Need More Info on Going Solar? Start Here!

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Jeremy Leake

Saving money is something that everyone likes doing. Going solar in order to save money is a big step though. In order to help you out in determining if it’s the best decision for you and your family we found this article with more information. We hope it helps you make the best decision possible!

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From the article:

It’s becoming cheaper and easier to power your home with energy from the sun.
It???s a good time to invest in solar energy for your home. The cost of a home solar system has dropped dramatically, and there are even more options available to pay for one. Here???s what you need to know.

Number 1: Solar Systems Are Getting Cheaper. The cost to buy a solar power system has fallen by about 50% since 2007, to an average upfront cost of $4,590 per kilowatt. It???ll likely take you between seven and 15 years to recoup your upfront cost. The higher the electric rate you currently pay, the more sunshine your location receives, and the financial incentives that are available to you can all positively affect your return on solar.

Number 2: You???ll Need Shade-Free Space. For each kilowatt of capacity, you???ll need 100 square feet of mostly unshaded, south-facing space. Solar panels may be mounted on a flat or sloped roof or in your yard. Besides the panels, you???ll need an inverter to convert a direct current to an alternating current, a tie-in to the local utility grid and, possibly, a monitoring system that tells the installer how much power you???re producing.

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Read the entire article here: http://www.kiplinger.com/printstory.php?pid=12942

Thinking About Going Solar? You’re Not Alone!

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Jeremy Leake

Going solar is a big decision. It’s important to gather as much information as possible. It’s also helpful not to feel alone. To help you feel less alone we found this article that talks about how many people have gone solar. We hope it helps ease your anxieties about going solar!

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From the article:

The sun has long captivated humanity, from those who worshipped it in ancient times to others who work to harness it today. For more than 4.5 billion years, the burning ball of hydrogen has radiated more energy than we can comprehend. Every 40 minutes, the amount of solar energy that falls on the earth???s surface is equal to the total annual energy consumption of all human activities. In other words, 27 years??? worth of worldwide energy consumption equals only one day???s worth of solar energy hitting the earth.

Despite what some pundits would have you think, solar energy is no longer an exotic, experimental power source. Solar has become a primary source of new electric generation capacity in the United States ??? some 53 percent of new electric generating capacity in the first half of 2014 came from solar. With new sources of capital being unlocked, design and engineering innovations reducing system prices, and sales channels rapidly diversifying, the solar market is expected to drive significant growth for the next few years.

The United States??? solar market hit a major milestone in the second quarter of this year, with more than half a million homes and businesses now generating solar energy, according to a new report by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

The Q2 2014 U.S. Solar Market Insight Report says the U.S. installed 1,133 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaics (PV) in the second quarter of this year. The residential and commercial segments accounted for nearly half of all solar PV installations in the quarter.

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Read the entire article here: http://www.article-3.com/solar-now-powering-half-a-million-u-s-homes-and-businesses-914674

Ever Thought About Putting in Solar Power? Learn More About it Here!

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Jeremy Leake

Protecting the environment is very big in this day and age. Saving money is also important. In order to help you out we found this article all about solar power. We hope it’ll help answer your questions!

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From the article:

What is Solar Electricity?
Photovoltaic (PV) modules make electricity from sunlight, and are marvelously simple, effective, and durable. They sit in the sun and, with no moving parts, can run your appliances, charge your batteries, or make energy for the utility grid.

A PV array is the energy collector???the solar ???generator??? and does so via the photovoltaic effect. Discovered in 1839 by French physicist Alexandre-Edmund Becquerel, the photovoltaic effect describes the way in which PV cells create electricity from the energy residing in photons of sunlight. When sunlight hits a PV cell, the cell absorbs some of the photons and the photons??? energy is transferred to an electron in the semiconductor material. With the energy from the photon, the electron can escape its usual position in the semiconductor atom to become part of the current in an electrical circuit.

Most PV cells fall into one of two basic categories: crystalline silicon or thin-film. Crystalline silicon modules can be fashioned from either monocrystalline, multicrystalline, or ribbon silicon. Thin-film is a term encompassing a range of different technologies, including amorphous silicon, and a host of variations using other semiconductors like cadmium telluride or CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide). Thin-film technology generates a lot of the current R&D chatter, but crystalline modules currently capture more than 80% of the marketplace.

To use the energy from the array, you may also need other components, such as inverters, charge controllers and batteries, which make up a solar-electric system. The components required are dependent on the system type designed. System types include:

PV-DIRECT SYSTEMS: These are the simplest of solar-electric systems, with the fewest components (basically the PV array and the load). Because they don???t have batteries and are not hooked up to the utility, they only power the loads when the sun is shining. This means that they are only appropriate for a few select applications, notably water pumping and ventilation???when the sun shines, the fan or pump runs.

OFF-GRID SYSTEMS: Although they are most common in remote locations without utility service, off-grid solar-electric systems can work anywhere. These systems operate independently from the grid to provide all of a household???s electricity. These systems require a battery bank to store the solar electricity for use during nighttime or cloudy weather, a charge controller to protect the battery bank from overcharge, an inverter to convert the DC PV array power to AC for use with AC household appliances, and all the required disconnects, monitoring, and associated electrical safety gear.

GRID-TIED SYSTEMS WITH BATTERY BACKUP: This type is very similar to an off-grid system in design and components, but adds the utility grid, which reduces the need for the system to provide all the energy all the time.

BATTERYLESS GRID-TIED SYSTEMS: These most common PV systems are also known as on-grid, grid-tied, utility-interactive, grid-intertied, or grid-direct. They generate solar electricity and route it to the loads and to the electric utility grid, offsetting a home???s or business???s electricity usage. System components are simply comprised of the PV array, inverter(s), and required electrical safety gear (i.e., fuses/breakers/disconnects/monitoring). Living with a grid-connected solar-electric system is no different than living with utility electricity, except that some or all of the electricity you use comes from the sun. (The drawback of these batteryless systems is that they provide no outage protection???when the utility grid fails, these systems cannot operate.)

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Read the entire article here: http://www.homepower.com/articles/solar-electricity/basics/what-solar-electricity