Step number one in getting started with any solar power setup in your home is to perform an energy audit. This is where you evaluate the amount of power (in kilowatts/hour or kilowatt hours) that you’ll need in any given day.

You will also need to take into account the site where your home is located. Geographical considerations such as climate, number of peak hours of sunlight per day, number of days of peak sunlight per year, and average rainfall will play a big role in how efficient a solar system you can design.

Any solar electric system will need, at the very least, the following components:

a collector (usually solar panels);
a mount (to put it on);
an inverter (to convert 12 volt DC power to 110 volt AC power);
a circuit breaker or fuse box and fuses & switches (to regulate the power transferring from the panels to your outlets and/or storage batteries);
(optional) one or more storage batteries;
(if you get a battery) a charge controller (to keep from over- or undercharging the battery and severely reducing its lifespan);

Once you’ve purchased all the elements of the solar system you’ve just designed, installation is fairly easy, though the simplicity of installing a solar power system does not mean you should necessarily do it yourself. There are numerous advantages to hiring a professional installer with training in both electrical systems and solar electrical systems, including knowing how to set everything up to code, should the building inspector ever have the need to look it over (ie. for insurance purposes).

If you find the right solar professional, they will instruct you in those parts of the installation that you are capable of and allow you to do some of the work yourself, saving you on some of your labor costs.

Even if you don’t decide to have a professional install your solar system, it would be well worth your while to consult one with your design to make sure it’s a viable design, one that’s taken all the necessary considerations into account. For example, there is a wide selection of panels, controllers, inverters, and batteries, each one manufactured with different requirements, each one not necessarily interchangeable with the other.

To further minimize the chances of incompatibilities between components in your solar system, consider purchasing all the elements of your set up from the same company and consulting with someone on their sales team that is knowledgeable in solar electric power.

In fact, many companies sell solar kits that contain all the components you would need to set your house up with solar power, with the certainty that all the components are compatible.

Whatever you decide, you don’t have to break the bank to try and supplant your entire power grid reliance with solar power right away and all at once. If you’re interested in availing yourself and your household of the multifold benefits of solar power, start small. Get yourself a single solar panel and see how well that works for you. When you’re ready, add on more panels, batteries, etc., one at a time as you can afford it and as your needs evolve.

Michelle Bery
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/how-to-get-started-with-your-own-home-solar-electric-system-125012.html

You might belong to those home owners who are having second thoughts on purchasing his own solar garden lights (or any other type of solar lighting or gadgets for that matter) if only because you have doubts about the efficiency of these gadgets. People somehow doubt whether or not these sun-powered gadget would really deliver what the manufacturers advertise they can do.

 

If many of the home owners who have already bought and installed their solar garden lights on their yards are really happy about the quality of the product that they get. Most outdoor lights nowadays are really efficient and reliable regardless of the kind of brand – this is because manufacturers are in fierce competition with one another and so they want to capture a good share of the market by selling excellent quality solar products.

 

What makes this type of outdoor solar lighting click? Here are some of the reasons why garden solar lights are better than the conventional outdoor lights.

 

Solar lights are made up of solar cells, without which the lights will not be able to work as no solar energy is harnessed. And so PV or photovoltaic cells are the special components not found in ordinary lights; they make the collection of energy from the sun and its conversion to solar power possible.

 

Solar garden lights are built with light emitting diode lights or LED lights. They are made of advanced materials making them several levels higher than the ordinary lights in terms of quality in providing illumination to your garden and home exteriors.

 

What makes garden solar lights a hit among home owners is that they are known to run efficiently for many hours in a day without any need for any battery changes. Of course being sun power-run, you never need electricity for these sun-powered gadgets. Normally, these lights that are fully exposed to the rays of the sun will be able to gather energy and transform it to power, enough for the lights to illuminate for 8 to a maximum of 10 hours non-stop.

 

Overall, the benefits that we can take advantage of solar garden lights are significant, although there is one drawback. In terms of illumination, these lights are not as bright as the usual lighting. Hence, many home owners really buy solar lighting as mainly accents to beautify their homes.

 

If you are greatly interested in other solar lights, solar panels and sun-powered gadget topics and discussions, do visit our http://solarlightsandgizmos.com/ blog.

Ernesto Maitim
http://www.articlesbase.com/gadgets-and-gizmos-articles/efficient-solar-garden-lights-for-homeowners-514038.html

Many people today are unaware of why and when you should use renewable energy sources in today’s world. The main reason for using natural energy is mainly down to the environment, and if you care to improve the quality of it. But with many viable energy sources out there, which one you choose can be a nightmare to decide upon.

Before you set off to purchase lets say, a couple of solar panels, you should take a look at the other technologies available to decide which is most appropriate for your environment. For example, solar panels may not be of much use near the poles, put a hefty, durable wind turbine would love to sit up there and spin round and round all day.

You don’t have to be a genius to discover that solar panels work best near the equator and reduce in efficiency, the further away you travel from the equator. So, if you live nearer the poles than the equator, you should choose a wind turbine right? Wrong!!!!

Wind turbines could be placed anywhere on our globe (where the land can support them) and still generate hardly any power whatsoever. It all depends on the surrounding environment, for instance, if you build a home wind turbine in your backyard, you could be very disappointed, unless you were the only house in the most common wind direction. What we mean by this is, if there are many houses surrounding your house, they will block most of the winds power and your turbine will probably just spin round at a very slow speed (assuming its windy), and this doesn’t generate the power you require.

However, if you live in the country and place a turbine in your backyard, you are more likely to generate a larger output of electricity. So the answer is buy one if you live in the countryside? Wrong again!!!

If there are large hills, forests or mountains nearby, these too can greatly reduce the winds power. Before purchasing a wind turbine you should definitely either do research yourself into the surrounding are, or hire a professional to do a survey. If your house is surrounded by other houses, dense tree plantations, hills, or mountains, (presuming they are blocking the path of the average wind direction), you should consider looking into solar cells or even a geothermal system to heat your home.

For more information on wind turbines, why not take a look here: http://www.clean-energy-ideas.com/wind_turbines.html

James Bratley
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/when-you-should-choose-wind-turbines-over-solar-panels-106306.html

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