For several years now, a lot of people are complaining about the ever increasing electricity bills. Because of this, solar power systems for homes have become a great alternative as the cost of solar technology goes down every year. Solar power system for homes have become more advanced and more affordable.

With just a little amount of sunlight, you can get some electricity. With only a few solar panels, you can generate the needed electricity for your home; even if you live in a small house, you can install a solar panel.



Install Solar Power System for Homes and Help to Protect the Environment

Going green these days is vital to save the environment. Global warming has taken its toll and people from all over the world can now feel the consequences. Using solar power system for homes is a very effective way to help save the environment so that you can no longer depend entirely on conventional electricity. Perhaps you’re already aware that electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels. The emissions from the burning of the fuels contribute to global warming. When you use solar power, you can decrease electrical consumption and in turn you can save a lot of money.



The importance of Orientation in a Solar Power System for Homes

Most of today’s homes are not properly oriented to get a lot of sunlight and this becomes a great problem; although, the modern solar power systems for homes are more efficient and can generate quality electricity with less sunlight. The improved solar panels are installed at steeper angles and still capture sunlight. So, if your home doesn’t have an ideal orientation, it would still be possible to generate solar power.

Solar panels are usually installed on top of the roof together with an effective rail system, in this way; the panels are able to slide at the best position to get sunlight. These systems are also ideal just in case you want to expand later on.



Installation of Solar Power System for Homes

Before you install solar panels, you need to determine the electricity requirements of your home. To calculate your monthly electrical consumption, you will need to check your electrical bills and determine the average usage and then pick the right system size. Otherwise, you could just fulfill part of your home demand. In this case, you can refer to this article to estimate power consumption for different electric appliances.

If this is your first time to use solar power, it would better to start with the simplest project you can find and make room for expansion as well so that you can expand the system little by little especially if you have limited resources. Even if you use solar power as an alternative power source, you will surely be able to have a considerable reduction in your bills in the coming months.



Start Small and Make Room for Expansion

For instance, for simple projects, you can start working on outdoor lights, garden fountains, etc. Later on, you can use solar power for your indoor electrical requirements.

When installing a solar power system for homes, one of the most important considerations is the inverter. Make sure that the inverter’s size is properly chosen. The inverter is responsible for converting DC into AC. Pick the appropriate size inverter so that you can meet all your electrical needs. It’s a good idea to purchase a over sized inverter even if you’re only planning to install a smaller system. In this way, when you finally decide to expand in the future, you will just wire them in.



Look for Appropriate Help

If you’re not an electrician and you have limited knowledge about electricity and electrical components, try to hire someone to connect the inverter. The solar power system needs to be connected into your home’s electrical system. Dangerous voltages are present and you might get electrocuted. Only an electrician can comply with the local codes so that your project can pass the inspection. The state and federal government also provides incentives for homeowners who decide to go for solar power. You can avail of loans or grants so that you can install the solar power system soon. Take advantage of these special programs so that you can start benefiting from an efficient and clean electrical system.

You can try DIY solar power systems for home. Visit this online shop for solar power components to get a good idea of your required investment

Residential power systems that generate clean and renewable electricity usually make use of solar panels. A lot of homes are now using solar power specifically in California because of the many hours per day of sun radiation.

Benefits of Solar Panels

If you want to get a continuous supply of electricity, you can get solar panels. The solar panels will then provide electricity that you can use outdoors and indoors to power some of your electric appliances. The solar panels will be connected to your existing electrical wirings and so you will need an electrician to do the task for you. Once you start using the solar panels, you can now enjoy free electricity. In most cases, homeowners are able to enjoy 50% to 80% reduction in monthly electrical bills.

The cost of fossil fuels is increasing yearly as well as other commodities. It is very important to save money nowadays because you can’t tell if the financial situation will improve or perhaps get worse. Solar power is free once you’ve purchased the needed assembly and you follow the guided instructions properly.

The sun will surely shine in the morning and so you can expect to generate electricity day by day. Years ago, people could not use solar power because the silicon-based systems used to build the solar panels were too expensive. With the advances in modern technology, solar power is now readily available at a very affordable cost.

Residential houses can benefit from these solar power systems because electrical costs are reduced. There are solar panels being sold today but they are still a bit costly. However, if you want to save money, you can start building your own. The needed materials can be bought in local hardware stores; by purchasing DIY kits, you can build the panels by following the instructions carefully. You can find instructions to build solar panels right here in this blog.

Solar Panels Maintenance

The solar panels are usually mounted on rooftops where there is lots of sunlight, but you must ensure that the panels are working efficiently. You need to clean the panels and check it once in a while, but generally speaking, the solar panels require little maintenance. This is the perfect energy solution for your home and the panels can serve you for about twenty years or even more when properly maintained.

