Modern Advances in Home Solar Systems
Many homeowners can save a lot of money each year by using a solar power system to reduce or eliminate their electricity bill. If they install a properly sized solar panel array they can easily generate all of their power from sunlight and never have to worry about another utility bill again. Some homeowners, though, encounter problems that prevent them from getting the return on investment that they had hoped for. However, many of these issues can be overcome with recent innovations and improvements in solar technology. You can make use of these innovations whether you’re purchasing solar panels or making a DIY solar panel.
Having a house with proper orientation to the sun is probably the biggest concern for most homeowners. For people in the northern hemisphere, their home must have one side that faces south in order for solar panels to operate at peak efficiency. This ensures that the solar panels have a good amount of sun exposure throughout the day, as the sun travels across the sky. In years past, this was a major concern as the older panels had a very specific need for constant sun exposure. Even it positioning was just a little off, it could have a major impact on power output.
This problem is solved in modern solar panels by using more efficient solar cells. Besides producing more electricity with similar amount of sunlight, these newer solar cells can also tolerate a more severe angle relative to the sun. Because of this, they have a wider tolerance for locations that would not have been good choices for older systems. So, these newer solar cells are ideal for installations there is less than perfect alignment. These modern solar panels will produce more electricity when there is dimished sunlight, like on cloudy days, and also in these situations that are out of standard alignment with the sun. Because these newer solar panels don’t need to pointing directly at the sun all the time, they don’t need to be turned during the day like a lot of older panels. This makes them well suited to a homebuilt solar panel installation.
This is much better than older solar panels that needed a large, continuous amount of sunlight to generate electricity. Older panels were inactive early in the morning and late in the afternoon because of this. The amount of sun at these times doesn’t cross the electricity production threshold required by these older panels. The newer solar panels can take advantage of these lower levels of sunlight and will produce power proportional to the level of sunlight available. This means they will produce their maximum output during the day when the sun is brightest and will still produce power in lesser amounts when less sunlight is present. So, these more modern solar panels can produce more average power per day and therefore more total power through the year. This additional power can have a big impact on savings and can make all the difference to homeowners that are trying to justify a solar power system for their home.
One of the best ways to increase the resale value of your home is with a solar power system. No matter whether you supplement the electricity provided by the power company or supply all of the electricity needs of your house, a solar power system will definitely increase the value of your home. A simple diy solar charger can be a great first solar project.
