A Solar Power System Doesn’t Have to Power the Entire House
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Fri 8 Aug 2008
There’s no denying it any longer: the fossil fuel supply is running out, and eventually we will not have access to the oil and petroleum products that we have been embracing for the past century. In order to make sure that we do not suffer an energy crisis in the future, the time to develop and adopt new energy sources is now.
Many homeowners are doing their part by installing a solar power system in their home. A solar power system doesn’t have to be overly complicated or power the entire house; many solar enthusiasts choose to start small with a passive solar power system or a system that is only meant to power part of their needs. This seems to be the wisest way to go as the transition is being made to alternative fuels from fossil fuels.
Some Solar Requirements
Before you can install a solar power system in your home, though, there are a few things you need to consider. The location of your home is one of the most important factors that you’ll need to keep in mind. The geographic location of your home and its relative distance from the equator can affect the quality of the solar power possible for you.
If you live in a location and climate where the sun is almost always covered with clouds, solar power will be difficult for you to harness and utilize effectively. Homes that only receive significant sunlight for part of the year – such as homes in the very far north – will rely more on their backup energy source during the dark times of the year.
The orientation of your house, or how it is situated in its surroundings, also has a large impact on the solar power possibilities available to you. If your home is in the middle of a grove of very large trees, not much sunlight will be able to reach your solar panels. For maximum effectiveness, your solar panels should be able to be aimed at solar south or very close to it.
Will we ever see the adoption of a widespread solar power system encompassing many or all homes in the United States? It seems unlikely that solar will be our primary source of power in the future, but it will certainly be present and utilized to a greater degree than it is now. As technology improves and prices come down, we may even find ourselves eventually using solar power as a primary means of powering homes.
Solar Power Fan for the Attic
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Wed 6 Aug 2008
To keep the topmost part of your house cool during the hot summer months, the solar power fan can spread coolness. In all houses the hot air rushes to the top and is trapped in the attic or loft. With the accumulation of hot air comes moisture. Mold and mildew thrive in moisture, and if this is circulated back into the house, it can have adverse effects on the health of the occupants.
The solar power fan helps in recirculation or expelling the hot air from the house without using electricity. The functioning of the fan depends upon the power sun, which can help in saving big electricity bills. The fan can operate at 850 cfm and can cool around 1200 square feet. An inbuilt thermostat can help turn the fan on or off at regulated temperatures.
Solar Powered Attic Fans
To keep attics cool, fans make a difference. The solar power fan uses 10 to 20 watt solar power to run. The fan is provided with intake vents to provide high capacity powered ventilation which do not need any electricity. Usually these vents are mounted high on the roof near the ridge. The solar power fan comes fully assembled. Installation is simple and straightforward as most instructions are given in the product manual. These fans are usually designed to work along with sufficient intake air vents.
These fans can be easily installed by a roofing trade contractor. While installation the contractor should maximize intake of air and check for proper sealing between the conditioned space of the home and the attic. Drawing air from the house into the attic runs the risk of creating attic moisture and drawing the byproducts of combustion back into the house. The solar power fan for the attic comes with a warranty ranging from five to twenty-five years depending on the components used.
Standard powered fans are connected to the main electrical supply in the house. This involves considerable amount of wiring and prone to breakdowns. The solar power fan has none of these problems and it needs no wiring. The solar power fan but its very nature, takes its power directly from the solar cells positioned on the top of the roof. These fans can run for 24 hours non-stop. In most new construction applications, roofing contractors are making provision for installation of solar power fan vents. These units eliminate the need for any elaborate electrical wiring.
How to Attain Residential Solar Power
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Mon 4 Aug 2008
There are many benefits to solar power. Low energy costs, added durability and productivity, little maintenance, no emissions, renewability – there are endless advantages that are offered to us by solar power and this is why it would be such a good idea for you to consider changing your power to residential solar power.
Basically if you have residential solar power this means that your entire home or at least the majority of it is powered by solar power. Millions of people around the world have already caught onto this and switched over to residential solar power, and the only reason that many others have not yet is because they are still not sure and not educated enough on the issue of solar power.
What it is
Solar power can be used in two different ways, as a heat source and as an energy source. Solar power is a renewable type of energy, one that is free and abundant. Energy from the sun travels to the earth in the form of electromagnetic radiation and this is solar energy. At any particular time the available solar energy is primarily dependent upon how high the sun is sitting in the sky that day and how many clouds are covering it.
There are a variety of uses for this solar energy, including heating, cooling, electricity production, chemical processes, lighting and more.
Residential Solar Power
Anyone interested in switching to residential solar power should start off small, for instance get a few solar powered lights or timers just until you get used to the idea and then expand.
Advantages
There are many advantages that you will receive from switching to residential solar power. Not only will you be saving yourself bundles of money by not having to pay electricity costs, but as well you will be doing good for the environment because solar power does not produce harmful emissions or pollution. This is especially important today as issues like global warming are of such serious concern.
Also, solar and other renewable energy systems can be standalone, which means that they do not require a connection to a power or natural gas grid. This means you will have much greater flexibility in terms of where you can place your solar power devices. The use of solar energy is an untapped market and you never have to worry about it running out or becoming more expensive, as you do with gas and other fossil fuels.
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Are Residential Solar Panels in Your Home’s Future?
