If you’re interested in making DIY solar panels, this may be the most important place you discovered. Here’s why…

For every curiosity you have in your mind, there will almost certainly be a resource available to satisfy it.

Whether you want to build a solar panel by connecting individual photovoltaic (PV) cells or buy it retail… whether you are a do-it-yourself, homemade guy or a swear-by-a-brand person, we have mini-resources prepared for you.

Otherwise just write to us to request for it…and we’ll get it up just for you.

In the future, we’ll broaden our scope to include bits and pieces of other types of renewable energy generator like wind turbines.

For starters, you can browse the following pages to get up to speed with the DIY solar power world. Tell me what you think:

• Insider Solar Power Generator Review: 3 Most Common Mistakes Hobbyists Make on Their First DIY Solar Panel Project
• 3 Secrets You Didn’t Know About Building Solar Panels
• 1o Reasons Why You Should Build Your Own Solar Panel
• How To Build A Personal DIY Solar Power System With Less Than $99
• Build Amazing Home Solar Power Systems Used by Families Who Don’t Want to Pay For Their Utilities
• How To Build Solar Panel (Part 1 of 3)
•  How To Build Solar Panel (Part 2 of 3)
• How To Build Solar Panel (Part 3 of 3)
• Step-By-Step Guide To Build A 12V Solar Panel
• Solar Panel Battery — The Basics
  

Continue Reading:

1. Insider Solar Power Generator Review: 3 Most Common Mistakes Hobbyists Make on Their First DIY Solar Panel Project
2. 10 Reasons Why You Should Build Your Own Solar Panel
3. Build Amazing Home Solar Power Systems Used by Families Who Don’t Want to Pay For Their Utilities

Some batteries require maintenance. If they are not cared for, their chemical properties can be affected. This leads to premature failure. Other batteries do not require maintenance, but may not be suitable for solar applications. Before buying batteries, you have to consider each model’s characteristics and see if it fits your intended use.

Let’s consider 3 types of rechargeable batteries we commonly see in the market: Lead-Acid batteries, Alkaline Batteries and Sealed Gel-Cell Batteries.

There are pros and cons to each type of battery, so let’s look deeper.

Flooded Lead-Acid Battery

This type of battery was used since homeowners began to install solar panels on their roofs. They have the longest proven track record. (Thus you can consider them to be pretty reliable.)

In fact, most off-grid solar power systems use this type of battery. This is because they have the longest lifespan and are the cheapest among different types of batteries (in terms of cost per amp-hour).

However these batteries require regular maintenance. You have to water it regularly, equalize the charge and clean the terminals frequently.

Flooded lead-acid batteries commonly used for photovoltaic systems include 6V golf cart batteries, 6V L-16 batteries and 2V industrial cells.

Absorbed Glass Mat Sealed Lead Acid Battery (AGM)

Sealed lead acid batteries gained popularity as their price came down. Unlike flooded lead-acid batteries, they do not require as much maintenance. They are ideal for grid-tied PV systems that use rechargeable batteries as backup.

AGMs are completely sealed. Therefore there is no danger of spilling and they do not need frequent watering or charge equalizing. It is designed such that no corrosive fumes are emitted. Its electrolyte also does not stratify.

During storage (or transportation), an AGM’s self-discharge rate is less than 2%. Thus they are popular with any setups that do not require frequent battery use.

AGMs are highly resistant to any forms of vibration, thus they are ideally suited for mobile solar power systems installed on vehicles and boats.

These batteries used to be very expensive. As such, they were only installed on commercial systems where maintenance was impractical or near impossible.

Today, AGMs are only slightly more expensive than other battery types. Thus many homeowners are willing to sacrifice some money for the sake of convenience.

Gelled Electrolyte Sealed Lead Acid

Gelled lead acid batteries are quite similar to AGMs in terms of its advantages. There is one important distinction, though. Gelled electrolyte is very viscous. Therefore recombination of gases generated while charging takes place at a very slow pace.

