation. Obviously, we need to choose a location where there is as little shade as possible throughout the day. This is usually the roof. With proper guidance from more experienced hobbyists or a guidebook, you can fix the solar panels to your roof (or anywhere else) exactly like the professionals do.

To put all these together, you’ll need a proven plan that tells you exactly what to do — from the broad structure down to the last bolt and nut.

Continue Reading:

1. How To Build A Personal DIY Solar Power System With Less Than $99
2. Do-It-Yourself Solar Panels – Electricity Conversion From Sunlight
3. Homemade Solar Panels

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As you shop around for solar energy panels, there may perhaps be that occasional doubt about its benefits. Many consumers have similar experience. At some point in time, they take the leap of faith to supplement their household energy requirement with solar energy. As a result, their utility bills decreased dramatically. Most are delighted to sell their extra supply of electricity back to the grid.

As energy cost increase over the last decade, more and more homes are installing solar panels on their property. Although it takes some upfront investment to own solar panels, they really pay for themselves after some time.

Theoretically, it takes about 12 years for you to make back your investment in solar panels. But many states are now offering rebates, so the final cost of your investment is really much lesser than it seems to be. Rebates vary from state to state, so be sure to check out what you’re entitled for. The government also offers other incentives to encourage you to use renewable energy for your home.

Over the past 30 years, the price of solar panels have fallen to only 10% of what it used to be. It was practically impossible for folks to get a good return on their investment in the past without very high solar exposure on their property.

However, solar panels are much more efficient than they used to be. Therefore they also generate much more power than before and they need minimal maintenance. Best of all, these maintenance can be done by yourself with very little time. Modern solar cells are also much lighter and compact. Thus they can be installed on your roof with little modifications to its structure. As solar cells become more reasonably priced, adding solar power to your home is a brilliant, long-term solution to expensive utility bills.

But before you go shopping for a solar energy panel, there are a few basics you need to find out. These will help determine what types of solar energy panels you’ll require:

1. Know Your Energy Consumption. You need to know how much power you consume – the average, the highs and lows. This information helps you size up your system so you can figure out how many panels you need and what design is most suitable for you.

2. Find Out How Many Sun Hours You Receive At Your Location. This is obvious, but even the most efficient photovoltaic panels cannot generate enough power if there is insufficient sunlight. It would be impractical and costly to pay for gigantic solar energy systems that produce trickles of power.

3. Decide Whether You’ll Be Going Off-Grid. On-grid and off-grid systems have their own advantages and disadvantages. Most homes will stay on the grid because they can tap extra power (especially during winters) when they need to and when they generate additional power, they can sell it back to the grid. If you’re located in a remote region, going off-grid may be practical. You’ll thus need a storage system such as a battery bank to store energy so you can use during the night.

4. Find Out The Rebates And Incentives Available To You In Your State. This is important as it helps you find out the true cost of your solar generator. This may be an important factor that helps you decide if using solar energy is worth it after all.

Continue Reading:

1. Benefits Of Using Residential Solar Panels
2. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 2
3. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3

This solar installation is spread across 21 sites around the county with 250 separate structures, five municipal permitting jurisdictions and three utilities. A total of 7,200 SolarWorld PV panels will be installed. They can supply the entire energy requirement at the 863-unit affordable housing. This installation can help tenants cut down their power costs tremendously.

Solar power has the potential to deliver clean, affordable energy to the hands of anyone who use it. This government-sponsored project is a clear indication that we are moving forward toward this goal, albeit slowly.

In 2010, SolarWorld and Planet Solar worked on a 100-kilowatt system together. They supplied the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara with a solar power system that supplies clean energy to multi-family affordable housing.
Other than this, SolarWorld has also installed solar panels to low-income housing projects nationwide, from Tampa, Fla., to Sacramento, California.

(This news report was adapted from: Business Wire, published 18 Aug 2011)

Continue Reading:

1. 10 DIY Solar Projects You Can Build In Your Backyard This Weekend
2. Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Projects That Can Complement Solar Panels
3. How to Find Affordable Solar Panels That Last