Address These Issues Before Choosing Solar Energy

Address These Issues Before Choosing Solar Energy Image
It's the 21st century, which makes it, according to cartoons and old movies, "The Future." Isn't it time you did a little something futuristic to your house? You could cut a hole in your garage for that flying car you'll be getting any day now! Or, more practically, you could install solar panels on your roof. What could be more futuristic than generating your own power and making your high-tech home more self-reliant?

While it is nice to save money, the main reason that a lot of people opt for solar energy is the fact that it is clean. Solar energy harnesses the power of the sun. It does not require the use of fossil fuels, turbines or distributions systems. Solar energy takes the light that would hit your home anyway and converts it into something that you can use.

A similar system uses a battery backup along with a grid tied system. Since your solar system and the energy grid are tied together, your system cannot be on during a power outage as this would endanger utility workers trying to repair the outage. Similar to having a backup generator, these systems use batteries to store some of the excess power generated by your solar system for use during a power outage. Because of the extra costs associated with this system, it is generally only used where power outages are common.

Call your homeowner's insurance company before installing solar energy panels to find out how the panels will affect your homeowner's insurance in terms of increased costs, possible decreases in costs and whether damage from installation such as roof leaks will be covered.

The first step towards calculating a thoughtful analysis is to calculate your home's energy consumption. You can accomplish this by looking over your electricity bills for the last year. Add up the number of kilowatt hours you used for the entire year and then divide by 1This will give you your monthly electricity consumption. The reason that you do it by kilowatt hour instead of money spent is that the charge for electricity changes from year to year. You will want to apply the rate for the coming year to your analysis.

Most homes use a grid-tied system for solar power production. This is the most cost effective option as it uses the standard power grid when solar power is not available, reducing the need for a large battery system to store power until it is needed. Using this option you will need to spend a large amount of money up front in order to get your electrical system ready to use power from your solar panels as well as being able to switch over smoothly to receiving power from the grid. A major benefit of this system is the ability to sell power back to the power company when you have excess capacity. The first time you get to see your meter actually running backwards should bring a smile to your face.

Another benefit is that you can sell the extra energy that you produce to companies, which can bring you more income. This is one of the very exciting benefits of having solar cells.

You do not have to invest in incredibly costly solar panels to begin to reap the benefits of solar power. If you utilize the suggestions outlined in this article, you will be well on your way to utilizing the power of the sun in your home.

If you want to install solar panels yourself, you have to be fully equipped with all the information you need. So before you start planning your DIY Solar Power System Project, Visit This Link for more detailed tips about Buy Cheap Solar Panels.