This means you can only charge them slowly…much slower than AGMs and flooded lead acid cells. If they are charged quickly, gas bubbles form on the metal plates. This reduces electrolyte contact. As a result, the battery’s capacity is temporarily limited until the bubbles find its way to the top of the electrolyte.

For off-grid solar power systems, this characteristic is not helpful. During the day when solar panels generate electricity, you have to store as much power as possible. If the charging rate is low, a lot of power is wasted. Therefore such batteries are more suited for grid-tied systems where the majority of electrical current is channeled back to the grid.

Deep Cycle or Shallow Cycle?

The battery is an important component of your solar power system. Thus its performance and longevity is of utmost importance.

For solar applications deep cycle batteries are used. Compared to shallow cycle batteries, deep cycle batteries can be repeatedly discharged to 80% of its depth of discharge (DOD) and can be recharged from this state without damage.

Commonly batteries used in automotives and lighting belongs to the shallow cycle type. These are not suitable for a PV system. The lead plates in these batteries are thin and have a large surface area. Even though it can provide a high current in a short time, these batteries cannot be discharged deeply without damage. At least deep discharge cycles can shorten their lifespan quickly.

Deep cycle batteries have thicker lead plates and less surface area in contact with the electrolyte. As such, these batteries produce less current than a shallow cycle battery. However deep cycle batteries can sustain its current over a long period of time (unlike shallow cycle batteries), which is ideal for solar power applications.

Deep cycling puts a toll on your battery’s lifespan. This applies to deep cycle batteries too. Therefore if you want batteries to last longer, use deep cycle batteries and shallow cycle them (as much as possible).

Storing Your Batteries

Place your battery bank indoor where it is warm. Batteries work best when they are about 25 degree Celsius. If batteries are cold, chemical reactions slow down. Therefore less current flows out of the batteries. You may have experienced trouble starting your car in cold weather. But when the battery warms up, its performance improves dramatically.

On the other hand, batteries cannot be exposed to high temperatures too. At 43 degree Celsius, rechargeable batteries can be damaged and their lifespan shortened drastically.

When buying batteries, you must remember there is no perfect system. Energy is lost to heat (or other forms) as it flows from one component to another. When electricity flows into your batteries, some of it is lost.

Therefore you have to factor this into your decision and get more batteries to compensate for power loss. As a rule of thumb, you should have 10 to 15% more power storage (batteries) than what you need.

Maintenance

Batteries need maintenance. Make sure you keep the electrolyte at full level, as much as possible. If not, you must at least keep it above the minimum level. Otherwise the plates may get exposed to air. When refilling, use distilled water.

Water is lost as gassing occurs. This is a process of splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. It occurs during charging when the chemical reaction cannot keep up with the energy input.

In flooded lead acid cells, some gassing is useful. It introduce movements in the electrolyte and prevents stratification. Denser acid tends to stay at the bottom and they are stirred as gassing occurs.

As a result of gassing, an acid mist is formed and this is highly corrosive. Therefore you have to check the metallic connectors for signs of corrosion or damage from time to time. Clean the top of your batteries regularly with baking soda and water. Baking soda, being alkaline, will neutralize the acid on the battery and connector surface.

Other than refilling and wiping your batteries, you must also equalize them every 2 to 3 months. (This should be done in a well-ventilated place.) During this process, increased gassing occurs and this cause the water level to drop.

To equalize your battery, simply overcharge it under a controlled voltage for a period of time. While doing so, your battery must be closely monitored. You must keep measuring the specific gravity values of the electrolyte. It increases as you equalize the battery. When there is no change in specific gravity reading for 30 minutes, the equalization process is completed.

Used Or New?

When buying batteries, it is tempting to spend less money by purchasing pre-owned stock. This is understandable. After all batteries are not cheap. And expensive batteries don’t mean they are good or suitable.

The issue with used batteries is you won’t immediately know how they were used and maintained. If you send them for load testing, you can find out their remaining lifespan. Otherwise they can turn out to be the most expensive batteries in the market.

