Solar And Wind 4 Me

These panels cleverly convert the suns light into electricity. The cells are usually made up of layers of a semiconductor called Silicon. When exposed to light a DC electrical charge is generated. When numerous cells are banked together they can produce large amounts of electricity. These cells can be used to power many electrical devices from calculators to your home appliances. The sunnier the position the more electricity that can be generated.

This often, but not always, means positioning the panels on a south facing roof. If the roof is flat the panels can be mounted on frames that hold the panels at the optimum angle.

When connected to the national grid a property can benefit from reduced electricity bills and can even export electricity to the national grid.
The panels tend to cost somewhere between £5000 to £7500 per kW, depending on the required specification and particular project.

Are Solar PV panels right for my property?

If specified properly, installing Solar PV WILL reduce your electricity bills. For roof mounted panels, having a south facing roof is useful. However, depending on the roof angle, panels can function properly facing South West to South East. They still benefit from 95% of the suns radiation.

The panels can be sized in a number of ways, one method is to match the capacity to the minimum load on the property, so if the property typically uses 1kW, install 1kW of panels. This means that on the sunniest day every bit of electricity being generated is being used. Alternatively, you can install a much larger capacity and sell the excess electricity back to the national grid. The rates the electricity companies will pay for this electricity is becoming more competitive everyday.

Are there any grants?

There are many streams of grant funding depending on your particular project.  For domestic properties any one can get a grant if they use a certified BRE installer.  The grant is up to £2500 (£2000 per kW installed).

For non profit organisation there are grants that may pay for the whole installation.  Commercial businesses should contact there local authority to see if there are any local funding streams.

However, even without a grant a Solar PV system is a good investment.

Will this type of solar panel pay for itself?

In short the answer to this question is YES. The government grants in the UK have reduced the payback massively. A more detailed answer would need to look at exactly how payback is to be measured. The environmental payback is extremely quick, perhaps even 6 months? With regard to financial payback the calculation becomes more complex, let’s assume the following:

- Electricity prices continues to rise as they have over recent years.

- The system adds 50% of it’s installation cost to your homes value.

- You export surplus electricity to the national grid on a typical export tariff.

Given these, not unreasonable, assumptions, a system could payback within 10 years. After 20 years the system would have paid for itself twice over.

Peter Searancke
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/what-are-solar-photovoltaic-panels-744746.html

Im looking into building my own solar panels for my home, anyone know of a good place to start looking?
Thank you!

It is not easy. I would stick to heating for home made solar.
"Because solar cells are semiconductor devices, they share many of the same processing and manufacturing techniques as other semiconductor devices such as computer and memory chips. However, the stringent requirements for cleanliness and quality control of semiconductor fabrication are a little more relaxed for solar cells.
Making solar panels is still a delicate process, and it is for this reason that major solar advances did not come into play until the last quarter of the century, when advances in semiconductors and photovoltaic design allowed increasingly efficient and affordable solar cells to be developed."

Solar electricity panels are much like any other solar panels with maybe a few differences. There are kits that are sold that will assist an individual in the construction and installation of these panels as well. In addition, these panels operate much like the others by the means of using the wavelengths of light drawn from the sun to work.

In order to design solar electricity panels an individual can also find assistance via the Internet on a variety of web sites. These panels use very small crystal cells, different forms of wattage control, as well as wattage.

It is important to remember too, that different amp cells are going to produce different amounts of energy or electricity when these are finished products and running efficiently.

Many homes today are using eco-friendly designs in order to also preserve energy for future generations and to save financially. In essence, any layout will work for this design however planning ahead for the design will improve the effectiveness of the solar panels and how they distribute energy throughout the home or office. Connectors as well as other parts are used for this design too and there are several different components that individuals can use too.

The kits that are sold to aid in the construction of solar electricity panels are reasonably priced and after the panels are completed the total cost is under an average of $600.00 total.

