An Introduction to Residential Solar Power
April 29, 2009 by admin
Filed under Residential Solar Power
Owing to the looming fossil fuel crisis in the world today, it has become rather urgent for us to tap into other sources of energy for meeting our diverse needs. Solar power is being considered as a potential replacement to fossil fuels and conventional sources of electricity in the coming decades. Many countries worldwide have already started promoting the use of solar power systems and many people have already installed residential solar power systems in their homes for harvesting solar energy. The result of such ventures are paying off well for many home owners.
The use of solar energy is still in the early stages and most of us are still not very clear about the methods of harnessing and utilizing solar energy. For this we have to first understand what the term residential solar power implies and how it is to be harvested.
Solar power and its importance in residential use
Residential solar power implies converting and channeling the energy derived from the sun into electrical energy that can be utilized by a number of household appliances and vehicles. Since solar energy is freely available from the sun there is no need to make additional purchases to obtain this virtually unlimited resource. Your overall investment in residential solar power is limited to your initial investment and maintenance costs once the equipment is installed.
Many people have installed solar energy systems on a roof or in their back yard for harvesting solar energy and for using it in several household applications. Governments have come up with many incentives for people to invest in solar energy in place of conventional energy, many state governments have developed concrete programs to encourage people in using residential solar power for their household energy requirements. One of the programs available gives you the opportunity to sell surplus energy generated from your solar energy system to the government or local utility. Many people have benefited from this scheme.
Another advantage that you could consider for changing over to residential solar power is that it is environmentally safe. Unlike conventional fuel generation, residential solar power generation does not involve the emission of harmful gases like carbon dioxide, carbon mono oxide, sulphur-laden gases, etc. into the surrounding atmosphere. This is one of the prime reasons for its suitability for residential use. Residential solar power systems work silently and you do not run the risk of disturbing your neighbours with noise pollution.
How does a residential solar power system work?
Residential solar power systems can be purchased as kits or can have a system designed for a specific location but they all essentially consist of an inverter, photovoltaic panels an electrical service panel and possibly a battery storage bank. Photovoltaic panels absorb energy directly from the rays of the sun and then convert that energy into electrical energy. This generated electricity is fed into your service panel and then distributed to different electrical outlets of your house.
If there is a surplus of electricity produced, that energy can be fed into the local power grid and you will be given credits from the electrical utility which you can use during low production times to buy power back. This allows for more cost savings and insures you always have enough power to meet your needs. Another option, if you want an off grid system is to use a battery backup system to store energy for later use.
How Do Solar Panels Work
April 12, 2009 by admin
Filed under Residential Solar Panels
Solar panels are made up of a collection of semiconductor materials that absorb photons. The most common type of semiconductor material used is silicone, which is very plentiful on earth. When photons from the sun strike the semi conductor material of the solar panel they are absorbed by electrons in the silicon semiconductor material. For this to happen, the photons that strike the semiconductor material must be at an energy level of about 1.2. If the energy level is below this minimum, no electricity will be created. About 70% of the photons in sunlight are at, or above this minimum level. The photons with energy levels below the minimum will reduce the efficiency of the solar panel because they create heat instead of electricity and as the panel heats up it becomes less efficient.
Currently solar energy systems still cost more to produce than fossil fuel energy due mostly to costs associated with manufacturing and research but these costs are very quickly dropping due to research and increasing demand. After the initial costs associated with purchasing and installing one of these systems, future costs associated with operation and maintenance are minimal. The lifespan of solar panels is about 20 years and researchers are developing new types of solar panels all the time.
Fossil fuel consumption cannot go on indefinitely because these fuels are not renewable and will eventually become depleted and the next step will be solar and wind power. As the costs of electricity obtained from fossil fuels increase, the cost of installing a system that utilizes solar and wind energy is dropping. In the near future solar power will be the most cost effective source for our heating and electrical needs.
Solar panels generate a steady (DC) voltage and many devices are designed to operate with DC voltage. The typical home is wired for 120 volt AC operation so the DC voltage can be converted to 120 AC voltage using a device called an inverter. It is then available to be used by the power grid in your home.
This reduces the amount of electricity that you will use from the power company. When more power is generated than you need, the extra is automatically diverted out of your house and into the utility companies distribution system and you receive credits for the electricity you provide to the utility. When your solar system can’t provide enough electricity to meet your needs you can then draw from the utility companies distribution system again. This is all done automatically and works very efficiently for both home owner and the utility company.
