Solar Power
Getting Started with Solar Power
Author: Mark Jacobs
Today, many people are turning to alternative energy. Using DIY solar power or commercially available solar power helps you cut down on all your electricity bills and, even more importantly, become environmentally friendly. Producing electricity through Solar Power has become easier and easier since it was first discovered. A lot of people are looking information on the pros and cons of solar power. Solar power has been around for decades but with the huge costs involved and the lack of proper information, it’s been limited in use. Now with the unlimited information available on the Internet, gathering information on solar power, solar cells, cheaper solar products is easy. There are three important factors that need to be considered when getting started with DIY solar power.
- First, ask yourself how you would like to use Solar Power. This could range from a portable system that can be broken down and taken camping, boating, traveling, a light duty system to power an RV, cabin or a workshop, a home system that is not tied to the circuit breaker (called as off-grid system), or a home system tied to the circuit breaker (called on-grid), alternatively with or without backup power.
- Second, you’ll need to find out how much power your solar system needs to produce. This is based on the amount of watts used in a particular house or the power consumed by devices to be used. This may also vary according to the usage. To know how much power is consumed, just calculate the total units for each of the electrical appliance available in the house or look at the current electrical bill for a mention of total consumption (listed as KwH or Kilowatt Hours). This will help you decide on the amount of electricity to be generated through your solar power system, which will also help determine the total number of solar panels required and the total number of batteries to produce the required amount of electricity.
- Third, consider the cost. Remember, cost, quality and time do not always play nicely together. You can usually have 2 of these factors, but not all three. If you learn what is required and do the work yourself, you will SAVE A LOT OF MONEY. The other option can be shelling out some extra money and get a person who has knowledge in solar power installation to have the work done in short order. If you are interested in doing the work yourself, then use a set of instructions on how to build solar panels and then follow up with a recommended guide to ensure all of the pieces come together. For those who wish to hire a professional contractor, start with a web search within your locality and do not forget to check the credentials on that particular contractor. You can also find rebates offered by the federal government and maybe even your local city.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diy-articles/getting-started-with-solar-power-1255298.html
About the Author
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-1
Go to canadiantire’s web site and search solar panel.
they range from $30 — $1000
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-2
The question is not too clear, as solar chargers are in fact d/c power as is the batteries they charge. To get a/c power from the system you will need an “inverter”, and they come in various sizes, watts that is.
The amount of time will also depend on the batteries used, as they are all not the same. Reserve amps will be the determining factor to look at.
There is a formula published by the makers of these inverters that will give approximate running times, and most can be found through Google under the manufacturers brand name.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-3
Solar power refers to the utilisation of the sunlight for meeting our energy needs, which are otherwise met by electricity or coal, oil, gas etc.
There are several ways for utilising solar power:
- photovoltaic cells for producing electricity (very expensive to set up but maintenance free)
- solar water heaters very popular in several countries to produce hot water
- solar cookers for cooking food
Solar power is environmentally very clean – no carbon dioxide, no radiation, no health hazards etc.
but it is very expensive right now.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-4
Let me just say, the cost would be too much to be worthwhile. It appears you would need at least 750 watts. if you wanted to use the electrical things at night too, the system would have to deliver that much power for the equipment, and more to charge the batteries. Make it a total of 1500 watts, and you would need between 10 and 15 panels, plus an inverter, mounting rails for the panels, two fused disconnect switches and wire. I expect around $10,000 or more.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-5
Your question is fairly general. Perhaps you would like to read these introductory articles and then post more specific questions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power
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May 8, 2007
5:49 pm #comment-6
Solar power?
We are looking at buying a house and renovating it, and were wondering about using solar or wind power to power much of our house. We will have a well, be on a septic system, have a wood burning furnace for heating the house, so we would like to have solar or wind power so we can use as little electricity as possible (its insanely expensive here!). We also have our appliances (fridge, stove, washer, dryer, freezer).
How much would a basic set up be for a 900 sq ft, 3 bedroom house? For either wind turbines or solar panels and necessary equipment? I am in Southern Ontario.
Thanks!
May 18, 2007
9:27 pm #comment-7
Solar Power?
Hi,
I have some questions about solar power, it’s for a school project. Thanks for all your help in advance.
What is solar power?
How does it work? (Please be as specific as possible and list details)
What is solar power used for? (A list would be great.)
How efficient is solar power?
How cost efficient it is?
What are the advantages and disadvantages?
And anything you find important to share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
February 22, 2008
1:41 pm #comment-8
What kind of solar power setup would I need to power a single room’s energy needs?
I live in the basement of a house and would like to run my room on solar power. I have two power strips that run a TV and DVD player, a laptop, printer and two external hard drives and I would need to use a couple floor lamps in the room as well. What kind of solar paneling setup would I need and what would be the ballpark cost on this?
July 5, 2008
5:19 pm #comment-9
solar power?
I want to make a solar power generator for ac use not dc use, how long will it last if iam running a total of 1600 watts ? I was planning on making one with 8 batteries.
thanks
any websites that explain this would be greatly appreciated.
July 3, 2010
2:53 pm #comment-10
How exactly do wind and solar power companies make their money?
I only invest in small-cap energy based companies like oil, gas, petroleum, and more recently, wind and solar power.
What I would like to know is how exactly do wind and solar power companies make their money? Please, I’d like to understand the industry a bit better. Thanks!
August 31, 2010
7:04 pm #comment-11
Solar power is still a dream, the major oil companies will not allow the usage of more efficient ways of producing electricity.