Heres How You Can Introduce Solar Power For Your Home

Posted by green baby on June 28, 2009

Considering introducing solar power into your home? Well, if so, you’ll be pleased to hear that I have gathered together some information so you can get a good idea of how much it will cost and exactly what the scale of the job is.

Make a decision about what percentage of your home are you going to be running on solar power. You could use solar power to heat your water tank. You could go further and go completely off-grid thus ensuring the whole house is running on solar power. It’s up to you, but you have to find out what your home’s monthly average electric usage actually is.

To work out the average energy usage of your home, simply dig out your monthly electricity bills for the last two years. Do some calculations. Be aware of the year’s peak times, like Christmas when you would normally go through a lot more power than normal. This way, we can establish your home’s solar power system so it definitely can cope with whatever demands your home may plave upon it.

Now, for your security and peace of mind, multiply that amount by at least 1.5. If any extra electrical equipment is brought into your house you remain fully covered. So, by the end of this task you will know how much solar power you need. This will also enable you to tell how many solar panels you need and what size they have to be.

These days, you would almost always be best advised to look online when buying solar panels. Go to Ebay and enter the words “solar panel pallet” exactly as is. Sit back and be prepared to be amazed by the incredible bargains you will find there. If you think they seem expensive, please don’t forget that these prices are a one time cost and solar panels tend to have a lifetime of at least 25 years.

Without exception, always employ a skilled, experienced solar power technician to install your solar power. Look for them online or in your telephone directory. Don’t stop until you have three quotations for the job, but don’t necessarily make your decision based only on the price. Cost is important, but you may feel more confident to get a job well done from an experienced solar power technician when installing solar power for homes.

You will also have to shop around for a good quality inverter. Solar panels give out direct (DC) current when harnessing the sun’s energy. The inverter will convert this DC current into alternating (AC) current upon which we run all our domestic electrical equipment.

Roughly costing $2,000 together with perhaps $500 for installation, inverters tend to last about 10 years. Bare in mind solar panels.

For those who want to go completely off-grid, it is essential that you use good quality batteries to store the excess solar power harvest on sunny days. This reserve of energy can then be used to run your home’s electrical needs at night-time. The deep-cycle batteries will probably cost $50 to $100. I suggest you buy 10 of them. Expect to have to get new ones every 3-5 years.

Be sure to enquire if you can get any support from local government for the price of installing solar power for homes. Most local authorities offer tax credits. Ask your local electricity company as well. They might have some good incentives or special deals. Do this right and you could save 50% off the total cost or more.

Although it is essential you get a qualified electrician, you’ll be pleased to hear that installing solar power for homes doesn’t have to involve a lot of electrical work. normally, the older the house, the more additional rewiring will be needed. However, this is not often an extensive job. I repeat though, be sure to use an experienced, qualified electrician.

Always remember that solar power is a long-term investment. When you have paid everything off, you have can kick back and relax knowing that you now have a house that will run on free solar energy for many years to come!

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