Using off grid solar power has gotten a lot easier now, with recent improvements in technology and an increased concern about the environment.

Once limited to people who lived in remote places where electricity was either expensive, inconvenient, or impossible, off grid homes are now moving closer to civilization. Taking your home off the municipal power grid is less expensive and easier than it has ever been, and solar power is the most common way to do it.

In a setup like this, you will need:

 

• solar panels
• a regulator
• batteries

 

An inverter allows you to use AC power instead of DC, and most systems have computerized control centers to make it easy to monitor what’s going on in your system. Whether or not your home is right for off grid solar power will depend on your location and how your home is situated.

It is important to be able to get enough hours of sunlight per day to charge your batteries with all the power you need.  In southern latitudes with mostly clear weather, this can be pretty easy. However, farther north, or where there is often a lot of cloud cover, this can be trickier.

Before you start installing an off grid solar system you should evaluate if your home receives enough sunlight to merit one. If not, you may wish to look at other sources of green power, such as wind.

There’s a limit to how much power can currently be produced from the sun. Solar panels are costly and you need plenty of space.  This means that most people in off grid situations need to carefully monitor their usage to make sure that they are not overtaxing the system. When you’re off the grid and you’re out of power, you’re really out of power, after all.

However, most people are able to reduce their power requirements to the point where they can meet their energy production and they always have plenty of stored energy for their daily routines.

Off grid solar power is a great choice if you want to be more self reliant, are concerned about the sustainability of your power generation, or if you just want to be able to control things a little more.

It will save you money in the long run, though initial setup can be costly. You won’t have to worry about rate hikes or inconsistent service.  It’s all in your hands.  In return, you must learn to take care of your system and adjust your life accordingly.  For many people, it’s worth it.

Steven C. Jones writes about renewable energy and living off the grid. Check out his blog about off grid solar homes and wind power for your home.

The United States Department of Energy is providing specific information on it’s website concerning the harnessing and distribution of solar powered energy sources on a broad commercial level, as well as to individual residential consumers. According the Department of Energy website, commercial power plants designed and constructed to make use of the renewable energy of the sun can be disbursed to provide energy to residential consumers without the necessity for purchasing personal solar technology systems for individual households.

Passive solar energy is the term used to describe a method of building design which considers the sun’s position in relation to the building to maximize solar heating sources. Without installing any technological devices specific to collecting solar energy, such as solar panels, utility costs can be dramatically affected by simply designing and constructing buildings to utilize the south facing walls for solar heat absorption and cooperatively designing the ventilation system of the building to direct the heat throughout the rest of the structure. By conscious placement of the structure there is a dramatic effect on energy consumption required to maintain the temperature within the building. Obviously, during the hot summer months, steps must be considered to shade the south facing walls from the sun’s impact, or the cost for cooling the building will overshadow the cost savings advantages exhibited during the winter months.

While the obvious benefits of passive solar power as a means of heating buildings includes that solar power is an unending energy source and no chemical reaction is required to convert the sun’s heat, therefore releasing no chemical bi-products or environmental pollutant emmisions, there are negatives to the use of passive solar energy which must be considered. For example, productive use of passive solar energy is dependant on the amount of consistent sunlight which can be expected for a geographical location. Even in areas of continual sunny weather, the heat transferred by the south facing walls in a passive solar application must be retained throughout the night time hours after sunset.

A compromising alternative to a spotty passive solar application may be to take advantage of the newest technology in solar grid films. While traditional collection grids designed for harnessing solar energy were previously constructed in large panel form which were typically attached to the roofs of buildings, new technology is emerging which has reduced the solar collection cells into a thin film which may be positioned flush with existing roof systems for unobtrusive installation. These films are much less costly than their predecessors in that less raw material is required for construction and are now also being seamlessly integrated with different types of roofing systems for virtually undetectable installations. Use of this type of solar energy system will allow your dwelling to remain on the electric utility company’s energy grid, but permit you to use the energy exclusively from your solar energy collector when available, at no cost. In this way, your home is hybridized to use passive solar energy to reduce overall fuel consumption, collected solar energy at no cost, and supplement your energy shortages with the utility company’s provided electricity.

