Can Solar Panels Be Affordable For Home Use?

Using solar panels to harness the power of the sun has been researched for a long time

. Once used exclusively in outer space, the passive energy technology is getting closer to home.

Even if you have never wanted to live off-grid, or disconnected from the electric company, you probably have noticed the solar panels along the road, attached to the blinking sign that says you're speeding, or the temporary light at a bridge construction site. You may know that your cell phone has one, and your notebook computer, maybe even swimming pool. You may send your kids to a school with solar power, or know people who have energy collecting panels on their roof.

Beyond the possibility of getting cheap energy, there are many good reasons to consider solar power, as the danger of brown-outs in major cities grows, everyone worries about their carbon footprint, and wants to be east on the environment. Photovoltaic modules, (the correct term for photoelectric panels which are commonly known as solar panels), are made up of units, called cells, which absorb the light and trap it for use as energy. This is probably not a completely accurate explanation, but does state the main idea.

Intensive research done on solar collectors for space travel has been tapped for the power units used on earth. Care must be taken to ensure that the simple but durable systems can be protected from moisture, extremes of cold and heat, high winds, and all sorts of weather. A solar power system can last for decades if constructed properly.

To get power from the sun and use it to run the appliances in your home, you need more than solar panels, of course. You need the whole array, probably three or more panels and an inverter to turn the energy into electrical current. You need batteries for storage and wires to connect everything to everything else and then to your home power system. None of this is complicated, even though many will know little or nothing about it.

On-going research is bringing solar power down in price and up in efficiency. The possibility of using this energy to provide all the electricity needed for a home is now within the reach of many. Tax credits can help off-set the expense of changing to solar power, and the switch will save money as time goes on. The price for installing a solar power plant is still high enough to make prospective users think before they decide to proceed with solar systems.

It is possible to make your own efficient and long lasting solar collectors, doing every step yourself with materials from the local hardware and even some that can be recycled or scavenged. Remember Mother Earth News and the featured homes heated by pretty collections of beer bottles?

It might surprise you to know how many people are actually getting their power from the sun via home made set ups. The Internet is well stocked with sites that offer kits and instructions. The products offered have mixed reviews, there are many testimonials of success, and there are some warnings to help people make the right choice.

Doing it yourself with the instruction books and videos may be too much, but if you cannot budget in professional installation, check out discounted solar panels you can find online. They can be rented, as well.

by: Richard Ransome

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