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Sat 2 Aug 2008
Whether you are concerned with the environment or just distressed about large energy bills, lots of people are turning to solar energy these days. Solar energy is a great way to reduce your environmental footprint, cut down on the amount of money that you spend on energy, and invest in the future of a viable alternative energy.
If you would like to try solar power out on your own home, residential solar panels are more affordable now than they ever have been before. The cost of solar power is still overall more expensive than fossil fuels, but that will change eventually. Solar power technology is improving all the time, and fossil fuel supplies are running shorter every year.
Is Your Home Suitable for Residential Solar Panels?
There are many types of homes that can use residential solar panels with great success. However, homes that experience a lot of shade or do not receive adequate sun due to other reasons may not be able to utilize solar energy to a great degree. If you live in a heavily wooded area that is in shade most of the day, you may have challenges getting enough sun to use residential solar panels.
You should also be able to aim your solar panels in the direction of solar south, which is just slightly different than magnetic south. This is the direction that most of the sun will hit your house from, so this is the ideal position for your residential solar panels to collect the energy.
Do it Yourself or Hire a Professional?
Installing residential solar panels is a major operation. Regardless, a lot of homeowners still take the project on themselves. It is recommended that you have a professional install your residential solar panels or at least assist on the project. This will ensure that the panels are positioned and installed correctly so they can provide the biggest benefit for your home.
There are many companies who sell residential solar panels in a kit with instructions for installation. These kits are typically for smaller residential solar panels that are not meant to power an entire house. If you are secure in your abilities, you might want to try installing these small panels yourself to get the hang of the technique.
Whether you’re installing it yourself or calling in an entire crew to do it for you, you’ll enjoy the benefits of your residential solar panels as soon as they start providing power for your home.
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Using Solar Power Kits at Home
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Thu 31 Jul 2008
Solar power kits are wonderful means of storing solar power and using it in place of other, more conventional energy sources like fossil fuel and hydroelectricity. This technology is especially useful in countries where bright sunshine lights the land throughout the year. However, solar power technology is still not cheap enough to be used in many tropical countries with bright sunny days. Even in countries where solar power systems are used, private homes can hardly afford solar panels. Solar power kits are used instead at homes to run some common home appliances.
Uses of Solar Power Kits
Solar power kits are used to charge batteries that can run various devices of domestic use like water pumps, home security cameras, radios, water heaters, children’s toys, and many other items of daily use. Ideally, these kits are used for lighting purposes inside home and even outside, like on road trips or during camping.
Working of a Solar Power Kit
The essential components of a solar power kit are: solar panel, charge controller, output cables, and mounts. The battery connected to the kit may be charged on standby (keeping it always charged in full) or it may be set on trickle charging (continuous charging of battery). The power capacity of the kits varies, usually from 10 to 115 watts. Low-power (12 volt) electrical appliances of domestic use can be powered by the kit during an episode of power-failure at home. Larger appliances can be used if the kit has greater power capacity.
Criticism of Solar Power Kits
The use of solar power kits at home has increased notably during the past several years. However, these kits have been criticized by a number of consumers for various reasons. Some people consider them as capable of doing more harm than good. A false sense of security that the owner might assume from using solar power kits is the main reason underlying their criticism. The easy-to-use guide, accompanying these kits, may cause the user to go easy on the fact that they are dealing with potentially dangerous electricity.
Advice on Using Solar Power Kits
Using solar power kits safely at home requires the user to carefully read the complete instructions in the user’s manual. Even with all the instructions provided, it is always safer and better recommended to hire the services of a professional installer for installing the system. If no professional installer can be found or afforded, the user may hire the services of an electrician for installing the system.
Size Of Solar Panels Determines Amount Of Available Power
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Tue 29 Jul 2008
In order to take advantage of alternative energy, freely available from the sun, the production of electricity requires the use of solar panels to convert the sun’s rays into electricity. One of the major problems inherent to the original design, being rigid and unbending, has been overcome with the development of flexible solar panels. However, the efficiency rating has not been improved significantly enough to make their installation and use economically feasible.
On average, solar panels work at about 12 percent efficiency, although some of the more recently developed panels can work at 20-percent and a panel measuring about eight square feet can produce 150-watts of electric power. This translates into the need for a large array of solar panels to provide enough power to operate and average home. To determine the size of the array needed to operate a home, add all of the wattage requirements of all of the appliances in the home to determine energy need.
In most installations, the solar panels do not operate the appliances directly. The electricity produced is sent to a large array of batteries that stores the electricity for later use. The power from the batteries is sent through a converter to change it from the 12-volt direct current into 120-volt alternating current for household use. When they power is siphoned off the batteries a regular sends the solar power to them to maintain their charge.
Panels With Tracking Capabilities Work Best
In most installations the solar panels are in a fixed position as installers attempt to keep the number of working parts to a minimum. However, as the sun moves across the sky, the amount of direct sunlight hitting the panels is negatively influenced. In order to keep the solar panels aimed at the sun, some installations fix them to a tracking mechanism to keep them aimed at the sun for the entire day.
Many municipalities and states have installed solar panels on many roadside devices for power, as opposed to having to pay for the installation of electric lines to remote parts of highways. There are even solar powered parking meters lining the streets in some cities, but sometimes the shade trees planted to enhance the area interfere with their operation.
Shade and nighttime are the foes of solar panels, as they require direct exposure to produce enough power to operate whatever it is that it powers. .Even the slightest bid of shade that covers a portion of the solar panels can have an adverse effect on the electic output.
