Residential Solar Power
With the price of fossil fuels sky-rocketing, many home owners are exploring the use of solar power instead of the traditional power source. If your home is connected to a utility grid, you have two options when it comes to residential solar power. You can install solar power as your primary source and use the power grid as a back-up. Or you can have solar power installed as a secondary source and use the power grid as your primary source.
Solar power panels for producing residential solar power are usually wall mounted or roof mounted. However, solar panels can also be installed on free-standing platforms or even on a tower that can rotate to follow the sun's path. Lined with a semiconductor material that generates electricity when the sun's rays pass through them, solar panels will work as long as they get enough sun.
Solar panels are not restricted to the large square boxy panels we are most accustomed to. Solar cells can now be purchased that are incorporated directly into roofing materials that provide not only residential solar power but offer the same level of home protection as the traditional asphalt shingle. This provides an almost undetectable installation with no affect on your curb appeal.
How the electricity generated by the solar panel is distributed depends on your type of installation. If your home is not connected to the traditional power company grid this is called a stand-alone system. In a stand-alone system the electricity from the solar panel then passes through a regulator or controller, then into an inverter, which converts the power from being a direct current, into an alternating current that electrical equipment is built to operate on in the United States.
With certain types of installation the power from the solar panels would be routed to a power inverter then into a storage system or directly into your homes electrical system. Excess power can be diverted to the power company. Electrical power that is routed to a storage system, commonly a single or array of batteries, can be tapped into at nightfall or during overcast days. Under either system, the current flows into your home’s circuit breaker where it will supply the power to light your home and run your appliances.
Many states now offer net metering. Net metering is when your electric meter runs backwards when you feed your extra residential solar power into the power company's grid. If you generate more power into the grid than when you pull from the grid, the power company could end up paying you.
There are many incentives for installing residential solar power. This can include municipal, state, and even federal financial incentives. These incentives range from tax credits on your tax bill to low to zero percent financing for most or all of the solar power system installation. And there will always be the lower to no electric bill every month.