Solar Panels for Residential Use
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
The solar panels are the most important component of any home solar power system. They do the actual conversion of sunlight to electricity and are at the heart of the solar system that provides energy to your house. There are some differences between solar panels, even though many panels look alike, and the homeowner must consider several things before selecting which panels to use for his or her house. The best guide to building a diy solar panel is GreenDiyEnergy.
Newer solar panels are better than older models in efficiency and construction. Because of these advances, any homeowner will be better off with newer panels than they would have been even a few years ago. Even though modern panels are generally better than older panels, care should still be taken when selecting a solar panel to use as there are a lot of differences between panels. Selection should be done based on how much electricity you want to produce and your budget.
First of all, you need to consider how much output voltage the system you are building needs. Residential solar panels have several standard voltage levels and you need to choose with one to use for your system. This choice concerning voltage level will have an impact on which solar panels you use as well as which power inverter you select. Higher voltage panels have some advantages as they have less power loss in the long wire runs than lower voltage panels have, but they are also more expensive. Residential solar panels usually have output voltages of 12, 24 or 48 volts and there are some that are even higher. It is usually best to select panels with the highest voltage level that your budget allows.
Voltage will also dictate whichsolar charge controller you select.
Another differentiator between different panels is conversion efficiency. Even panels that look the same can have almost 10% higher or lower efficiency than similar models. This is a giant difference in the amount of electricity that will be generated with a given level of sunlight. Over the life of the panel, this difference in electricity generated will be really big. Because of the better efficiency, you will need to spend less because you will require fewer panels and you’ll also need less space as well. You should generally choose panels with the highest efficiency rating you can afford. If you spend a little more money now and get a better quality panel, you will get that difference back many, many times over the life of the solar panel.
Some of the newer specialty solar panels should also be considered. A single panel that combines both thermal and solar together is one such specialty panel being produced now. This type of panel can be used for both hot water and electricity.This kind of panel can produce both electricity and hot water at the same time. Using these panels, you can make the most efficient use of your roof space and double the benefit from the solar panels.
Solar panels that include a micro inverter are another newer development. A micro inverter is a power inverter that is build into the solar panel. It is sized to work with just the amount of electricity the panel outputs. Converting the DC electricity from the panels or batteries into the AC electricity that comes out of the sockets in your home is the job of the power inverter. Typically a single, large power inverter is fed electricity from all of the panels or batteries and does the power conversion for the entire system. Instead of spending money on a big power inverter right away, you can build up your system slowly. This means you can build your solar system up little-by-little, but still get the benefit of AC power from the system at every step. One final benefit of micro inverters is the electricity coming from the panels will be at a higher voltage and will be AC which will reduce power loss in the longer runs of wire. If you’re interested in micro inverters, there is an in-depth article at Solar Micro Inverter.
Technorati Tags: No Tags
Related Tags: No Tags
Possible Related Posts
Pay Now, Save Later with Residential Solar Energy CostsMore And More Homeowners Are Making The Switch To Using Residential Solar EnergyResidential Solar Power Installation Guidelines
