How To Harness Solar Power In The Home
It seems that fuel costs for the home rise above inflation each and every year. I'm not completely sure why this is the case. There have been many changes in the way utility companies are run in many countries. The biggest change is that many companies have become privatized. This means that they are responsible to their shareholders and their aim is to make a profit. This may explain why prices have been going up from a cynical perspective.
However, the companies themselves are at pains to point out that the real reason for increases is that the fuel used is becoming scarce. Coal, oil and gas are resources that are used by power stations to create electricity or are supplied directly to homes. All of these resources are finite and the more they get used the harder they become to find and extract. All these extra costs have to be passed on to the consumer by the utility companies.
Within this context, people are embracing new ways to create power for the home that are considerably cheaper and have a longterm future. A popular option is solar power. Solar power in one form or the other has been around for thousands of years. In more recent times the technology has been developed to take advantage of sunlight energy. Before that it was principally the heat from the sun that was used. This article will discuss how to run a house on solar power using both these sources.
A popular way to run a home with solar power is to utilize the Sun's thermal energy. Heat from the Sun can heat water. This can be used as hot water or the heat in the water can be used indirectly to provide warmth in the house.
The way this works is by exposing a metal surface to the Sun. The metal plate will absorb the heat and become hot. This process can be made more efficient if the metal surface is painted black and the areas that do not come into contact with the Sun are insulated to prevent the heat escaping.
Once you have a hot plate you can allow water to come in contact with it and the result is heated water. This can be piped into the home to be used however it is needed. The solar heated water can also be connected to the standard water heater thus saving grid supplied energy on making the water hot.
Energy used to heat household water is one of the most expensive items on most utility bills. This could be reduced if a solar water heating system is installed.
Sunlight can also be used to create electricity. The technology that utilizes sunlight is known as photovoltaics (PV). A PV cell is made from a silicon based semi conductor. The PV cell reacts with sunlight to displace an electron. The flow of an electron from a negative to a positive terminal is the creation of electric current. By increasing the number of PV cells connected in series you can increase the voltage between the positive and negative terminals and the current of the electricity.
This is direct current (DC) that can be stored in a battery or transformed to alternating current (AC). This can be done using a power inverter. The resulting AC can be used to power the home.
Solar panels that you may have seen on a few roofs around your neighborhood are the practical application of photovoltaics. One panel is a group of PV cells aligned in a parallel or series configuration to increase the output of electricity. The efficiency of solar panels has improved over the years. The costs to create and install a solar panel have also reduced over the years.
Solar panels have become easier to install as utility companies become more conducive to solar power. Many states have agreements whereby the electricity company must buy electricity from the household at retail price. This can make installation and viability of solar power more acceptable.
Having a hybrid system of grid and solar power means that if the Sun stops shining or there are cloudy days then you can still use the grid for power. This takes a lot of the responsibility for creating power off the home owner.
The final stage in this process is to go off grid. This means you stop using the utility company and take responsibility for your own power generation. This will require more work and you will probably have a combination of systems to cover all eventualities. So your major system might be solar but you also have a wind power generator if the sun stops shining or the weather becomes bad.
Article Source: http://www.search-raven.com
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For more details on getting a solar power grant and how solar power can conserve energy visit the solarpowerappliances website.
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by: AdrianFletcher
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