Have you ever thought of non-conventional energy as an effective alternative source, to save the nature from the wraths of atmospheric pollution?

A person, who is genuinely conscious of preserving our nature, will not hesitate to explore on such possibilities. Anyone, who is going to take on solar power system as an alternative for power production at their home, has to make some basic studies about solar panels and the battery system that has to be installed.

While arranging the solar panels either on the roof or on a ground post, the primary consideration has to be given on balancing the Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels output with the battery storage. If more number of panels with fewer batteries is aligned, the result will be wastage of energy. Imagine water is flowing into a small tank, where does the excess water goes? It will just overflow and get wasted on the ground.

If it is done vice- versa with less number of solar panels and more batteries, the batteries would not get fully charged at the required level that may result in power black outs during crucial hours. Can you see how getting the number of PV panels and batteries right is a delicate balancing act?

Solar panels should be capable of producing sufficient electric charge and the battery bank should have enough storage capacity throughout the day when the sun is shining. The energy generated can be used during night hours with enough surpluses as a reserve to meet the household energy demand on cloudy days.

Hence a realistic usage chart has to be worked out; taking all these factors into consideration and the battery storage has to be regulated accordingly. Another point is to correctly work out the efficiency rating, based on the assumption that the energy efficiency usually will be less than 20 percent of the watts stored.

The drop usually occurs owing to different factors such as size of the wire, distance of the solar panels from the batteries and the connections such as power inverter, charge controller and other electrical appliances. Therefore, to balance the power storage, the solar power system being installed, has to be made capable of producing 120% of the total energy requirements.

Sounds complicated to you? If you don’t have any knowledge or understanding on electronic science, it can be very confusing. In short, what you have to do is make sure the DIY home solar power system is capable of generating more excess power than you need.

Understand this; whenever you add on a new electrical equipment such as a fridge at home, the battery reserve will also drop down simultaneously. Hence it is necessary to anticipate these factors, in addition to temperature effects in the ambience, the cycles of the refrigerators and the freezers and the possible consumption of energy by such appliances in watts.

Normally a refrigerator taking its cycles for seven minutes in every 15 minutes and thus 28 minutes in every hour draws power for 11.2 hours per day that would require 2016 watts daily. Hence the batteries are to be charged fully at least once a month, to fulfill the energy needs.

When a power system of 12V capacity shows 12.4V in the charge controller, after the sun has gone down, the factual state of charge may very much vary from what the charge controller indicates. Many contributory factors affect the actual state of charge of the solar power system, of which, the priority attention needed is on proper upkeep of batteries. This is essential to maintain the battery life cycle with full charging efficiency.

For this, the terminals on the batteries are to be cleaned with corrosive and anti-corrosive cleaners and the water levels are to be checked and supplemented at regular intervals. The batteries should indicate a quarterly check report.

The deep cycle batteries may not work at 100% efficiency during their life time. Generally, batteries continue to work in weakest capacity but the risk is that they end up in draining other healthy batteries also.

The assessment of battery storage and reserve needs minute care and attention for the fact that an old battery drains with quicker speed, when the discharge and the volt level drops down, while the ampere goes up to maintain the same watts level that the system requires to function.

So, to have a functional home solar energy system, first, you must get the balancing of the PV panels with the number of battery correct. Then, you must also maintain the batteries so it is at its peak performance efficiency.

It would really be an ambitious project to generate your own electricity for your general household usage. Though it is difficult but not at all impossible. This might be quite challenging particularly if you don’t have much knowledge or experience on renewable energy sources such as solar.

To power your entire home by solar energy requires time and also serious investment on your part, but if you are dedicated to the idea, it can be done. Here are 3 things to consider when you are planning to generate homemade solar energy.

You must have patience.

This is one element many DIYers lack when they are planning to hook their home up with solar power and that is “patience”. There is no way you can get your home off the grid after building a single Photovoltaic (PV) solar panel.

What you’ll need is multiple numbers of solar panels linked together in series to generate sufficient electricity for your home. To do that, you have to spend a lot of time meticulously arranging and soldering all the connecting wires together.

When you have completed that portion of the project, you can start using solar panels to reduce your monthly power bills. When you feel that your power bills are almost zero, this is the time when you can actually get the power disconnected from the local grid. But for all of that to happen, it will take some time.

Getting the power requirement calculations right.

Before you know how many PV panels are needed, you have to be aware of the total power consumption of your entire home. Don’t worry, it is quite easy to make the calculation.

An American home requires an average of 588 Kilowatt (kWh)-hours per month, this can vary as it depends upon the size of your home and other power needs. Nonetheless, that figure can be used as the benchmark.

