Alternative Energy HQ solar power for homes, wind energy, and bio fuel issues
The sun is a source of renewable energy called solar energy. To turn solar energy directly into electricity, a solar cell is employed. Solar cell is also called photovoltaic cell or PV for short. One solar cell generates only small amount of electricity, so solar cells are organized and packaged into panels. Presently one can buy both solar panels for commercial purposes and solar panels for homes.
As a rule, solar cells are manufactured of crystalline silicon. When exposed to sunbeams, wafer-based crystalline silicon cells make electricity. An average of 13% of solar rays is converted to electrical energy. Presently, 18% is achieved, but 30% is a targeted figure by researchers.
If you are planning to install a solar energy system for your house or your business, solar panels for homes are the major piece of equipment you need. In general, manufacturing methods and materials used vary for each type of panels available in the market, so you need to understand the requirements of your system to be able to pick the proper solar panel for your home.
One thing to consider is whether your system will be stand-alone or tied to the grid. Consider also your geographical area and identify the right solar panel for your area. If you reside in a place where much sunlight is available, choose the concentrating solar collectors. These types of panels are angled to absorb direct sun rays. Otherwise, get the non-concentrating solar collectors, because they are able to absorb reflected sun rays as well.
Solar panels that can be used in your residence are available in a variety of power output ratings, from 60 to 190 watts. If you require greater output than 190 watts, you need to buy more panels and set up an array of panels.
Depending on the brand, a single solar panel is priced approximately $1,000. Popular brands are Sharp, Mitsubishi, Sanyo, Kyocera, Evergreen adn Uni-Solar. These products carry a 20-year warranty. In you can, choose brands that have low manufacturing impact on nature.
You have to keep in mind the efficiency of different brands as systems with greater efficiency will pay for themselves in less time. Efficiency of 16 to 18% is already good, so you sould expect around 10-year payback period. This will be cut down to four years when panels with 25% efficiency become available in the future.
With new panels priced at about $1,000 a piece, a system for your home can cost you $20,000, provided that a contractor does the installation for you. If you can do it yourself, the cost would be cut down to less than 50%. You can save even more if you buy broken panels and fix them yourself.
The market trend for solar panels is towards more affordable panels. Besides, both the federal and state governments offer incentives that help reduce the total cost of a solar panel system. With these factors in mind, many households are thinking about installing home solar energy systems.
$20,000 for a system that could power a typical house is still ouside of the price range for the majority of people. The solution then is to install a solar energy system that only partially covers the energy needs. Solar panels for homes can be installed for $5,000 and are enough to take 30% of the energy requirements. The number of residences powered by solar panels for homes is expected to grow in the future, thus contributing to a greener planet.
