Why Should You Pick Solar Power For Homes

Solar power for the home has made great strides since its early beginnings. Technological advancements have allowed commercially available building materials to incorporate solar cells, which turns them into solar panels that are virtually invisible to the naked eye.


There are two ways that solar power for homes is supplied. A stand alone solar power system acts as the sole source of electricity for your home. Alternatively, supplemental solar power systems, can supply all of your homes energy depending on sunlight availability. When sunlight is not available, your home can use energy from the power grid.


The basic components to generate solar power for homes are the same whether you opt for a standalone system or a supplemental system. First you have the photovoltaic panels, commonly known as PV or solar panels, these panels are lined with a semi conductor or solar cell that turns the rays of the sun into electricity. This electricity is then routed into a regulator/controller that keeps the current at the voltage/amperage level your system is designed for. The electricity is then routed either into your homes electrical system or into a battery array or storage system that will keep that solar power available when the sun goes down.


Installing a storage system has its pluses even if you're connected to the grid. Your monthly utility bill will still be less than what you would pay for full service from the power company, but you'll also have access to power in the event of any outages.


Supplementing or replacing your electricity needs with solar power for homes is becoming easier and more affordable than ever. Some building materials include roofing material, awnings, car port roofing and the edges of the panes in your windows. This type of solar panel is called Building Integrated Photovoltaics. When used in roofing material these panels offer the same level of home protection as asphalt shingles while functioning as a solar panel.


One of the largest setbacks to adding or converting your home to solar power has always been the initial cost, there are however a growing number of ways to combat that cost. There are grants available on both the state and federal level to help offset a large portion of using solar power for homes. While the federal rebate may change from year to year, individual state rebates vary from state to state, with some states offering special low interest financing as an added green incentive to rebates.


Any green project will reduce the environmental impact your home has on our world. However, the greatest pay off will be a reduced or even eliminated utility bill each month. Quite a few utility companies have a metering program under which you can sell excess power generated from your home solar power system to the local utility company, in effect making your meter run backwards. That's one very green bonus!
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Solar Power Panel Plans

One of the first images that come to mind when the topic of solar energy arises is the solar panel, typically portrayed as an oversized, reflective box parked on a rooftop waiting to catch the sun’s rays. This is changing rapidly as solar cell technology grows in leaps and bounds.

The heat that is continuously created by the sun can be harnessed for use in heating both water systems and ventilation systems through a solar power panel, generally called a photovoltaic or PV panel. A solar power panel is lined with semi-conductive material, usually silicon-based, which generates electricity whenever light from the sun goes through it. The lining is known as the solar cell. The electricity travels via the semi-conductive material to the electrical system powering your house.

Originally, the solar panel or PV panels were restricted to big square or rectangular-shaped enclosures. Recently, the manufacturing process for solar cells has developed tremendously, opening new doors to significant changes in the way solar power panels can be integrated into your business or home. As solar cells become as a more practical alternative to energy problems, solar panels have become easier to install and can be made a part of roofing material or even parts of windows. Building Integrated Photovoltaics, or BIPV, is the emerging technology of integrating solar cells into all kinds of building materials, so that a building can be green from the ground up.

Solar cells that are integrated into roofing material will give the same protective qualities as traditional asphalt shingles, while simultaneously gathering energy from the sun. The same technology may also be used for exterior walls, windows, skylights, walkway coverings, awnings, and car ports, and it would appear that, every day, a new means of integrating solar power panels into regular building materials becomes available.

Many kinds of solar power panel assemblies are mounted off the building itself. The two most popular kinds are pole-mounted or ground mounted fixtures both of which allow placement of solar panels where they will get maximum sun exposure, thus giving greater flexibility in both solar system and building design. Solar panels generate some power with only indirect exposure to sunlight, but you'll generate the most amount of solar power only if there is direct exposure of solar panels to the sun's full rays.

Ground mounted structures which are mounted typically to metal frames anchored into the ground with traditional construction methods, concrete footers etc. These frames can be built with motorized mounts for the solar power panels which would allow them to “track” or follow the sun throughout the day.

Pole mounted structures which are mounted either to the top or side of a metal pole can be constructed to allow the solar panels to track the sun’s path to receive the maximum amount of solar exposure throughout the day.

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