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How to Power Your Home With Solar Energy
Need Power Savings For Your Home? Go Solar!Do you want to live in a home that is energy efficient? The good news is that there are technologies these days that can make that happen and one good example happens to be solar energy.
What Is Solar Energy?
Solar energy is the process of using the sun’s radiant rays to power your home. For this to work, you will need to purchase some solar panels and then have this installed by a contractor.
A Place For The Panels
Ideally, you will need a flat area measuring about a hundred square feet. This is good to install between 10 to 12 solar panels that can produce about a kilowatt of power.
If you think 1 kilowatt is small, think again because this is equivalent to 1,600 kilowatts of hours per year. That translates to 5.5 hours of electricity per day if you are using it to the max. Otherwise, excess power will be stored in the battery which will help bring electricity to the house during a blackout or at night.
What Else Will You Need For Your Solar Energy Home?
Aside from the solar panels, you will also need the inverter, battery, charge controller, wires and support structure.
Each of these parts are important since the system will not work without the other so whoever you choose as a contractor should have everything ready prior to installation. Once everything is set up, you can start to enjoy your new solar powered home. Since it requires minimal maintenance, it can last up to 20 years before you have to replace anything.
The Solar Thermal Roof
If you have a larger area to work with, why not invest in a solar thermal roof? The difference between this and the first one mentioned is that you convert the entire roof into a giant collector. It is quite expensive and takes a couple of days to complete but worth every penny.
The only reason not very many people invest in such a system is because most roofs are not oriented towards the south with the steep pitch needed to maximize solar energy especially during the winter. You will have to do some major construction work to make this happen.
Other Energy Alternatives
Solar energy is just one way for you to stop relying on power coming from the grid. When the sun isn’t shining, you have to be ready by preparing other ways to generate electricity. One example that can be used at home is wind energy.
Here, you use fans to collect the wind’s kinetic energy similar to windmills that you see in the farm. The only difference is that the blades are connected to a drive shaft that turns an electric generator to produce electricity.
Is A Solar Energy Home Right For You?
You need to do some research to find out if solar energy is feasible for your home. You should know how much power you consume on a monthly basis and also where exactly is your house located.
Financing Alternative Power Sources
Should your study show it is possible to live on solar energy, it is best to apply for a home equity loan to pay for the installation costs because you will surely get a return on your investment later on in the form of tax credit and a utility bill that won’t exceed $10.
So what are you waiting for? If you don’t want to rely on power from the electric company, consider investing in solar energy.
Go here to find out how you can make your own power source with solar and wind energy to save on power bills. Get complete information and useful instruction at www.earth4energy.com
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