subject: Home Solar Power Systems Used By Families Who Don't Have To Pay For Electricity Bills [print this page] Some families have taken a large part of their electricity consumption "off the grid". Most of their supply comes from home solar power systems that converts solar energy into electricity every single day. This means they only pay a small fraction of what most of us cough out in electricity bills.
The beautiful thing about this method of producing electricity is that you're reducing your carbon footprint -- and this is absolutely environmental friendly. Unfortunately generating solar energy at home is uncommon. This might be because of the high price of solar panels. Or maybe most families are not aware of the advantages of using renewable energy.
If you are seriously thinking of installing a solar power generator at home, you have several options to choose from. One extreme is to roll up your sleeves to build a DIY solar power system -- homemade. The other extreme is to pay a contractor to handle everything. This includes the design, installation and periodical maintenance of solar panels.
Most families tend toward the expensive route, hiring up a contractor to install the entire solar panel and electrical system for them.
Regardless of your choice, it is important to get to know the major parts of a home solar power system:
(1) Solar panel(s). This is a collection of photovoltaic cells that convert solar energy into tiny pulses of electricity and it definitely a major cost driver. Commercially available solar panels are expensive to most people. However they come with long warranty periods (like 25 years and beyond). The material used to construct the solar panel frame is no worse than high quality aluminum. Yet if you've only catered a low budget for your solar power system, you can get by with used solar panels. Many DIY enthusiasts have also constructed homemade solar panels by joining broken solar cells together.
(2) Inverter. Since electricity generated from solar panels is in a different form than household needs, it needs to be converted. The inverter is responsible for converting direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC). The electricity used in our homes is in the form of alternating current.
After conversion, the alternating current goes into a synchronizer. This allows both sources of electricity -- solar and grid -- to combine before each appliance can draw power from them.
Most families will choose to have their solar panels installed on the roof. It is the primary location to consider since the roof is where most sunshine falls, from dawn to dusk. You can assign the contractor to do the complete installation or you can roll up your sleeves to do it yourself if you have bought for yourself a used solar panel or have made a or homemade panel.
The usual payback period of a commercial solar panel is about 15 years. A DIY solar panel's payback period is no more than 2 years. This figure obviously varies according to the sunlight intensity at your location.
by: John Greenspan
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