Solar power should definitely be an option for those who do not want to pay so much for electricity. From a practical standpoint, anyone should harness whatever they can from nature to reduce the growing cost of power. This is the very reason why many companies started selling solar panels because these are the essential items you need to have solar power for the home. The main challenge is that although many have bought these solar panels, they are not able to put them into use since they placed the panels in the wrong position. Below you will find guidelines how to position solar panels to maximize the energy they can get from the sun.

Keep in mind that as far as solar power for the home is concerned, the angle of your solar panels have a direct impact in the performance of your harnessed energy. The light that shines through them will not be sufficient. The first thing you need to be sure of is that your solar panels must get the maximum amount of light that they can and this is only made possible if the panels are directly under the sun. On top of these, there are angles you need to consider because the earth revolves around the sun all through the year and the angles will change. There is a lot of work that needs to be done and you must realize that harnessing solar power for the home is not kid’s stuff.

After deciding about the panels, the next thing you need to think about is the batteries where you will store the energy. Solar power for the home is not like electricity in which you get it when you want to. The battery you will choose will depend on the amount of power you need to consume from your solar panels. You will need the help of an electrician or engineer to calculate how much energy you will use from the battery by getting the expected wattage of your appliances that will get energy from it.

Now Pay Close Attention Here – Are you seriously looking for a proven way to save money on your electricity bills? There is a Guide which will help you to Build solar power at home. You will be surprised to know that how easy it is to Build solar power at Home, that will not only save your money but you will help in cleaning the environment. Check the Guide

When you think about renewable energy for your home, what do you think of first? If you are like most people, you think about home solar power. The media has gotten us to the point that we are very familiar with the concept of solar energy, and that we can use this technology to provide electricity for our homes.

You need to understand that there are some big advantages to using home solar power instead of conventional electricity suppliers. Solar power is reliable, it is clean, it needs minimal maintenance, and once the system is set up, it is free.

Reliable

Having a reliable power source can be a big deal. We have all heard reports of a storm moving through an area and knocking out the power grid, several days later there are still people that are waiting for electric service to be returned to their area. In the meantime, all of the food in their refrigerators and freezers has gone bad, and if they have a well for water, they are not even able to get the water out of the ground.

If you were using solar energy for your electricity, when the storm passed and the sun returned, your power would be restored. That is the great thing about home solar power; as long as the sun is shining, you are producing electricity.

Clean

With increasing concern about the state of our environment, more attention is being focused on clean forms of energy. Relying on coal or gas to power electric plants can pump a lot of pollutants into the air. Even if your not convinced about man’s role in climate change, everyone will agree that the pollutants are bad for the environment, and for the people that live around those plants.

Solar energy relies on an internal chemical process that converts energy from light into electricity. There are no toxins that are released, and nothing that will in any way affect the environment or any people or animals that get near the solar panels. They are completely safe.

Easy to Maintain

Solar panels have no moving parts, so there is nothing that will wear out. The extent of the maintenance that is required is to make sure the panels are kept clean, and occasionally cleaning the wire terminals. That’s it. You do not have to worry about the system breaking down, or finding someone that can provide replacement parts

Cost

This is the best part. Once you pay the initial cost of building your system, or purchasing a pre-made system and having it installed, the system does not cost a thing to operate. The electricity it produces is free, and it can greatly reduce your monthly electric bill. In fact, if your solar generator makes enough electricity, it can actually make your meter run backwards.

Using home solar power for your electric needs makes a lot of sense. You can still run your appliances and watch television, but you will have the peace of mind in knowing that you are using a clean, free energy source.

Jim Smoot writes the “Renewable Solar Energy” website at http://www.renewable-solar-energy.com. Visit his site to see how you can go green and save money in the process.