In addition, other materials used are aluminum bar stock, nylon screen and bus ribbon with electrical tape. Obviously, these types of panels are a bit unique however they succeed in saving individuals in cost of power than they would normally use. There are several different ways to actually design solar electricity panels and this is what makes them useful for many different building structures as well.

Ultimately it is estimated that over the next few years more solar panels will be seen throughout towns and communities as more individuals seek to improve on his or her utility and electricity bills. Economically, the concept is better for everyone and environmentally the idea is ideal for everyone.

pratibha
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/solar-electricity-panels-676732.html

I understand you pay the price for the solar panels once and then use them for like 20 years - but are there any other expenses? Such as…charging the battery, maintanence, etc.?

10x!

yep
batteries, inverter, wiring, switches, photo cells, knowledge to hook it all up,
solar isn’t, what its all hoped up to be,
solar lights are a better deal, you can put them to work, but to power a home ? forget it,
buy a 13 K generator for total home power, all that cost is fuel ,
use propane powered stove,s fridge,s freezers, [ the amish do ]
there still for sale, in cross ville, tn
there is a lot of other ways to be self sufficient, solar is a gimmick, for now

DIY solar panels, or do it yourself solar panels are increasing in popularity. Many individuals are finding out more information on just what it takes to design and construct the panels for his or her home. In many situations these DIY solar panels can be installed very easily with the use of various kits sold on various web sites via the Internet today. In addition, some home improvement stores will sell these kits locally as well and all are very reasonably priced.

Amazingly, there are those individuals however that are even more creative and have designed DIY solar panels with the use of simple cardboard and 12v car batteries. Of course, these designs are on a more simple idea and also should be read fully when being constructed so no mistakes or misjudgments are made. Otherwise the panels will not work properly or could cause damage.

DIY solar panels have the same unique concept as many of the commercial solar panels seem on large factories yet with a design that homeowners and consumers can easily use and install without having any outside professional’s assistance.

The power saved from the usage of the panel literally pays for the panels soon after they are installed on a home and in many situations the local utility company will purchase the power that is not used by the homeowner as well. Many individuals are embracing this popular idea in order to become more eco-friendly too and as more people do, the better the environment will be for future generations to come.

DIY solar panels can normally be installed, designed and constructed for under $500.00 and the kit used to assist individuals is sold for $100.00 or less! This is a small price to pay for the end results of saving so much money in the future on power expenses.

It is estimated that in the next five to ten years over half of the homes in a town or city will have some type of solar panels installed on them, and many of these solar panels are going to be those that are DIY.

pratibha
http://www.articlesbase.com/technology-articles/diy-solar-panels-673070.html

I seen a newspaper article where this guy bought a new home with solar panels and his first months energy bill was like $9.00. Than I overheard some people talking about a friend of theirs who was slapped with a huge energy bill, I cant remember what the exact amount was but it was in the high hundreds, and it was supposedly for having solar panels. Does anyone know if its true that energy companies charge customers for having solar panels and why?

there is no charge for having solar panels. if that person got a larger bill it was probably caused by not having as much sunlight that month. lots of clouds and the solar panels don’t work. solar panels are, usually, used for heating water, not providing electricity- it can be done but it’s quite costly and very rare.

estimated cost of complete install and size

What im wondering, is if i can get a solar panel system installed on my home in sunny nevada for around $10,000?

system on the smaller size; for one person in 3br/2ba newer home.

You get a 30% federal tax credit (if your taxes are enough), so that’s a $14,000 system that you’re talking about. Possibly Nevada has some incentive dollars, too - I don’t know. That will buy a 2 kW, maybe 3 kW system. If you have A/C, it will probably not keep up.

The best way to get an idea of costs is to contact a professional installer in your area. Be ready with your electric bills for the past year if you can.

If you’re construction oriented, you could put up a system yourself, getting a kit from a place like http://partsonsale.com/solarhomekits.html - but it’s not a project to be taken lightly. If you’re the kind of person that would re-roof their own house, or add a branch circuit to a room, then it might be for you.

We put up our own in 2006, and it’s still working fine. The cost breakdowns are at http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/roderick/solar/photovoltaic.html