About The Aesthetics Of Solar Panels

The designs of solar panels today do not harm the general looking of your home. In fact, solar panels can now blend with your home’s existing design. Find the perfect ready-made solar panel in the market or you can simply build one yourself. There are several reputable manufacturers that you can find and it would be best to stick to established and reputable ones. Most of the solar panels come with 15-20 years of warranty. This is an amazing deal. So, if anything goes wrong, you can always take advantage of the warranty. Some products even offer lifetime warranty; normally, they are durable and can withstand harsh weather conditions.



Start Small But Think Big…

You can start with small solar panels but purchase big inverters. That way, you can expand in the future and buy additional panels. If you can afford to fully invest in solar power for your home, then you can buy all the needed solar panels so that you can now use solar power to the fullest and perhaps substitute completely your normal electricity supply.

Now, you don’t need to rely entirely on conventional electrical sources. The solar panels can provide the needed electricity day and night regardless of the weather.

Click Here To Find The Available Products To Build Your Own Solar Power System

When designing your power system that you will depend on for years to come, it is a good idea to start with your expected energy usage in your home. Typically this is called an Energy Budget. You can refer to my previous post Sizing a Renewable Home Power System to easily determine your Energy Budget.

You can also refer to the post on Basic Concepts of Electricity in order to have a better understanding of the designing process here described.

After you complete an energy budget you will have a better idea of the amount of power production that will be necessary to run your off grid home.

In our next post we shall describe how to select your system power voltage. Stay tuned.

Your solar battery bank is truly the heart of your renewable energy system. Batteries are used to store DC electricity during the daily charging cycle for use at a future time.

Since the time at which your peak charging occurs rarely coincides with peak production times (our experience) then batteries are used for energy storage.

Choosing your batteries is a critical decision in designing your renewable energy system. If your solar battery bank is too small, then your system will not perform well and your batteries will have a short life. If your battery bank is too large it will be difficult to maintain a full charge, again resulting in poor system performance.



Solar Battery Location

Your choice of battery location should comply with the Electrical Code, whether you install the batteries inside or outside.

The location should also be designed to keep the batteries warm (25º C is best), because their capacity decreases at temperature below 25º C. This means that if you choose to locate your batteries in a unheated space, you will need to insulate the area properly.

You will also need greater battery capacity to compensate for the losses at lower temperatures. Make sure your supplier knows about the planned location of your batteries.

The batteries and other equipment should be accessible for maintenance and inspection, but safety must also be considered.

Batteries may give off hydrogen gas during charging and can be a source of electric shock, so the room area where they are housed should be properly vented to the outside and kept locked.

In addition, other electrical components, which can also be a source of spark, should also be kept separately from the battery housing.

Do not locate batteries near sources of heat or possible sources of open flame or spark. Finally, read all of the manufacturer’s recommendations and warnings about the safe and proper use and handling of batteries.



Inside Locations

Batteries located inside the living space should be properly vented to the outside. For small cottage systems for example two 12-VDC (volt direct current) batteries, you need a vent that is at least 1 inch in diameter.

Keep batteries separate from the living space by housing them in special battery cases properly ventilated to the outside. For summer cottages keep batteries fully charged to prevent freezing in the off-season.



Outside Locations

Batteries located outside of the living space should be housed in a box or shed. In a very cold location, you can house the batteries in a buried container for a better temperature control.

In all cases, batteries should be well protected from the elements and be well vented to the outside. Battery maintenance varies with the type used.

Basic maintenance includes visually checking the electrolyte levels and regularly verifying the specific gravity with a hydrometer. Add distilled water as necessary, and clean and tighten the battery caps.

Also, check for any leaks or physical damage to batteries. Follow battery and charge regulator instructions.

In our next post we´ll start discussing how to design your own renewable –off the grid- energy system.

Until then…

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Once your solar panels are up and running, the next obvious requirement is some sort of charge controller, since continuous overcharging will ruin the expensive battery bank.

Charge controllers intended for solar panels work by monitoring the battery voltage, and once it reaches full charge, the controller simply short the solar panel leads together. This doesn’t harm the solar panels but it does waste whatever power they are generating. The energy ends us up heating the transistors in the controller instead.



Simple Charge Controller Circuit

Charge controller

In a typical charge controller for a solar panel, the incoming battery voltage is divided in half by a pair of 3.3K resistors, so the trip points are adjusted to one-half the desired levels. Start at 14 volts for the trip points. The actual trip points will depend on your particular batteries, but a good starting point is 14.5 volts for full charge, and 11.8 volts for discharged. In this case, the trimpots should be adjusted to read 7.25 volts at TP-A and 5.9 volts at TP-B.

You will probably need to monitor your battery voltage through several charge cycles to determine the perfect trip points for your system.



Simple Wiring Diagram Showing the Charge Controller and Batteries.

Wiring diagram for charge controller and batteries

You can easily buy a charge controller or build your own custom made if you know how. Certainly the best option is buy an already built controller as this is a critical part of solar panel energy system.

In our next post we shall discuss the main points on building the battery bank. Until then…

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