Solar panels in houses will definitely reduce energy usage as it does not involve ongoing dependence on non-renewable energy sources such as coal-burning power plants. These coal power plants generate tremendous amounts of electricity through the burning of coal though it heavily pollutes the environment. Solar panels are a much cleaner renewable alternative as it is utilises the sun’s energy and converts it into electricity. The great thing about solar panels is that when used with conventional electricity it reduces your electricity bill hugely and when used alone you have no electricity bill to pay as it using the sun’s free energy. It can also be used for generating hot water.
PS-I wrote it by myself
More Pages:
- Wouldn’t this be a better way to Reduce CO2?
- Solar Producer: Energy Efficient Questions? (5/13/2011)
- Solar Producer: Why Not Supporting The Nuclear Energy? (7/26/2011)
- Solar Power: Facts About Renewable Energy? (solar, Wind, Etc) Please Answer? (5/29/2011)
- Solar Energy: Are Plants More Efficient At Converting Sunlight Into Energy Then Solar Panels? (7/7/2011)
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Found page that explains: Solar Energy Systems FAQs.
Solar power at its simplest is the raw energy created by the sun’s rays. That energy can be used to heat water or provide electricity to run a home or business. There are many solar options today that can replace much of your regular energy needs, saving you money and benefiting the environment by cutting down on the use of fossil fuels.
2. Where do I begin?
Arosa Solar recommends a long term, big picture approach. What are your goals and budget limitations? You can start small and add on later, or make the leap to near complete independence from fossil fuels and your utility company by installing an entire system. This website should help you become informed about your solar options and what will work for your location.
Commercial solar panels3. What are the different types of solar systems?
There are two main types of solar application, and a host of smaller ones. Photovoltaic systems harness the sun’s rays through solar modules, using an inverter to convert the resulting DC current to safe AC current. Often the amount of power produced during a sunny day exceeds the energy need, and can be fed back into the grid for a credit with the utility company.
Solar thermal residential systemsSolar thermal systems use the sun’s energy to heat water, either for household use, radiant heat or to keep pool water warm. Water storage tanks can keep water hot in a holding tank through the sun’s energy and a circulation system. Pool systems typically use the pool’s existing pump to circulate water through the collectors and heat the pool. A solar pool heating system has a dual advantage; it extends your swimming season and simultaneously allows you to significantly cut your energy costs to heat the pool.
4. What size solar electric system do I need?
Your first step is to determine your average daily usage in kilowatt hours. Most bills will have this displayed either as a daily average over the month or the total kilowatt hours used over the month. Looking at your average over the year will give you the best estimate.
Residential PV systemsArosa Solar can then estimate the size PV system you will need to produce a percentage of your building’s energy. A formula consisting of the sunlight hours / day times the number of kilowatts a system would produce will give you an idea of what percentage of your homes power could be replaced with solar energy.
The larger the system, the higher the energy output. A solar water heater can decrease your gas bill by a significant percentage – 70-80 & of most homeowners’ summer gas charges are for hot water usage. When you add the savings together, a large portion of your utility bills could be eliminated. Solar attic fans and tube lights are yet another way to maximize your solar resources.
5. What do the systems cost, and what incentives are available?
A solar water heating system will typically cost between $ 6,000 and $ 8,000 depending on the size of the family. An installed solar electric system for the average home costs $ 8.50 – $ 9.50 per watt.
However, a state incentive applies for $ 1.55 to $ 1.75 per watt on PV systems, cutting that cost significantly. There is also a 30% federal tax credit for both solar electric and solar water heating systems. You can take the tax credit on both systems if you install both within the same year. There is no limit on the federal tax creditfor commercial or residential PV systems, but for residential thermal applications a $ 2000 limit applies.
6. Do the solar electric and thermal systems need backup?
Backup is wise for any system, particularly in parts of the country where sunlight is not a guarantee on a steady basis. Most homeowners tie their system to the electricity grid, allowing extra power to be sold to the electric company at high rates and power to be drawn back off the grid at low rates during hours of darkness. This is known as a net metered, grid-tied system; the utility company is your backup. Solar water heating systems use a hot water tank for storing hot water. A gas line can be run to it or it can be set up with an electric heat element with an on / off switch for additional backup.
7. Do I have an acceptable location for solar?
Solar panelsIn almost all cases, yes! Solar panels simply need a relatively south-facing area that gets sun from approximately 9am to 3pm. They can even work facing west or east, but it does decrease output by around 15 – 20%. The systems can also be tilt-mounted to face south, or ground mounted. Arosa Solar will perform an evaluation of your location prior to an installation to ensure optimal production from your solar system.
8. Should I worry about my solar water heating system freezing?
Commercial Solar panelsNo. That is avoided by using either a drainback system or a glycol system. They both achieve freeze protection very well in cold climates. Drainback systems work by using gravity to
You are PERFECTLY Correct! Everyone should have Solar Panels. There is one bad thing…
It’s that there are less jobs currently available. Then that means that the workers in the
Power Plant will have to be fired! Let us hope that America has more jobs available…
Yeah, all you said was correct. However, the main problem right now is solar panels are INEFFICIENT. I’m all for solar panels,but only the best ones are 20% efficiency (that is, unless you buy the ones that are a few million $ per panel, which are 40%).
Now if there were efficient ways to produce them…
A college near my home installed 35 solar tracking panel that produced a total 5 kilowatts. that is about 1000$ of electricity per year at our local electricity rate. they cost a whopping 250 000$ cdn. their maintenance cost per year about 1000$ cdn.
Are they worth their price, NO. is it better then the hydro-power we got, again the answer is NO.
we have the best energy source here, but still for 250 000$ to produced 5 kw is it really economical?
My answer still stand, NO i don’t think so.
The use of photovoltaic technology for producing power is environmentally friendly. Is uses naturally occurring sunlight as its source and gives off no emissions. It doesn’t pollute the air by releasing carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide or mercury into the atmosphere like many traditional forms of power generation. The passive energy created is both economical and abundant.
Well done! You may want to clarify about water heating because the sun does the heating, not the solar panels per se. The solar panels are more for moving the water through the system, if I remember correctly from my days in the industry. I believe we can totally do this here in the US as they are doing it all over Europe and China with fantastic results. People complain about the loss of jobs, but if people working in coal could segue into the solar industry, how is that bad? Better than the disaster WV just saw. Building a solar system is really just assembly, you don’t need to know a heck of a lot other than how to use some basic household tools.