When you find out facts and use simple logic to your decision making process, you will find batteries that can last for ages without failing.

Continue Reading:

1. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3
2. Solar Energy Storage – Where To Keep Excess Energy Generated By Your Solar Heaters Or Photovoltaic (PV) Panels
3. How Do You Know If Solar Panels Are Suitable For Your Property?

Compared to building materials, solar panels are expensive. This makes the entire building project very costly.

Homebuilders are usually very reluctant to suggest this idea to client unless they ask. They are afraid clients will go elsewhere. Homeowners are pretty ignorant about building integrated photovoltaics as well.

This doesn’t improve solar panel adoption rates at all. Thus solar panels are not commonly integrated into building structures.

Even though the energy yield of PV panels is not as high as separately-installed PV panels, their aesthetics are superior. Each building integrated PV panel’s energy output depends on its orientation, location, daily weather and season.

During summer, your PV panels can yield as much as 5 times the amount of electricity produced in winter. For example, your solar panels may be able to generate 500 watt-hours of energy in summer. However it only produces 100 watt-hours of energy in winter. Therefore preparation must be made for such trends.

A solar professional will be able to do a site analysis and let you know the energy output of the solar panels on your building through the seasons.

If you need to increase your energy production but are unable to due to space constraint, you can consider using solar trackers. These devices find out where the sun is and tilts the PV panels towards it.

Some manufacturers claim that solar trackers can almost double the power output of a solar array. However this is achieved only with increased cost and complexity.

You, the consumer, must make sure that your solar tracker purchase makes sense financially. And since mechanical parts are involved, there may be regular maintenance required. You must also be prepared to roll up your sleeves or get someone to do this.

As with all types of solar panels systems, a form of energy storage is required. If you’re using building integrated solar panels to serve as an off-grid power resource, then deep-cycle rechargeable batteries are a must.

Otherwise the lifespan of your batteries (which are not cheap) can be compromised. If you have a grid-tied (or intertie) PV system, shallow-cycle batteries may be acceptable although using deep-cycle batteries is still preferable.

Photovoltaic is still a relatively new technology. When they were just commercialized, solar panels were so expensive only NASA (and other large corporations) could afford them. But scientists have made significant efforts to lower its cost and increase its efficiency.

In the near future, we may see high quality solar panels that are as cheap as $1 per watt. When this is realized, building integrated solar panels will be a common sight.

Continue Reading:

1. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3
2. Creating An Energy Efficient House – A Primer On Why You Should Do It and How
3. How To Make A Solar Powered Air Conditioner

A Solar Pathfinder

The Solar Pathfinder is a standard shade analysis tool. You can use it to find out exactly where the shadows will be at particular times of the day or year. The data is in graphical form, so you can make sense of it at one glance.

Another popular tool is the Solmetric Suneye. This instrument is rather user friendly, but is much more expensive than the Solar Pathfinder. This will set you back by at least $1,500…yet there is a cheaper option.

Why Do We Need To Use A Solar Pathfinder?

A proper instrument like a Solar Pathfinder can save you lots of time and guesswork. Moreover it is reasonably easy to use and is affordable.

If we do not have any instrument to predict shadow positions, we’ll have to sit up from dawn to dusk to observe how they move. This is a waste of time! Moreover, these positions shift (slightly) through different seasons because of how the earth rotates around the sun.

But why do we care so much about the extent of shading? You may not realize this, but the effect of shading is devastating to solar energy production. Even if your solar panel is slightly covered under a shadow, the power output can drop drastically.

Consider this…if you shade only one solar cell out of the entire solar panel, your energy production is likely to drop by a third. If you shade a row of photovoltaic cells, your electricity output reduces by about 90%. This means your solar panels have virtually stopped working!

Therefore when installing your solar panels, shading is your first and most important concern.

