Residential Solar Energy and Solar Hot Water
Taking responsibility for our own home energy requirements is no longer just a moral choice, but is becoming a financial issue.
Having your own home solar energy system means that you can generate a portion of your own energy needs and reduce your dependence on expensive fossil fuel energy.
One of the greatest advantages of solar energy is that properly maintained, you can produce free clean energy for your home.
By building your own solar panels, you can reduce the initial investment considerably and will be able to recover your investment within just a few short years.
How Does Residential Solar Power Work? Home solar power is very simply energy that is captured from the sun and converted into electricity to run your home.
By integrating your system into the grid, you can sell the energy that you produce back to the grid or receive credits for future use.
Solar energy is captured through photovoltaic cells or PV cells.
These are connected together into solar panels which collect energy in the form of direct current.
In order to utilize the energy, it must first be converted into alternate current which is what household appliances use.
This is done through an inverter.
Once you have your AC, you can either grid tie it or save it in batteries.
If you are living on grid, a grid tie system is ideal as you won't need to worry about battery storage and maintenance, but not all electricity companies will buy your energy at the same price that they will charge for it.
If you are living off grid, then a battery bank is vital and having a large enough battery bank to maintain energy during the night and on rainy days may cost a little more, but will ensure that you have few power interruptions.
Solar Hot Water Systems for Home Use.
You can also take advantage of solar energy to heat your water.
Most solar hot water systems do not heat your water to more than around 60 degrees, but when used in conjunction with a hot water geyser, they reduce the amount of energy required to get your water to a suitable temperature for bathing.
The water heat is more than adequate for washing clothes and the implementation of such a system can reduce your heating bill by up to 40%.
The systems are different to solar panels for electricity in that they work by absorbing the heat of the sun and passing this heat to tubes running within them.
These tubes contain water which is heated.
Having your own home solar energy system means that you can generate a portion of your own energy needs and reduce your dependence on expensive fossil fuel energy.
One of the greatest advantages of solar energy is that properly maintained, you can produce free clean energy for your home.
By building your own solar panels, you can reduce the initial investment considerably and will be able to recover your investment within just a few short years.
How Does Residential Solar Power Work? Home solar power is very simply energy that is captured from the sun and converted into electricity to run your home.
By integrating your system into the grid, you can sell the energy that you produce back to the grid or receive credits for future use.
Solar energy is captured through photovoltaic cells or PV cells.
These are connected together into solar panels which collect energy in the form of direct current.
In order to utilize the energy, it must first be converted into alternate current which is what household appliances use.
This is done through an inverter.
Once you have your AC, you can either grid tie it or save it in batteries.
If you are living on grid, a grid tie system is ideal as you won't need to worry about battery storage and maintenance, but not all electricity companies will buy your energy at the same price that they will charge for it.
If you are living off grid, then a battery bank is vital and having a large enough battery bank to maintain energy during the night and on rainy days may cost a little more, but will ensure that you have few power interruptions.
Solar Hot Water Systems for Home Use.
You can also take advantage of solar energy to heat your water.
Most solar hot water systems do not heat your water to more than around 60 degrees, but when used in conjunction with a hot water geyser, they reduce the amount of energy required to get your water to a suitable temperature for bathing.
The water heat is more than adequate for washing clothes and the implementation of such a system can reduce your heating bill by up to 40%.
The systems are different to solar panels for electricity in that they work by absorbing the heat of the sun and passing this heat to tubes running within them.
These tubes contain water which is heated.
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