Generate Residential Solar Power
November 6th, 2008
As the price of fossil fuels reach astronomical amounts more and more homeowners are harnessing their power from the sky by utilizing residential solar power generated by solar panels. If your home is connected to the power company supply grid you can install residential solar power to be used either as supplemental power, or as the primary power supply with the electricity supplied by the power company as supplemental or backup power.
Solar power panels for producing residential solar power are usually wall mounted or roof mounted. However, solar panels can also be installed on free-standing platforms or even on a tower that can rotate to follow the sun’s path. Lined with a semiconductor material that generates electricity when the sun’s rays pass through them, solar panels will work as long as they get enough sun.
Not all solar panels are like those great big square panels we have all seen at one time or another. You can now buy solar cells that are an integral part of the roofing material that offers the same protection as standard asphalt shingles while providing you with the means to generate residential solar power. That means you get a nearly invisible system which doesn’t detract from your home’s appearance.
Depending on your installation type, how the electricity gets into your home will differ. Your residential solar power system can be considered a stand alone system if it is not connected to the typical power company grid. The solar panel is the main source of energy in a stand-alone solar power system. The electricity generated in the solar panel is sent to a regulator or controller; from there it flows into an inverter, which converts the electricity from direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC). AC is the standard house current used in America to power most of the devices in our homes.
With certain types of residential solar power installation, solar panels will direct power from an inverter to a storage system and then right into the electrical system in the home with the rest of the power running to the power company. Power that is routed from the solar panels to batteries or a power storage system can be used when needed. The electrical current itself is routed to the house circuit breaker where it is distributed to the rest of your house for lighting and powering appliances.
Numerous localities provide what is called “metering”, which transmits the excess power produced by the residential solar power system to the utility company’s grid. In effect, your power meter shifts into reverse so that they could in fact be the ones receiving an invoice from your household!
There are now many financial incentives on both the state and federal level for the installation of residential solar power. These incentives range from tax breaks to grants to low cost financing which can help to offset all, or a large portion of the cost of equipment and installation. And dont forget you will see a return every month in your electric bill.
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