But is it worthwhile to use a solar pathfinder? Perhaps we should ask ourselves if we could determine shadow positions without the use of a scientific instrument… In fact, the additional electricity you’ll be able to generate quickly covers the cost of the Solar Pathfinder. This is especially true for larger systems.

After all, you’ve invested money and effort on your solar cells, batteries and inverters… Are you going to sacrifice a potentially significant part of its energy output just to save a few bucks? I hope not!

In case you are thinking of installing solar panels without a Solar Pathfinder, drop the idea as soon as possible. Because guesswork will eventually cost you dearly! You may be concerned about the cost…or you may be worried about the complexity of the instrument. The fact is this instrument only costs $249 and you’ll probably take only 15 minutes to learn how to use it.

Whatever it is, if you’re without a Solar Pathfinder, I’m confident of this — you cannot even begin your installation… Without this instrument, you’ll be lost!

To use a Solar Pathfinder, you simply have to bring it to the spot you feel is most suitable for installation. Then you’ll need to level the instrument and point it to the right direction with the help of an in-built compass. The plastic dome will show you a paranomic view of the entire area together with the regions affected by shading over different times of the day or year.

To record your readings, you can use a wax pencil (or grease pen) to outline the shadow or simply use your digital camera to take a snap shot. (I prefer the second approach – it’s instantaneous!)

The effects of shading are exceedingly damaging to solar energy production. Therefore you need to eliminate the guesswork — which can end up costing you a lot — and adopt a scientific approach to install your solar panels. Among all known techniques, the easiest and cheapest way is to use a Solar Pathfinder.

Continue Reading:

1. Solar Panel Installation
2. Do-It-Yourself Solar Panels – Electricity Conversion From Sunlight
3. Used Solar Panels – How To Use Them To Build Cheap DIY Solar Panels

However this can be quite a daunting journey. You have to know many details and speak to many people in order to sieve out the best option for you.

Below are a few tips that can help you cut through the fog and gain some clarity:

1. Determine your budget

It is no surprise that solar panels are rather costly. A complete system for the average household may cost at least $20,000. However this should not deter you from installing PV panels. You can always start with a partial system that costs $12,000, and then put up more panels when you have the budget.

Different brands carry different price tags. Therefore it is important for you to know how much money you can spare for your solar setup. With this information, you (or a solar professional) can work out a plan that benefits you most in the long run.

2. Check if it is worth it

There are different numbers you must find out in order to know if using solar panels electricity is worth it in the first place. The most important of these is the solar intensity at your area.

If the sunshine is not strong enough, your payback period will be extraordinarily long. This means you may only get back the full return of your investment after more than 20 years instead of just 12 or 15 years. Or you may never get it back at all. Careful calculation is necessary to avoid errors in judgment.

The payback period is also determined by your solar panel’s efficiency. Needless to say, the more efficient your hardware is, the faster your payback period. However high efficiency solar panels (that are also of high quality) can be quite expensive. Thus you must have a basic understanding of various solar product and they can benefit you before signing on the dotted line.

3. Work out a plan

With many factors that determine whether installing solar panels at home is a worthwhile pursuit, it is wise to have a plan.

The first step of any good plan is to do a site survey. There are many instruments that can help you with this. A typical tool that many people use is the Solar Pathfinder.

After the site survey is done, you have to find out your energy consumption through different seasons in order to size your solar power system. Then you’ll need to devise a strategy to effectively utilize solar energy in every part of your house.

If all these seems confusing to you, your best bet is to call up a solar professional. Instead of spending time to find out about these details, a professional can educate you, devise an implementation strategy for you and help you coordinate different tasks with various contractors.

Before long, you can be using solar panels electricity for your everyday needs.

Continue Reading:

1. Do-It-Yourself Solar Panels – Electricity Conversion From Sunlight
2. 7 Tips You Can Use When Buying Solar Panels
3. Homemade Solar Panels — Common Mistakes to Take Note Of When Building And Installing Photovoltaic (PV) Panels

Since the primary voltage used in an automobile is 12 volts, the solar panel you build will most likely be of this rating.

