The cost of electricity is going up about 4% a year, do we need more solar tax incentives to give the solar industry a bigger jump start? The pay back on alot solar equipment is still about 20 years, if we could cut that payback period for solar equipment to 10 years would this have a significant impact on the solar industry.
22
Sep 2011
To have or not to have your own solar electric power system? Sounds incredible? Too complicated? Too expensive? Not at all! Just several decades ago having such a system probably was a luxury but today the things have changed a lot. Nowadays you can get an ultimate eco-friendly source of energy at low cost and thus save yourself a lot of money in the future, if you are ready to get engaged in some work of course…
Why to build solar electric power system?
First of all, let’s find out why solar electric power is better than regular energy. Seriously, why should you spend so much money instead or buying a conventional bulb? There are several reasons for that.
Although solar electric power system comes with higher initial cost, it really helps people to economize a lot of money on their monthly bills. The point is the money you’ve invested in solar energy will be justified in no time. Particularly, you can save several tens of dollars every month! So, if you are ready to shut yourself up for a few weeks with some books, manuals, and step-by-step guides on how to build your own solar electric power system, you’d better check some simple advice below.
Solar electric power tips
Estimate your need of electricity before going to the nearby store for the appliances and tools for solar electric power system. If you live alone and don’t use a lot of household appliances you will probably be enough with minimal limit. Just calculate how many kilowatts/hr you will need daily – that will also depend on the place you live (weather conditions, the actual duration of seasons, etc) as well.
You can build solar panels of 60-120 watts. The task might seem challenging at first but in fact you don’t need any specific knowledge. Basically, all you need to have is a good manual or video tutorial, which is even better.
What will you need to build your solar electric power system?
And now it’s time to define the toolset you will need. First of all, that will be a collector – probably the core element of the system. It collects solar energy and transforms it into the electricity later. Batteries and charge controller are necessary to accumulate and control the energy. It’s very important to have a controller so that you can be sure you don’t overcharge your batteries. A circuit breaker is another must-have because it will transmit the solar energy into the battery. And finally, you will need an inverter. As the name suggests, it inverts DC power to AC. You can pick the detailed toolset from some guide or manual, but these are the very basics.
As for the installation, you can do it on your own, but calling a professional is probably better in terms of safety and accuracy. If this is your first time installing the system, you’d better trust it to skilled masters who know their onions and set it all up properly.
So, your own solar electric power system will aid you tremendously in your everyday life. This eco-friendly source of energy doesn’t do any harm to the environment and helps to save a lot of money.
21
Sep 2011
When a patient is told that he has some heart disease, he quits smoking and drinking coffee, but apparently people don’t stop doing harm to their own planet when find out it is infected…except probably for those who use solar electric panels. The humankind is probably the worst and the only incurable disease of the Earth, but still, we can help it by using alternative sources of energy like solar electricity.
Solar electric panels help to accumulate the sunlight and transform it into usable energy. This is the most popular eco-friendly alternative source of electricity, and the good news is you can easily use it in your house and thus save a lot of money and go green. There are several basic types of solar electric panels.
Polycrystalline and monocrystalline solar electric panels
These panels are made of specific crystals that transform solar energy into regular electricity that you can use for your household appliances and other purposes. Polycrystalline panels use lots of small crystals that release enough watts to supply your house with the sufficient amount of energy. This type is considered to be the most widespread one and people usually buy this type of panels if decide to go green. As compared to polycrystalline panels, monocrystalline ones are made of the single crystal which is considered to be more efficient, although comes with higher cost.
Amorphous solar electric panels
Amorphous solar electric panels are also quite popular and efficient. They are made of chunks of silicon that collects solar power. It is a pretty budget variant as well, and you can basically save tons of money on your monthly bills. You can also build a panel on your own and economize a lot of cash. The panels are to be placed in the sunniest place in the house but prevented from being overheated by the sunrays because it can decrease the voltage. You can also opt for bypass diodes to cope with the shading issue.
Vaporware solar electric panels
Vaporware solar electric panels are not as popular as the above-mentioned ones but some forecasts say that they are probably have the best potential. They are considered to be a budget variant which is nice to know as long as getting a ready-made solar power system will cost you an arm and a leg and any possibility to save money is highly appreciated. Solar cells in these panels are covered with plastic and gather solar energy in a very efficient way.
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