Home Solar Power
Tired of paying high electricity bill, looking for a break without too much risk. Yes there is an answer to your quest. Solar Power Home is the answer.
Home Solar Power is becoming a necessity rather than a luxury anymore. It is just a matter of time before most people hop on to this.
With right technology help it is only a smart decision to make use of the abundant energy from Sun to drive our home solar power needs.
Before we begin our journey about solar power for homes, lets try to look in to the source of this energy – The Sun. Our center of our galaxy is the source of this solar power.
Think about the possibility of using the free energy from Sun and converting it to electrical energy for your home. This concept of channelizing the Sun’s energy and generating electricity is the main driver behind Home Solar Power.
There are various techniques that are followed to convert this solar energy in to electricity. Below are the high level techniques used in a typical home solar power projects.
Home solar power generation is relatively easier project to get started. There are variety of techniques available to have a successful home solar power generation. Depending on the amount of home solar electric power one wanted to generate these techniques can be chosen.
Solar power home heating is the concept of using solar power to generate heat energy for the home which primarily focuses on the following 2 areas:
This is further classified in to the following:
1. Water Solar power home heating technique is used for heating up water for our hot water needs at home.
2. Air solar power home heating technique is used to heats up the house to keep the house warm during winter weather.
Lets say for example one wanted to generate home solar electric power for their gardens or for their RVs or for their computers, then a portable solar panel approach would work.
If the home solar power generation is used for water heating and air heating then a solar panel approach may work. If the goal is to replace the whole electric grid power with home solar power generation then solar panel arrays ( Solar forest ) or Solar Shingles may be the answer.
The invention of Solar Cells or Solar Power Cells enabled the conversion of solar energy to electrical energy. Solar power cells are made up of thin sized silicon. When Sunlight strikes the solar power cell, electrons are released due to chemical reaction. These released electrons become our electric current.
The solar power cells are grouped together and are either installed in the roof or the ground to generate the required electricity. This electricity is then harnessed to the home through an inverter.
Basic parts required for Home Solar Power:
1. A Collector
2. A Mount to hold the collector
3. An inverter to convert DC to 110 Volt AC Power.
4. Fuse Box
5. Solar Power Monitor
6. Electric meter.
7. Solar Storage Batteries (Optional item)
8. Charge Controller (This is required only if we have to store it in batteries)
There are many Home Solar Power Collectors available. The most common home solar power collector are the Solar Panels.
Inverter converts the electricity from 12-volt Direct Current (DC) to 110-volt Alternating Current (AC) for home use.
The monitor is used to review the performance of the home solar power system. The electric meter displays the usage of solar power for the home.
Home solar power installation can be done 2 different ways:
1. Self Installation
2. Using Solar Power Home professional to install the system.
To aide in self install of solar power for their own home, there are many books and videos and training programs available for helping with self install. It is still recommended to get advice from the solar power home professional on the design aspect of the self install, they can also advise on the parts and compatibility nature of those parts. Also consider buying all the components for your solar power home project from the same vendor or company.
Majority of the companies in this business sell something called Solar Panel Kits, which encompasses all the components required for your solar power home project.
The beauty of this Solar power home project is one can start small. One doesn’t have to replace their complete power grid line with solar on day one.
One can get a single Solar Panel and try it out to see how well it works out, and then one can keep adding more panels based on affordability and usage.
The other areas of solar usage that are very handy and have a quick return on invetstment are in the following:
Solar Swimming Pool Heaters
Solar Attic Fan
The important factor in setting up a solar power for your home is the initial investment that could be little pricey. The return on investment outweighs the initial upfront Solar Cost. To support this initial investment there are lot of government rebate programs in place.
To make it more attractive to the consumers the government in the US has come up with Federal Solar Power Tax Incentives for solar power Home projects.
Also by converting your home from conventional energy to solar power, the value of the home increases. An interesting statistics provided by National Association of Real Estate Appraisers ( NAREA) highlights the fact for every dollar one saves annually in energy cost by going solar, the value of the house appreciates by 20% of savings done annually. If planned and installed correctly, the solar equipments will save a huge deal on energy costs. This savings is attracting home buyers resulting in very good market value of the homes.
It is becoming more evident that the energy road map for common man for the future is leading towards harnessing the Solar Power for Home. Be a part of it and feel proud about the value one adds to the Environmental Benefits of Solar Power by going solar.