There are a few items you need to purchase in order to make this project:

1. Solar cells
2. Silicon caulk
3. Aluminum frame
4. Perspex cover
5. 2-gauge wires
6. Soldering iron
7. A piece of substrate

You can either use broken cells or new/used ones. What I recommend (if you have the budget) is to use new PV cells. This is because you’ll get the most power. Since an automobile doesn’t have a lot of surface area, you need more power per square feet for your PV panel.

First, you have to position the solar cells on the substrate to make sure you’ve got your spacing correct. Next, check that the PV cells are orientated according to the correct polarity.

Once this is done, you can flip the cells and start soldering them. Use 2-gauge wires or tabbing wires so the electrical resistance is as low as possible. After this, put the cells under the sun and test to see if you’re getting the correct voltage and current output.

Then put the PV cells back on the substrate again. Row by row, put a blob of silicon caulk at the back of the solar cell. Then paste the solar cell gently on the substrate. Do not cover the entire cell with silicon caulk. Otherwise you will leave the material with little space for expansion and contraction. When sufficient stress builds up in the material (glass), it may crack.

You’ll usually have to wait at least 24 hours for the silicon caulk to dry completely. Otherwise it will leave deposits at the Perspex surface. This will hinder sunlight from entering the solar panel.

Immediately after pasting your solar cells, you may want to take some time to waterproof the solar panel frame. This prevents moisture and rain from entering your PV panel. Thus you’re protecting metallic connections and components from corrosion.

Finally, you can also build a small charge controller into the solar panel frame if space allows. However this depends on what you want to use your solar panel for.

Continue Reading:

1. How To Build Solar Panel (Part 2 of 3)
2. Step-By-Step Guide To Build A 12V Solar Panel
3. Building a Solar Panel Frame By Using Aluminum Angles

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

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

Currently there are solar panels that boast 30 percent efficiency. These are specially doped triple junction cells that began its development as dual junction cells. However these phenomenons are largely confined within the laboratory and engineers are still unable to produce such solar panels in large quantities without charging consumers an arm and a leg for it. More work remains to be done before common retailers stock up solar panels endowed with this technology.

In practical there is nothing much we as consumers can do about technology. Yet the little we do to ensure our solar panels achieve its maximum potential really goes a long way — especially since solar panels are designed to last us for a few decades.

The most important thing we can ensure is to install our solar panels in the right orientation and tilt angle. The optimal position helps photovoltaic panels receive the most sunshine throughout the day and across different seasons of the year. This helps reduce the payback period. If you are living in the northern hemisphere (like most of us do), then you’ll need to orientate your solar panels toward true south (as opposed to magnetic south). You’ll also need to tilt them according to the latitude of your installation site. The correct installation position will allow your solar panels to be exposed to direct, unobstructed sunshine from 9am to 3pm everyday.

Many homeowners underestimate the adverse effect that shading has on their solar panels. Even if only one solar cell is shaded, its entire solar generator’s power output can be dramatically reduced. The individual solar cell that is now shaded acts as a resister that drains the electricity generated by its neighbors. As resistance increases, power reduces.

Another seemingly minor event that reduces solar panel efficiency is the accumulation of dust on the glass surface. This dissipates sunlight that would otherwise reach photovoltaic cells for power generation. Since dust and dirt will inevitably collect, the only solution is to wash the glass surface regularly. If you’re living in a relatively dust-free environment, this should be an infrequent activity.

Temperature also affects solar panel efficiency. The higher the temperature, the further its efficiency drops. Unfortunately more heat is collected as solar panels experience more sunshine. Thus efficiency tends to taper as sunlight intensity increases. Therefore we have to ensure that our solar panels are installed sufficiently far away from roof shingles. The gap in between the roof and solar panels also allow air movement to bring away additional heat that may otherwise be trapped there.

Continue Reading:

1. Solar Panel Installation
2. Installing Solar Water Heaters
3. How To Clean Solar Panels — That Once-In-A-While Maintenance