Solar energy is a great renewable resource that is growing in popularity with the average consumer. As energy prices skyrocket and the average income stagnating, if not falling, consumers are looking for a way to reduce their costs of living in any area possible. The rise of renewable energy, and the desire to wean our society off of fossil fuels, makes using solar panels for the home a great alternative for power.

Solar power kits save energy for the homeowner because they allow the homeowner to generate their own electricity to power their home. In some cases, the homeowner can go completely off-grid and even sell additional electricity back to the power company. What a powerful concept to be able to take an expense and turn it into an asset.

What are solar panels?

A solar panel is a packaged interconnected assembly of solar cells that are cased in a housing unit to protect the cells from the weather and from physical damage. These panels generate electricity, which is then used to directly power devices in the home, or charge battery cells to store the power for nighttime use. A solar power kit typically includes solar panels, an inverter and interconnection wiring to connect the panel to the electrical system in the home. For those that want to live off the grid, batteries are included for continuous power during the day and night. The use of infrared solar cells also allows the homeowner to generate electricity at night, thus increasing the efficiency of these cells.

The technology of solar cells continues to advance with time. Currently, the efficiency rate of solar cells range from 5% to 19% depending upon the technology. The reason is that the solar cells (or photo-voltaic cells) only convert a limited range of sunlight frequencies into electricity. The renewable energy industry is experimenting with advanced technologies that will raise the efficiency of these solar cells by a whopping 50%.

A new technology for solar cells, also called thin film or third generation solar cells, is being researched. The plus side of this new generation technology is that it produces solar cells that can operate with a higher efficiency and less cost. These brands are both rigid and flexible thin film modules. The differences between the rigid thin film module and the flexible thin film module are due to differences in the materials that are used to make the modules and differences in the production of the modules.

Solar modules can last anywhere from 10 to 25 years while still operating at 80% of their original capacity. Every year the number of panels sold to consumers continues to grow. In 2007 over 4 million solar units were sold. There are a number of manufacturers that produce solar panels for consumer use, however the average consumer can create their own solar panels using materials from their local hardware store.

Solar panels for the home can provide renewable energy for the consumer. The initial costs can range greatly if the consumer chooses to build their own solar energy kit or have another company install a solar power kit. As the technology improves, the homeowner will have more options available to them to completely power their home with renewable solar power energy.

B Hopkins
http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/what-are-solar-panels-for-the-home-710880.html

 

How would you like to reduce your dependency on fossil fuels? How would you like to decrease your reliance on the power companies and cut the size of your bill each month? If you answered yes to both of these questions switching to solar power will greatly benefit you. PV systems make advantage of the suns rays and convert them into usable source of energy. The sun offers a renewable, and barring any unforeseen events, a timeless source of energy. Solar power is both financially and environmentally friendly. By using solar power one can save money, and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that are released through the burning of fossil fuel and natural gas for power. 

 

When considering electrical bills, switching to solar power has become the oblivious answer for many people and their households. Electrical bills make up a large portion of the household budget, and during the winter months they account for half of the power bills spent in a home. A solar power system is the one way to reduce or even eliminate your electrical bills.

 

Having your home run on solar power is easy to do, and many resources make installation an easy to do it yourself process. First consider a budget for your solar power spending; this can be based off of how much of your home you will power to solar energy, or the amount of kilowatt-hours your home uses. Once you purchase the basic parts: solar panels, inverter, battery, wires, etc, installation is easy. 

 

The solar panels which will be ground or roof mounted will provide the DC current which will be taken by the inverter and transformed into AC current which will be used to power your home. One key advantage of solar power that has attracted many is its longevity. Besides the sun providing a constant source of energy, solar panels are extremely durable. Solar panels can function for many decades before showing signs of failures, so if you are on a tight budget you can purchase used solar panels worry free. Solar power is an obvious answer to reducing dependency on fossil fuels and thus power companies. The process is inexpensive, and easy for a person to do themselves.   

 

 

MejI Alabi
http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/solar-power-is-easy-do-it-yourself-684650.html

The simple fact is that we cannot depend on oil and fossil fuels for our energy forever. Many people are already starting to realize this and are beginning to switch to residential solar power.

Using residential solar power may seem complicated but it’s simpler than you might think. I personally know people that aren’t as smart (or as good looking) as you and they have built their own solar power system.

First, let’s talk about what solar power is and how it works.

Solar power is an amazing thing. The sun blasts more than enough energy to provide us enough power to sustain ourselves. They key is being able to harness this energy and use it to our benefit. Our goal is to take this energy and convert it into electricity. Once we convert to electricity, this will give us all the residential solar power we will ever need.

Electricity is created by solar panels and converted using photovoltaic cells. The word photovoltaic literally means ‘light electricity’. Don’t let these big words confuse you, creating solar power for homes is quite simple and anyone can do it.

