How Solar Panels For Home Work
If you want to learn how to make Solar Panels For Home energy consumption, generating solar power for your home, then you should have some understanding of how solar panels work. This great article was written by Pam Eisenberg and gives a good outline of how you can make use of home solar power systems:
“To understand exactly how solar panels work, you need to first know that there are two different types of solar panels - one produces heat and the other produces electricity, each having its own working mechanism.
The first type of solar panels takes the sun's thermal energy to heat water or oil through thermal collectors. Plastic piping and coils are usually used in these panels, and the sun heats the liquid that runs through the coils to pass on energy.
These panels are generally used to heat swimming pools, spas, Jacuzzi, and hot tubs at home or work. When coupled with hot water flooring systems and baseboard units, they can also be used to heat the interiors of buildings. Once you have installed this type of solar panel at home, you can confidently get rid of any additional heating sources. Bear in mind, though, that a motorized pump is often required to help the flow of the liquid in the system.
The second type of solar panels (often called photovoltaic cell system) typically uses silicon as a semi-conductor material, and DC (direct current) electricity can be generated when silicon interacts with sunlight. Based on this working mechanism, these panels only work in the day time when sunlight is available. Dependent on the size of your solar system, the electricity produced can be used to power general house appliances or even the entire house.
In case you also would like to power your house with the photovoltaic cell system at nights or on unpleasant days, you will need to have batteries to store the excessive electricity. A cheap option is to use the lead-acid batteries that are commonly used in cars, but always remember to fill them with distilled water so that they will not lose their charge. You may also opt for more expensive batteries, such as the absorbent glass mat batteries. They are sealed and hence does not require distilled water to retain their charge. If you live in a cold area, gel batteries are good choices as they do not freeze in low temperature.
Both types of solar panels use a glass frame to hold the collection cells, and both require direct sunlight to function at their maximum capacity. Hence, the solar panels are usually placed to face south in order to gain the greatest exposure to the sun rays throughout the day. Although solar panels can be used anywhere to tap the sun's energy, they obviously do not work effectively in places where cloudy weather dominates throughout the year!
The above is just a brief introduction on how solar panels work. If you really like the idea of getting solar energy for your home, you might also like to consider keeping a generator as a backup. Even if you live in a sunny area, there might be unexpected spells of rainy days, or your batteries may occasionally fail to store the electricity. You can run your generator on bio-fuel to ensure a complete green life.”
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pam_Eisenberg
Hopefully this gives you a better idea of how to generate solar power for homes and gardens and allows you the vision to build your own solar panels for home use and utilise them to supplement your energy supply. Check out this step by step guide on how to make solar panels at home. It is a great resource and you will learn heaps from it. Get it now and save money by reducing the cost of your electricity bill.
“To understand exactly how solar panels work, you need to first know that there are two different types of solar panels - one produces heat and the other produces electricity, each having its own working mechanism.
The first type of solar panels takes the sun's thermal energy to heat water or oil through thermal collectors. Plastic piping and coils are usually used in these panels, and the sun heats the liquid that runs through the coils to pass on energy.
These panels are generally used to heat swimming pools, spas, Jacuzzi, and hot tubs at home or work. When coupled with hot water flooring systems and baseboard units, they can also be used to heat the interiors of buildings. Once you have installed this type of solar panel at home, you can confidently get rid of any additional heating sources. Bear in mind, though, that a motorized pump is often required to help the flow of the liquid in the system.
The second type of solar panels (often called photovoltaic cell system) typically uses silicon as a semi-conductor material, and DC (direct current) electricity can be generated when silicon interacts with sunlight. Based on this working mechanism, these panels only work in the day time when sunlight is available. Dependent on the size of your solar system, the electricity produced can be used to power general house appliances or even the entire house.
In case you also would like to power your house with the photovoltaic cell system at nights or on unpleasant days, you will need to have batteries to store the excessive electricity. A cheap option is to use the lead-acid batteries that are commonly used in cars, but always remember to fill them with distilled water so that they will not lose their charge. You may also opt for more expensive batteries, such as the absorbent glass mat batteries. They are sealed and hence does not require distilled water to retain their charge. If you live in a cold area, gel batteries are good choices as they do not freeze in low temperature.
Both types of solar panels use a glass frame to hold the collection cells, and both require direct sunlight to function at their maximum capacity. Hence, the solar panels are usually placed to face south in order to gain the greatest exposure to the sun rays throughout the day. Although solar panels can be used anywhere to tap the sun's energy, they obviously do not work effectively in places where cloudy weather dominates throughout the year!
The above is just a brief introduction on how solar panels work. If you really like the idea of getting solar energy for your home, you might also like to consider keeping a generator as a backup. Even if you live in a sunny area, there might be unexpected spells of rainy days, or your batteries may occasionally fail to store the electricity. You can run your generator on bio-fuel to ensure a complete green life.”
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pam_Eisenberg
Hopefully this gives you a better idea of how to generate solar power for homes and gardens and allows you the vision to build your own solar panels for home use and utilise them to supplement your energy supply. Check out this step by step guide on how to make solar panels at home. It is a great resource and you will learn heaps from it. Get it now and save money by reducing the cost of your electricity bill.
