Solar Panels For Home And Business Applications

Solar panels are becoming an excellent and an increasingly attractive source of renewable energy for homes and businesses. This is due to three main causes; specifically, the growing costs of conventional energy, the decreasing prices of improved solar panels for homes as well as incentives offered by governments that make green energy an attractive option.

In the U.S., more than 10 thousand homes are powered entirely by solar panel systems. Besides, 200,000 homes use solar panels for their energy requirements. That in turn results in substantial savings on electricity bills. Subsequently, the use of conventional resources (fossil fuels, etc.) is reduced, resulting to less environmental pollution.

The installation costs for a home of a typical family can be $18-20 K if done by a professional contractor. These high costs prevent families from using solar panels. However one can save on installation via tax credits and state rebates. Moreover, if you do it yourself, the cost would be only about one-third before tax credits and rebates.

You can have two choices: a stand-alone unit which needs storage battery to function properly or a grid-intertied unit.

A worthwhile upgrade to your home would be to convert to grid-intertied solar energy system. As always, planning is the key to successful conversion.

First, calculate the energy you will need based on past consumption. You have to choose the right size of your solar energy system. An oversize energy unit will generate more power which you could sell to the power company, but you can only receive credit for it and not cash.

Next, understand if your home is suitable for a solar energy system. These factors are to be considered:accounted for: available space on the roof, building orientation and climate. A rule of thumb for estimating needed roof space is 80 to 100 sq. ft. per kW. A building should face south for the solar panel system to be efficient, and there should be no objects that may get in the way of sun rays.

Though you can install the solar panel units on poles, solar panel systems are as a rule mounted on rooftops. With the help of steel bolts, the supports are attached to roof rafters. The solar panels are then installed on the mounts.

Solar panel kits are readily available in the market. There are vendors who sell their solar panels on the Internet, but it is not advisable to buy from them unless you are an experienced DIY solar panel system builder.

Standard set of hardware you will need for a stand-alone system without a battery that is tied to the grid includes: solar panels, power inverter, power meter, mounts to be installed on the roof, a couple of heavy duty safety switches, wires and conduits. A DIY kit for a 1-kW system would cost a little over $3,000.

If you don’t have prior experience in this area, you are to pick a respectable vendor who is known for high quality service. It is prudent to buy DIY kits with accompanying installation manual with at least enough illustrations. The vendor should preferably have contact telephone number, and better yet, could provide an engineer in case you need advice. Alternatively if you are lucky enough to have a friend who had prior experience with installing home solar panels, then ask him to assist you in the buying of the hardware as well as in the installation.

Many have shown that solar energy can save one money and the Mother Earth. With the variety of improved, inexpensive solar panels for homes and businesses, solar electricity is the best option for most of us, so go back to that home improvement project: install a home solar panel system.