Solar Panel at Home

by James Warrington

Today more than ever we are living in an environmentally conscious world. In our world today, solar panels are quickly becoming an energy source of choice for many people. The topics of renewable and non-renewable sources of energy are already broadly discussed among our children in grade school. Now due to the recent sharp increase in our energy costs, this is quickly becoming a main topic among adults as well. Now that their budgets are affected, everyone wants to looking at ways to reduce their energy bills.

Our world is facing a huge challenge when it comes to the depletion of our current energy sources. For this reason we must decide whether we will take personal responsibility to tackle this issue. We cannot just leave it up to the government. It must be a collective approach to this problem and finding a solution to reduce our dependence of fossil fuels and conserve energy.

The starting point is to look at how we can harness the unlimited solar energy that is available to all of us. Technology is now available so that we can achieve this through solar panels. This may be the exact remedy for our dilemma. With the advance of the internet, we now all have access to a virtually unlimited reservoir of technical information that gives us the ability to harness this technology. So there are a number of possible solutions that must be checked out.

Solar Cooker: This is a cooking utensil that uses no fuel outside of solar energy for cooking. You can actually cook, bake and roast any type of food for up to 5 people in a cooker box. While this may not eliminated using electricity off the grid completely, it can dramatically reduce your energy consumption.

Solar Lighting: This converts solar energy into electrical energy for the purpose of lighting your home. Your complete lighting system can run off the energy that is stored in cells that comes from your solar panels. Again this will totally eliminate your electrical bill when it comes to the lighting of your home.

There is the option of a solar heating system. While offering a very cost effective solution, today’s solar systems can also be aesthetically pleasing to the eye as well. You need not worry that your home will look like some sort of a gadget house that will make the front cover of some weird magazine.

A concern for many people looking at this solution is the cost associated with installation. A solar panel solution for your home can be installed inexpensively and you can often recoup your investment in less than 3-4 years. After that point your energy will be totally free.

Solar Panels provide a cost effective and workable solution to meet our home energy needs today. This also dramatically reduces our carbon footprint and leaves a better environment for our children and childrens children.

About the Author:

Save money : How to switch to solar power

by MJ Erwin

Site location, orientation of the house, obstructions to the sunlight, climate and weather are all going to figure into how you set up solar panels for homes. Even when these considerations aren’t optimal, there are solutions enabling you to utilize solar energy to power your home. The effectiveness of your solar panel depends on the amount of sunlight it receives, needing about six hours of constant sunlight the year round. Solar panels work best if they are installed in an angle of orientation facing the sun.

There are two types of solar power, solar electric power which use photovoltaic cells to convert solar radiation into electricity, and solar thermal energy where the sun’s energy is used to heat water.

A good solar hot water panel system is able to provide an average household with around a third of its annual hot water supply. While this may not sound much, it can reduce energy costs by a considerable amount. With the integration of solar panels in addition to this hot water system, plus the addition of other renewable energy sources such as residential wind turbines, they can all work together in providing a renewable, cheap and clean source of energy for your home.

Other concern for homeowners would be the large solar panels would be an eyesore on their roofs. Photovoltaic panel designs, thanks to the recent technology, are now more compact. Today, these panels would look like regular roof tiles, only with the functionality of a solar panel; they can keep out the sun and rain, and with the ability to convert solar energy into electricity, helps out in cutting back electricity bill.

One advantage of using solar energy is that it can be stored in battery packs and chargers, so energy sources are still available even during fall and winter, when there are shorter periods of sunlight.

While it is possible for a home to run completely off photovoltaic electricity using solar panels, this is unlikely in most cases. The expenses involving the installation for a whole house with electricity from solar energy would be quite high for the average homeowner. It is preferable to use solar panels together with traditional power supplies. It is much more cost-effective and energy-saving than depending on fossil fuels alone. Although this will not cut back your dependence on fossil fuel, the use of solar electricity in the average home can still provide a substantial amount of electricity, reducing future energy bills.

Installation fees can be expensive, but with the constantly rising utility rates, having a supporting source of energy for your home is a good investment. Not only does it protect you from price hikes and power outages, but you will also be protecting nature by using a clean and unlimited source of energy.

About the Author: