As the Government is providing support in the form of tax incentives and subsidized equipment, many homeowners might be thinking of going green by installing solar power kit on their home to not only contribute to environment preservation but save on their energy bills as well. But the solar power system need spare space to install the solar panels known as installer.

This short blog post provides the following 9 points that should be kept in mind when deciding where to put the solar power kit:

1. Solar panels need to be installed facing sunshine.

In Northern Hemisphere, the Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels should face south to get maximum sunshine. So it doesn’t matter whether you install your panels to your rooftop or on the ground or on out building such as shed or garage, the only deciding factor should be availability of south facing section to get maximum possible sunshine.

2. Any obstruction to sunshine decreases the panel’s efficiency.

So it should be taken into account that the place you are considering to install the panels shouldn’t have shades resulting from your trees, your neighbors’ trees, vents, air conditioning units, and any other obstructions that could shade your panels.

The solar pathfinder can be used in finding the sun’s angle changes over the course of the day as well as in different seasons round the year. These solar pathfinders can be obtained from most of the solar stores.

3. The life span of a solar system can be around 20 to 50 years.

So they are going to provide you energy for a long period of time. Obviously, you should keep in mind that over the period of time the panels need to be shade free. So it would be good to keep your panels away from your trees and bushes unless you are prepared to trim them.

4. Generally solar panels are installed at 45 degree.

At this angle, they tend to clean themselves but in some areas, where dirty rain, heavy dust or snow accumulates, the solar panels need to be manually cleaned using garden hose or a long handled broom. So if you put them on roof tops it might be very inconvenient and dangerous to clean them.

5. You should have a rough idea about the space requirements.

The common take around one square foot of space per ten watts capacity generation so if you planning a 3,000 watts capacity installation for your home you will need 300 square foot area.

You will also need 3’ by 3’ area near your electronic meters to install the necessary components. Moreover, if you want a batter bank as well, you will need space equivalent to large chest freezer.

6. The angle of the sun changes .

Over the course of the say as well as during different seasons over the year. The tracking system automatically follows the sun and maintains the optimum 90 degree angle to the sun. But if you planning to install them without a tracking system you can adjust the angels manually or fix them at the angle equal to the latitude.

For example, Spokane, Washington which measures 48 degree latitude will fix the panels at 48 degrees from horizontal. Adjustable panels produce more energy so it will be good idea to keep them at optimal angle.

7. Solar panels produce direct current.

DC is prone to transmission loss so it requires more expensive high quality wire. Naturally, if the units are placed at larger distances from home, they raise installation cost. So, closer units are very cost effective.

8. It is also expected from you to behave like good neighbor.

You solar panels might cast a shadow to your neighbor’s yard reducing the output of his bushes or block their satellite dish. It will be good idea to consider and consult your neighbors as well.

Although, most of the municipalities are themselves promoting renewal energy and should have no objection for your solar system, you should make sure that you don’t violate any terms and conditions imposed by the planning authorities.

So giving a visit to local municipal office and talking to someone with authority on the matter would be good idea to ward off any future issues.

9. Save money with Do It Yourself (DIY) approach.

Solar panels installations cost a lot so if you plan to do it yourself you can save quite a good amount of money as nowadays kits are very installation friendly and can be easily installed. But it should be kept in mind that working at higher places can be dangerous and you are not afraid of heights.

So it is recommended that you should obtain the permits. By obtaining permits you will be sure whether you are allowed to install the kits by yourself or not. As any wrong connection can damage the entire system, you should always have a licensed and very experienced electrician doing the final connections and preferably all the connections.

There are many advantages of using solar power. The main advantage is that maintenance is less as it does not have any moving parts. When there is sunshine, you definitely get free electricity.

With improvements in technology, system efficiency has gone up and costs have come down for sure. This has made it possible to tap solar power for many more applications.

Though solar power offers so much when it comes to clean energy production, some problems, with solar panels and equipment required to bring system power output to your home or any other point, do crop up.

The solar panels that are available commercially are relatively trouble free. These are generally Photovoltaic (PV) systems and come with a guarantee for their construction and power output for a specified period of time. You may be aware that the efficiency of solar cells comes down over a period of time. Often, it takes more than twenty years for this to happen.

Very large installations like home or business power supply units use commercially available panels. It is true that the technology is well established over the years, but problems like failure of components do happen over a period of time. Smaller units or do-it-yourself (DIY) projects face more problems, if utmost care is not exercised at the time of construction.

Almost always problems are due to electrical faults in the panel and along the supply chain of controllers. Fires have happened due to short circuit in solar panels, but very rarely. If moisture is there inside a panel that is operational, there can be a lot of problems. It obstructs light and slowly corrodes the electrical contacts.

Corrosion in turn increases resistance to current flow and the efficiency of the solar cell reduces. This causes a knock-on effect. Once one cell becomes weak due to corrosion, the nearby cells also get affected due to heating and current flow changes.

If the power output rating of the panel is high and greater resistance is developed, the potential for shorting and serious damage to the panel are very high.

Problems do come up in solar system controller and inverter as well. Sometimes animals cause damage to the wiring. If the power output is coming down slowly, it could be due to the problems in the solar array.

Each panel’s output will have to be checked to find out if it is due to one panel or the wiring of the cells within the panel. The container that you construct for your do-it-yourself solar panel must be watertight and secure. It is recommended that you use a sealed aluminum casing and silicon sealing to prevent moisture entering the system.

You can also attach a packet of silica gel inside the panel to absorb the small amount of moisture that will be present in the air inside the panel. It is a good idea to use a comprehensive guide to build a safe and secure solar panel, especially if you are planning to make a solar panel by yourself.

If you are planning to set up your own home solar energy system, one of the key components you’ll need is the power inverter. With so many different models of power inverter, which one should you choose? This post will list out 4 types of inverters in the market and I hope it will help you in your selection process.

1) Square Wave Inverter

Among the various types of inverters designed to provide electric supply when supply from the main source is not available for reasons like tripping in the main grids, fault in any of the equipment under use for power production and transmission etc., a square wave inverter costs lowest; but it ranks lowest in its efficiency too.

The supply from such an inverter may cause damage to some gadgets that are sensitive. Square inverters can supply power up to 500 watts and can be connected using a cigarette lighter fitted to cars. However, use of square inverter is not advisable for domestic solar power system for its inefficiency and possibility of damaging the equipment.

2) Modified Sine Wave Inverter

A modified sine wave inverter has gained in popularity over the years because it is economical and acts as a power source when needed with least possibility of causing damage even to most electronic gadgets in domestic use.

The pattern of the electric power these inverters produce wave that can be categorized somewhere between a sine wave and a square wave giving them a popular name of “quasi-sine” inverter.

Here a word of caution; these inverters are not suited for running gadgets that involve motor speed controls or timers. For such equipment a different type of inverter is needed.

3) True Sine Wave Inverter

The waves that emanate from a true sine wave inverter are more or less like a pure sine wave curve. Though falling in the category of the costliest type of inverters, the benefit in using them is that they produce power which is qualitatively better than the power supplied by the utility companies!

These types of inverters are suited for delivering power to any AC electronic equipment; they behave excellently to cope with variation and cut off/on power as is needed by the AC load.

4) Grid Tie Power Inverter

This type of inverter is needed when you intend using solar power to support power received from the utility source. It efficiently relays power from solar panels to various electrical appliances in use at your home; because of reduction in actual power drawn from the main supply grid, benefit of reduction in power bills is achieved.

The input voltage for power inverter are available in three power ratings; 12 volts, 24 volts and 48 volts. You may choose an inverter of right voltage depending on the distance between the solar panels array and your set of batteries. The specifications of the cables depend on the magnitude of voltage. It is important that the solar panels, inverter and battery pack match in their voltage rating.

Despite the knowledge you thus acquire, you should not hesitate to take technical advice before you choose an inverter of the right type and specifications so that it gives you hassle free service.

Build Your Own Solar Panel Guide

One of the best ways to save money on a residential solar power system is to build your own solar panel. If you are good with hand tools, you can make a Photovoltaic (PV) array for around $150. What you’ll need is a step by step instructional guide.

Read some of the Earth4Energy manual reviews and learn what the top selling DIY solar array ebook on the web has to offer. Also, remember to check out the Earth4Energy download page for more information.

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