Cheap Solar Panels: Vital Information!

You are not on your own in thinking about cheap solar panels for your home. Many famous people improve their homes this way. Unless you are very wealthy you will want to get a good deal for your money. Cheap solar panels need not be of any less quality than their more expensive counterparts, and of course there are other factors involved. Ultimately, DIY will save you some money. But why bother with solar panels in the first place?

Using solar panels can be a smart move. Solar power is a "green" and renewable power and doesn't emit harmful carbon dioxide, which means it's a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Every home solar power system could save around 30 tons of CO2 over its lifetime - 2650 lbs per year. "The next industrial revolution will be based on these clean green technologies," - Tony Juniper, director, Friends of the Earth.

Solar panels are large flat structures, rectangular in shape, available in various sizes. Energy collectors, called solar cells, covered with a sheet of protective glass make up the solar panel. A solar cell is usually octagonal and blue-black in color, about the size of your palm. Solar cells are designed to create electricity, in a similar way to battery cells. The difference is, although a battery cell creates electricity from chemicals, solar cells convert sunlight into electricity.

Solar power works using photovoltaic technology. Photovoltaic is another name for solar cells - the word "photo" meaning "of light", and "voltaic" describing the process of making electricity - named after the great electricity pioneer, Alessandro Volta.

Solar power is a way to lower your electricity bills over time, even though you'll have an initial outlay. Even though installation costs for regular solar power systems can be high, government incentives are available on both a federal and state level. A solar power tax credit can be obtained from the federal government, and in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 two ways are provided for receiving this credit.

There are many more incentives provided by state governments, and solar power rebates are offered by more than half of US states. If you can find wholesale solar power options, you can obviously get an even better deal.

Many people want to know how solar power works before investing in solar panels. When the sun shines onto a solar panel, each cell in the panel receives a steady supply of photons - or light particles. The power from these photons is carried down through the cell.

Electrons in the decrease your carbon emissions layer of the solar cell receive the power as the photon transfers it. The electrons are then able to jump into the upper layer, using that energy, and exit into the circuit. Our lights and appliances are powered by these electrons flowing around the circuit.

Before buying solar panels, you need to calculate your energy usage precisely. This will enable you to see how many panels you need, and where they will need to be located, to make sure you get the best value from your solar panels.

Location is important - you need to have your solar panels where they will get maximum light exposure between 11am and 3 pm, the hottest part of the day. You can buy a solar tracker which will show you this information.

Be aware that solar panels will not last forever - they generally get down to 80% capacity at around 20 years. Although there are some working perfectly at 40 years old, this is not always the case. This is an even greater reason not to pay too much for them - you will need to work out if the cost of the solar panels outweigh the savings you are going to make.

In most states in the US, there are taxing rebates for householders with solar panels, include this in your calculations.

You may have heard of net metering. This is where you can sell the electricity you produce BACK to the electricity companies! Yes, after all the money you have paid out to them……it's possible to get some back.

One of the best ways to buy solar panels are to make them yourself (that way you can be sure of good craftmanship!). Yes you can build solar panels quite easily at home. A fairly small solar panel can be built at home easily (I have heard about a 12 year old that did it!) and it can produce 120 watts. You can build more and add them together.


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To discover more about building your own solar panels you must click the link and see how easy it really is!