A solar generator can cost as little as $200 and can pay for itself within the first few weeks that you put it into use. Not to mention the benefits to the environment.

Let me give you an example of a recent solar generator I built. This is what’s called a ‘portable solar power system’ and can be made with only four pieces of material. (solar panel, charge controller, battery and inverter) These supplies can be purchased from any major hardware store and should cost around $200 total. This is one of the most popular systems to build due to the fact that it is ‘portable’. Take it wherever you like and you will never have to worry about the lack of electricity again. With a system like this, you should be able to get your investment back in as little as two weeks.

I have cut my electric bill be nearly 85% due to the solar panels I have built. Not to mention that the whole setup cost just under $200. Now how’s that for ‘going green’.

Anyone can do this, sometimes on a much larger scale. I’ve have know people who SELL the excess energy that they don’t use back to the electric company. So much for being at the mercy of the power company. Now you can actually MAKE money from them.

The idea of making homemade solar power was unheard of 20 years ago, but today is one of the fastest growing trends in the world. With the ever increasing costs of utility bills it just makes sense for someone to use homemade solar power as an alternative energy resource.

Gen Wright
http://www.articlesbase.com/branding-articles/residential-solar-power-how-to-make-your-own-energy-718649.html

With the economic crisis the world is facing right now, more and more people are turning to solar power for electricity. The reason for this is that you can save tons of money on your energy costs. Some people are even able to disconnect from their power companies and be completely energy independent.

http://www.my-linker.com/hop/energy4earth

This is done by installing solar power energy panels on to your home. You do not have to pay a professional thousands of dollars to come out and install solar panels for you. You can do it yourself. Find a book that has detailed instructions on how to install your own solar panels. I prefer one with diagram illustrations so that it is easier to comprehend. All of the supplies you need can be found at your local home improvement store for just a couple hundred bucks. Your solar panels will quickly pay for themselves with the amount you save on electricity.

Once you have everything you need, putting it together and installing it is a simple process that can be done in just one weekend. Your home will be more energy efficient and you will be amazed at the tiny utility bills that you will start getting each month. Or, if you prefer, you can install enough solar power in your home that you no longer have to pay for electricity at all!

Not only will you be saving money, but because solar power is made from renewable energy sources (the sun), you will also be helping to save the environment. The energy that your utility company is currently using to power your home is quickly depleting our non-renewable resources. Using solar energy will help to conserve these.

Think about it. If half the people on earth that depend on the power company were to switch to their own home solar powerred system what a better situation we would all be in right now. With the recent financial crisis in America we all need to think about the coming years and how to become more self-sustainable than ever before. We need to stop polluting around the world. I strongly believe solar is weighing heavy in the start of a free energy and almost non-toxic way of living. There are of course many more ways we need to improve as humans here on earth. Our energy demands are definetly on the Top 10 list of ways to improve on.

Save the earth and your pocketbook with just a couple hundred dollars and one little trip to the home improvement store! You will be glad once you are finished and bragging to your friends and family about actually doing something to help, being part of the solution. It won’t take you long either with this guide that I used to make my own solar power sysytem. All the information is included so I didn’t have to further research any of the process from buying to building to self powerring my entire house. Good luck buiding your own home solar power system.

http://www.my-linker.com/hop/energy4earth

Shaun Bradley
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/solar-power-746287.html

You can convert your home into solar power. By using solar system to generate electricity does make your home stand out. Solar energy or renewable energy can help you to save your electricity cost by 60% annually. A single house with 2 solar systems is sufficient for daily power usage. But the problem is a solar power system cost more than $1000. In this article I will show you the way of how you can get a home-made solar system for less than $200.

Earth 4 Energy is a website which offers a web-based program teaches how to build a home-made renewable energy generator. A solar power is enough to produce electricity for 3 heaters. It is also depend on the size of the solar plate. Each house should need at least a 2 kilowatt solar power system. The exceeding of electricity which isn’t use can be sold to a local power utility company.

2 meters are required to record the solar power which being used and another to record how much electricity did the solar system generated. As a result the electricity cost is less than $10 per month which reduces the utility expense by 60%. So you won’t have to worry about how much you have to pay for the bill. A solar system not only helps to keep the environment green but save a lot of money for you. As mentioned earlier, a solar system is costly. Earth 4 Energy is a D.I.Y. home-made solar system the program show you how to build a solar power device for less than $200. In fact you can buy parts from your local store or on the internet.

The program offers an instruction manual and videos show you how to build the system in detail. The process is explained in basic steps. The program is designed for people who have no basic knowledge about renewable power system and does not based on technical content. An experienced person can use the program for new ideas and tweak their skills. Earth 4 Energy offers a cost-effective way to build home-made renewable energy system for every household.

Let me show you how to successfully create a solar system for less than $200

Jonathan Valentine
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/earth-4-energy-review-can-earth-for-energy-really-convert-your-home-to-solar-power-692579.html