Solar Power for Homes

Household solar power is becoming more practical as prices drop and efficiency increases.

Solar Power for Homes comes in a wide array of passive, thermal and photovoltaic applications, Here's how to get set up with household solar power minus the nasty price tag.

Bringing solar power home.

solar power for homes

With a blend of common sense and high technology, most homes can benefit from the inclusion of solar power in one aspect or another. A fast growing industry, home solar power is becoming a respected resource and prolific alternative.

There are four different types of solar power for homes, passive solar, thermal solar, photovoltaics and thin film. Each of the four types will play a role in a well planned solar home.

Because they don't need solar panels, passive and thermal adaptations will recover initial costs faster than photovoltaics and they cover some of the most expensive aspects of energizing your home - like heating water and cooling your living space.

There are lots of things that can be done, relatively inexpensively, that will dramatically reduce the cost of your solar powered system. The trick is to use the least expensive method for each job leaving the more expensive photovoltaics for only the tasks that can not be accomplished with thermal or passive solar.

Start by reducing household energy loads and incorporating passive solar strategies wherever possible. The cost of a photovoltaic system is significant and it's good management to delegate as much of your power load to less expensive alternatives before considering solar electricity for homes.

For homes in some urban and suburban areas the option to tie into the existing power grid allows you to buy a plug-n-play type system that can be whatever size best fits your budget. Numerous pre-packaged solar power home kits are available on the market.

Here are some easy guidelines to get your household solar power project started.

Energy conservation
~ Every solar project should begin with an honest evaluation of the current power situation. It is not cost effective to spend money on solar panels to power wasteful habits. Before switching to solar power for homes and acreages reduce your household energy load as much as comfortably possible.
Passive solar
~ Adopt as many passive solar concepts as possible. Just as relevant as it was in the 1600's passive solar has been largely ignored in design concepts since cheap power entered the picture. If you want to save big money on your photovoltaic array, start with passive solar.
Solar hot water
~ Water heating is one of your top energy draws. A simple thermal hot water heater will reduce your monthly energy expense.
Heating and cooling options
~ Incorporating as many passive solar concepts as possible can greatly reduce your heating and cooling load. Also, solar heaters are making an appearance on the market. A wood burning stove or other low impact heating method can pick up the slack on particularly cold days.
Direct DC solar systems
~ Water pumps can - and should - function without battery backup eliminating the need for not just batteries but all of the maintenance that batteries require. Swimming pools, well pumping, pond and garden fountain pumps can all be relatively low cost systems when wired direct to the panels. Functional when the sun shines and not functional when it doesn't.
Outdoor Lighting
~ Solar garden lighting and outdoor features are not just funky but functional. Security lighting, solar bricks and solar lighted house numbers have joined the beautiful array of garden lights making outdoor living spaces safer and more fun.
Photovoltaics & Thin Film
~ Whatever is left over will be powered by some form of photovoltaic solar power. For homes that are off grid, the system is carefully sized for the month when the least amount of sun is striking the panels. This ensures that the system produces enough power for all seasons. Grid tied systems have the freedom to pick a size within a certain budget and start with that.

When considering solar power for home use, the pv panel is still your best bet. Although thin film technology is underway, still about 90% of household solar power stations are the silicon panel type. One reason for this is that the technology has been around for decades and has a serious toehold in the industry.

Research continues to bring prices down, certain techniques for concentrating have showed promising results in increasing efficiency.

Recent shortages of polysilicon have handicapped the production ability of silicon solar panels keeping costs high. Resolution of these issues is underway and the polysilicon panel will likely be around for a very long time.

The panels in operation now can be expected to function for 40 years and although thin film technology is reducing cost of production it's not about to nudge polysilicon technology aside any time soon.

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A Word About the Cost of Photovoltaic Solar Power for Homes

Using the tips above you can save half or more on a photovoltaic array. Photovoltaics are expensive, that's why everybody hasn't jumped on the bandwagon. Start with the least expensive measure (passive solar) and address every issue possible using that measure, then move on to the next least expensive (thermal solar) and incorporate as many of those techniques as possible. What you're left with when you have delegated as many power loads as possible to less expensive means are the power draws that must be powered using AC (110) energy (which means solar panels).

Initially, the cost of solar energy for homes is shocking (I love puns) but look at it this way. You're going to pay that (and more) in energy costs one way or another over your lifetime. This way you'll no longer be at the mercy of power conglomerations, political power struggles and countries using crude oil as a weapon of war.

Remember, too, that the cost of the solar array represents only about half of the cost of photovoltiac solar power. For homes that are off the grid, the other half will be spent on batteries (and associated maintenance costs), inverter, charge controller, wires, hardware and installation.

The fewer components attatched to any system the less it costs and the fewer headaches and maintenance issues will be encountered over the long haul. Water pumps can be wired direct to solar panels eliminating the need for expensive batteries.

Heating and cooling are two of the most expensive aspects of home powering. Depending on where you live there are different means of climatizing your space including passive solar infrastructure, solar heaters, wood stoves, super energy efficient heaters, etc. Attempting to heat a Northern Alberta home solely with photovoltaic panels would be a futile and costly effort.