subject: Solar Energy Facts For Home Solar Systems [print this page] Solar Energy Facts You should Know in Setting Up Residential solar panels
Here are some solar energy facts that might help you decide in considering converting your residential grid consuming homes in using renewable solar energy to meet your daily energy needs.
An average household consumes roughly around 9-15 kWh of energy daily. If a square foot of solar panel can produce 15W, a 700 sq foot solar panel can present you with around 10.5 kWh of electricity. This might be enough to meet your current energy consumption needs.
More often than not, homeowners do not even bother to entertain thinking about converting to solar power due to the expensive initial cost of installing one. With respect to the solar panels and support structures you need, this can cost you around $10-$20,000 for commercially available units. But, an average homeowner that uses electricity from their utility grid could spend roughly around $50,000 over the following 25 years on electric bills alone.
With proper financing and even tax incentives being offered by the government, you could spend the same or even less for the following 20-25 years after which the power you generate from the solar power pays for itself and will generate savings after everything has all been paid for. It's simple to use the savings for other investments.
Solar panels have generally low maintenance once they are properly installed. They typically have a 20-25 year warranty and 40 year lifetime expectancy. So purchasing a solar powered system is one viable option that you may need to consider.
Addressing Climate Change:
It is ironic that the sun is also the main source of non-renewable fossil fuels like coal, gas and petroleum, which began life as plants or animals millions of years ago from decomposed matter. Plant matter that grew by aid of the sun is now the source of pollution that's contributing to global warming and climate change.
With fossil fuels' ill effects in the world, solar energy together with wind energy has now become a suitable alternative for renewable energy.
The prices of oil continue to rise as demands from developing countries carry on growing. The reason oil producers increase their prices is they say fossil fuel reserves are limited and they cannot match the current demand. But everybody knows it's just business. Just limit the supply from the demand and you'll get instant price increase and more profit for their bottom line.
Setting up solar power money is NOW. Technology we can miniaturize components that was previously gigantic in size. Manufacturing costs of photovoltaic cells have continually dropped by 3-5% per year for this reason. Solar energy has now become a far more affordable energy source suitable for homes and businesses.