How To Introduce Solar Power For Homes

Considering introducing solar power into your home? Well, if so, you’ll be pleased to hear that I have gathered together some information so you can get a good idea of how much it will cost and exactly what the scale of the job is.

Start by deciding what percentage of your home are you going to be running on solar power. You could use solar power to provide a water-heating system. You could go to the furthest extreme and take your home completely off-grid thus ensuring the whole house is running on solar power. It’s up to you, but you have to find out the average amount of electricity your house uses per month.

To work out the average energy usage of your home, simply dig out your monthly electricity bills going back over the last two years. Get the calculator out. Be aware of the year’s peak times, like Christmas when you would normally go through a lot more power than normal. This way, we can establish your home’s solar power system so it can surely cope with all of your home’s energy demands.

Now, so you can sleep easy at nights, multiply that amount by a minimum of 1.5. If any extra appliances are brought into your house you remain fully covered. So, by the time you’ve done this you will know how much solar power you need. You will also be able to tell how many solar panels you will have to buy and what size they have to be.

In this day and age, you would almost always be best advised to look online when buying solar panels. Go to Ebay and enter the words “solar panel pallet” exactly as is. Sit back and be prepared to be amazed by the incredible bargains you will find there. If you think they seem expensive, please don’t forget that these prices are a one time cost and solar panels tend to last 25 to 30 years.

In every case, always employ a skilled, experienced solar power technician to install your solar power. You will find plenty online or in your telephone directory. Keep going until you have three quotations for the job, but don’t necessarily choose based entirely on the price. Cost is important, but you may feel more confident to get a job well done from an experienced solar power technician when installing solar power for homes.

You will also have to shop around for a good quality inverter. Solar panels give out direct (DC) current when harnessing the sun’s energy. The inverter will convert this DC current into alternating (AC) current from which we can all enjoy running all our electrical toys and gizmos.

Roughly costing $2,000 plus maybe $500 for installation, inverters will last you roughly 10 years. Bare in mind solar panels.

If you want to go off the grid completely, it is essential that you use good quality batteries to store the excess solar power you pull down on sunny days. Use this reserve of power to run your home’s electrical needs at night-time. The deep-cycle batteries will probably cost $50 to $100. I suggest you buy 10 of them. Their longevity is not so good as the inverter. Expect to have to replace them every 3-5 years.

Always ask your local authorities if they will give you any assistance for the cost of installing solar energy. Most local authorities offer tax credits. Ask your local utility company as well. They might have some good incentives or special deals. Do this right and you could save 50% off the total cost or more.

Although it is essential you get a qualified electrician, it’s reassuring to know that installing solar energy doesn’t mean you have to have a lot of electrical work. normally, the older the house, the more additional rewiring will be needed. However, this is not often an extensive job. I repeat though, be sure to use an experienced, qualified electrician.

Always remember that solar power is a long-term investment. When estimating the value of installing solar power, the question is, “What is the payback time?” After knowing that you now have a house that will be enjoying free electricity for many years to come!

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Help With Solar Power Systems

Solar Power Systems

Whenever the sun is out, your home’s roof is exposed to solar power systems. Why not harness that energy, reduce your electric bill and limit the amount of carbon dioxide you add to the atmosphere each day? Depending on where you live, your roof’s orientation, and the load your roof can bear, mounting photovoltaic cells (PVs) on your roof could be a valuable investment in increasing your household’s energy independence.

* What are PVs and how do they work?

Certain materials like gallium arsenide, crystalline and amorphous silicon, and copper indium diselenide produce electricity when they absorb light. This is called the photoelectric effect. solar power cells are typically made of a thin layer of such photosensitive material. Light hitting the solar cell raises the energy level of the electrons within. At an elevated energy state, the electrons are able to escape from their molecules and create an electric current.

* How can you tell if your roof is a good candidate for solar cell installation?

Solar cells work best when exposed to direct sunlight. Ideally, you could put a panel of cells on a motorized mount that follows the sun’s path through the sky, but that’s usually not practical for a roof. The next best thing is a roof mounting where the pitch has an unobstructed southern exposure. Depending on your latitude and the angle of your roof’s pitch, your PV system installer may suggest optimizing the angle of your PV modules with an elevated mounting rack so that they can catch more light.

You also need to be cognizant of how much weight your roof can bear. If your roof already has two layers of shingles, you probably shouldn’t add solar power panels to the load.

An alternative to solar panels is a relatively new product, “solar shingles”. These are shingles into which PV cells have been incorporated. If your roof needs to be replaced anyhow, solar shingles offer the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

Finally, PV cells lose efficiency as the temperature rises. In warm climates, you may be better off exploring alternatives like wind-power. In places like Florida and California, public utilities are bringing solar thermal electric power plants online. Such systems, though primarily feasible only for installations much larger than the single-family home, actually turn out to be more efficient and cheaper than PV systems when it’s hot.

* What components make up a roof-mounted PV system?

PV cells output direct current, and can be connected in series to increase the output voltage. Though there are specialized appliances available that run on DC, most PV systems have the cells send electricity through an inverter. This converts the solar cells’ DC to standard household alternating current. The output from the inverter is then integrated into the house’s electric system. Smaller systems mostly just supplement power from the electric company, reducing your overall bill.

If you install a larger system and make your home very energy efficient, you may have often had a surplus of electricity. You can either store this for later in on-site batteries, or feed it back to the electric grid. If you feed your surplus back to the grid, the electric company may actually pay you. This is called “net metering”, and is the law in more than thirty-five states. It’s a good deal for you, and it’s a good deal for the electric company because your PV system is most likely to produce surplus electricity exactly when peak demand occurs. Your surplus-producing PV system could actually help avert power outages.

* How much does a PV system cost?

The initial cost of a roof-mounted solar array can range from $6,000 for a small supplementary system to $30,000 or more for a large “off-the-grid” system. The capital cost of such a home-based PV system is rather abstract, though. It would be better to compare what you are currently paying per kilowatt-hour to an amortized per kilowatt-hour cost for a PV system. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, that cost is about $0.25 per kilowatt-hour. In most places, this is more than what the utilities charge.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that there are many state-sponsored incentive programs for solar energy. Take advantage of them, and you could break even. For information about these programs, you should consult the National Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE), prepared by the North Carolina Solar Center. The database covers incentive programs meant to promote the development of renewable energy.

In addition, the cost of the electricity your PV system produces is insulated from deregulation, rate-hikes, and inflation — that amortized twenty-five cents per kilowatt-hour cost will still be twenty-five cents thirty years from now. Who knows what your local electric rate will be?

And there’s more good news. By going solar, you are reducing the amount of coal and natural gas burned at power plants, you are reducing the amount of carbon dioxide we pump into the atmosphere, and you are asserting your energy independence.

Putting solar cells on your roof is an idea whose time has come. Home-produced solar electricity is feasible, makes sense, and is within the reach of most homeowners.

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