This number also depends upon the climatic conditions because in summers, many homes consume double the power as the need of air conditioners increase. Such calculations will help you to arrive at the total energy requirement per month.

You can now calculate how many solar panels are required to power your entire home. When you have that number, you can now arrive at the right total units of solar cells needed.

Again there are other parameters which you will have to keep in mind, as the electricity generation by the individual solar cell can vary. This depends large on factors such as size, location, time of the year, clouds coverage etc.

If you are hitting a road block and can’t calculate the numbers, you may need to get professional help from solar suppliers who can supply you the reliable number of average watts produced per solar cell per day.

Next, you will have to calculate how many batteries you require to store the power produced by the Photovoltaic cells during day time. During evening and night time, your power needs can be met by the power stored in the batteries.

Wet batteries which are basically lead-acid batteries are not suitable for solar power. What you will need are marine type deep cycle battery to make up your home battery bank.

Batteries which are based on deep cycle gel known as AGM are more expensive, but they can last much longer. It is a heavy initial investment but it has a longer lifespan thus saving you money in the long run.

When you’ve calculated the total energy needs of your house on a daily basis, now you can choose the battery type as per its storage capacity. This calculation will give you a fair idea about the total number of batteries you will need to power your home.

Reducing your household power consumption.

Lastly, to make a DIY home solar power system a success, you have to start thinking about reducing your home energy consumption. When we use electricity from the grid, we don’t think of energy wastage because there is an ample supply of power.

However, to go off grid, you have to take the limited power availability from your battery bank into consideration. Firstly, you have to ensure the solar panels are in peak power producing condition.

Next, you have to start thinking and adopting ways to reducing your household energy usage. A large portion of the work here is to change your family members’ power usage habits. Gone are the days where you can leave the lights on in a room with no occupant.

Shifting from grid power to solar power requires a change in your lifestyle. Because there is a finite amount of power in the battery units, your home lifestyle now revolves around the availability of power in the batteries.

When there is no sun light to activate the solar cells, you would have to forgo some conveniences at home. It is a tough decision but there are tremendous financial benefits to living off the power grid. Anyone can make the shift to be self-sufficient but it does require a lot of scarify.

There is an increasing awareness among people about climate changes and how emissions of harmful gases are polluting the atmosphere. This recognition is because several institutions are advocating cleaner, pollution-free and environmentally conducive living conditions.

People can do their bit for this important cause right at their homes by using a solar power water heater instead of conventional electric water heater. Solar power is energy generated by converting sunlight using Photovoltaic cells (PV). It can also be generated indirectly, using lenses or mirrors to focus a large area into a small beam, in a concentrated solar power (CSP) system.

The function of a water heater is to provide hot water to homes, business offices and other institutions. Water heaters are very useful in winter season or places where it is generally cold. One drawback with water heaters is that it consumes a lot of electricity.

The power consumption in a home with four members of a family can work out to around 6,400 kilowatts per hour per annum. Another disadvantage of using electricity generated by power plants is that along with power for operating a water heater there will be emission of around eight tons of carbon dioxide. This is nearly twice that of what a car would let out through exhaust pipe.

It is from the realization that a waste gas is emitted by conventional electric water heaters, the concept of solar powered water heater has emerged. There are several distinct advantages with solar water heater.

Advantages Of Solar Water Heater

As solar power is generated by conversion of sunlight, a solar water heater does not release carbon dioxide as byproduct. As solar water heater utilizes solar energy and not the electricity generated by fossil fuel, the energy used is a ‘clean energy’.

Another major advantage of using solar water heater is that it contributes to considerable savings in power costs as energy utilized is generated by the solar panels installed at home; with the result there is no need to get power from the grid.

While the charges for the power supplied by the local grid are revised upwards quite often, the solar power generated at home is free of cost. In other words, energy utilized for solar water heater is available for free.

Moreover solar power is a renewable form of energy generated by conversion of sunshine, which can be tapped free in any part of the world. In addition, in many states in the US and in most countries, the governments offer attractive incentives and rebates for using a solar powered water heater.

Governments these days are very strict in implementing environment protection laws and would like as many homes as possible to use eco- friendly water heaters. Solar water heaters are, generally, long-lasting.

Many leading companies manufacturing solar water heaters try to ensure that their branded product is of highest quality, designed by incorporating the latest relevant technology.

As all solar water heaters are not alike in terms of quality, durability and efficiency in performance, it is better to seek the assistance of an experienced distributor not only to select the most appropriate solar powered water heater but also to provide help in properly installing it.

On the whole, a good solar water heater not only reduces energy costs but also ensures that the surroundings are free from harmful carbon dioxide.