The Benefits of Solar Energy and Solar Energy Technology

Many individuals are enthusiastic about the emerging solar energy technology, that provides a clean energy alternative approach to fossil fuel dependence, and the opportunities to obtain free energy are continually increasing. Photovoltaics are panels of material, which have the ability to collect the sun's radiation and convert it to direct current electricity, and this is how solar energy technology works. With this free power collected from the sun, a number of devices and appliances in your home can receive power. There is no cost to obtain and use the power that these panels get from sunlight, therefore, this procedure for supplying your home's energy needs is extremely inexpensive.

Let's take a look at the two kinds of solar energy technology currently available: active solar energy and passive solar energy. Active solar technology differs from passive solar technology, in that it cannot convert the energy obtained from the sun into direct current electricity, without the help of pumps, fans, or other traditional sources of energy or mechanical equipment. Passive solar energy, on the other hand, requires no other source of energy, and can collect and convert the sun's energy strictly through the photovoltaic cells.

Solar energy technology of this kind did not use to be something that would be found in many of our typical homes, as the complexity of installation, as well as the exorbitant cost of the systems, kept this method of providing energy for your home out of reach, but that has changed in the last few years. There have been new developments that have allowed for this technology to be produced in a less expensive way, and there is also the option of creating your own solar panel with the assistance of the vast number of manuals and guides offered online, so that you have a number of alternatives that will allow you to give less of your hard earned money to the utility companies. So, there are the benefits to you, in that you will be meeting much of your home's energy needs with free power, and then the benefits to the environment that result from taking less of our planets valuable, dwindling resources. So, it's easy to see why it would be worth your while to gain some additional information about how you can bring solar energy to your home.

Find out more about the new energy focus, environmentally friendly generators. Acquire wealth of information on how solar power systems work, benefits and many other informative tips on saving electricity. Learn how to build solar panels today; Master the true knowledge of generating free energy.

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How Many Solar Panels Do I Need to Power My Home?

If "Power My House" means to reach net-zero electrical utility bill, the necessary number of panels can be calculated based on yearly usage. A generic number of panels can be determined for an "average" home in the U.S., or a more specific answer can be determined for your home. Another approach is to determine how much solar energy you can produce. The later is a simple question to answer based on your home's available sun facing roof space.

Solar Panels

The commercial solar cells available today probably represent the state of the art for years to come. Good solar panels composed of monocrystalline silicon cells generate about 100 milliwatts per square inch (6.45 square cm). Commercial panels come in a variety of sizes, 100 watts and up; however, the power generated per square inch remains about 100 milliwatts. Number of panels required can decrease, but not the area.

"Average" Home

How much electricity does an average 2-story 3-bedroom house use per day, per month or per year. The US Energy Information Agency has estimated that the average U.S. home uses 8,900 Kwh (kilowatt hours) per year or about 24 Kwh per day. If this average home is in a climate that will produce an average of 6 hours of sunlight for maximum power generation, each square inch of optimally oriented panels can produce 600 milliwatts per day.

Consequently, about 40,000 square inches (24000 watts per day / 0.6 watt hours per inch per day) or 278 square feet of solar paneling would meet household need. If purchasing a 100-watt panel measuring about 6 square feet, an average home would require 46 panels.

Your Home

These calculations are for a fictional system but serve as a guideline. Your energy requirements may be substantially more, or less, than the average value used above. If your goal is to reduce your electricity bill to zero, you simply need to know your homes normal needs to tell you if it is possible and practical.

Electrical company invoices often show not only current months usage, but previous months as well. On request, the company may be able to provide a 12-month total. Alternatively, one can take meter readings each day over a week or even a month to include a few weekends when power use is typically higher.

Since usage typically is seasonable, this should be taken into account. For most of the U.S., winter usually represents the highest period of usage; however, in some areas of the country summers that require maximum use of AC may represent peak usage.

For example, if your energy bills or meter readings show that your yearly usage is 12000 Kwh per year, a solar power system would require a 63-panel array (47 x 12000 / 8900 = 63) of 100-watt panels. Roof space required would be 375 square feet.

Peter Wendt is a writer and researcher from Austin, TX with a goal to create a more sustainable home in the New Year. Wendt encourages his readers to speak with an solar energy for more information about going green in 2013.

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