A lot of homeowners have switched to solar energy because of the many advantages they would have when they do so, but there are still a lot of residents who are very reluctant because they know nothing about that. So this is a Homeowners guide to going solar., and you could click here for more information about residential solar panels.

What is Solar Energy?

Did you know that we see there is energy all around us? The sun is one of the biggest renewable power sources that we could have because it is accessible wherever you are and whenever you need it. And we could profit from it by converting it into energy that we could use around our house by buying solar panels where they would convert solar energy to usable energy.

Facts About Residential Solar Energy

1. For over 2,700 years, solar energy has been of use to people. Instead of solar panels, they would use glass lenses so that they could make fire because they would use it to magnify the rays of the sun in 700 BC.
2. The first-ever people who used effective solar designs were the Greeks and the Romans because they would intentionally build their homes facing the sun so that the heat and the light could enter.
3. In 1954, the first-ever solar panel that was made out of silicon was made by Bell Labs.
4. In one hour, you would be able to get more energy compared to what the whole world could ever use in a year.
5. The top countries that are known for their solar panels are Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States of America.

How Do Solar Panels Work?

Step 1: The Sunlight would activate the solar panels 

The first step of using solar energy is when the sunlight hits your solar panels, making all of the electrons and the protons of both the sunlight and the panel mingle to create electric currency.

Step 2: Conversion

All of the electric currency would then be converted to electricity that you would be able to use around your home as it goes down the solar inverter.

Step 3: Powering your home

As the usable energy (AC) would then travel down to your breaker box, it would travel down the wires around your house and help you power your light and appliances.

Step 4: Giving Back

The good thing about solar energy is that if there is some energy that you can’t use and you don’t need, you could bring it back to the electric grid to help lessen the blackouts in the city. The usable energy would flow back to the utility meter where you get to choose if you could store it, or give it to the grid for energy credits.

How Much Solar Power Do You Need?

If you want to estimate the amount of solar power that your house needs, there are a lot of factors that you have to consider. Multiply the hourly energy that your household needs by how long the sunlight hits your home (and how long the peak is) and divide it by the wattage of the solar panel that you are planning to buy. Other factors that you also have to take into consideration is the size of your roof (or the size of the garden plot that you are planning on putting in your solar system if you want to get a standing panel) and how long your panel would be soaked in under the sunlight in that specific area.

What Affects Your Solar Panel Efficiency?

1. Maintenance

Solar panels need little to no maintenance since they would really stand on their own, but you have to also occasionally clean them, remove the leaves and the dust that would go on them, and have maintenance from your solar panel provider to make sure that you get the best results out of your solar panels.

2. Placement

Where you live and where you place your solar cells would affect how much energy you would be able to harvest from the sun. The panels have to be exposed to intense solar radiation in order to get the maximum efficiency of your panels.

3. Temperature

This is something people don’t really take into consideration since they think as long as they are capturing sunlight, then it’s okay, but if you want to take advantage of your panel and you want it to be really effective, it should be under high temperatures.

4. Efficiency

Solar panels come in different sizes, and they also come in different wattages and it would all depend on the kind of module you have. 

5. Shading

Your solar panels are very sensitive to shading and if your panels are under bad shading conditions, then it would have a very big impact on the results. With even just one solar cell under the shade, you won’t be able to produce the same amount of energy compared to if it was under the sun.

 

Getting your own solar panels and switching to natural reusable energy would not only help you save money, but you are also helping eliminate or minimize your carbon footprint in our atmosphere.