Living Off the Grid - Harvesting Energy With Home Solar Power Systems
Now you can build a single panel or a complete array of panels to power your home for a fraction of retail cost.
With the energy prices always on the rise lots of people have started living off the grid either by buying brand-new solar power systems or by building their own solar panels. Based on the recent statistics its known that more than 30,000 households have shifted to living off the grid in the U.S alone, only in the last two years. Building your own solar panels isn't as difficult as you may think it is, if fact you don't need an engineering degree -- with all the instruction manuals that are available online at very low costs you can assemble a solar power system and start living off the grid in less than two days.
The number of solar panels required to satisfy all the energy your household needs depends on the size of your house. Obviously a single 100 watts solar panel won't be enough. If you choose to buy a professional solar panel it may be slightly expensive starting from the 00 to 000 or maybe even more. Not many people can't afford brand new solar panels and the return on investment in hardly achievable even in 5 or 10 years. This is the main reason most people are looking for ways to start living off grid by building their own solar panels much cheaper. In fact a 400 watts solar panel won't cost more than 0, and that includes all the components and the tools that you need to build a fully functional solar panel that is ready to harvest the Sun's energy.
During the winter time your household usually needs more electricity as there is the heating also that needs to be covered. You'll need at least 6 solar panels to heat your house during the cold seasons, but that again you might need more than six depending on the size of your house. All the unused energy can be easily stored in some batteries for later use. It doesn't matter if you want to go completely off-grid or you just want to supply enough energy for just a few of your house appliances such as your mobile phones or your TV, by building your own solar panels you can reduce the costs of your monthly electricity expenses tremendously. This can be easily accomplished only with the right knowledge and a solid DIY solar manual that you can find online.
If you're tired of high electricity bills, discover how thousands of families worldwide benefit from homemade solar panels and wind turbines to power their homes.
For more information on how to build your own solar panels visit our Earth 4 Energy Review...
Frequently Asked Questions
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QUESTION:
How long can the solar power systems remain sitched off?
I have recently installed solar power systems in my home. I need to go away for two months during which the house will remain closed. What do I do with the systems,leave it on or switch everything off for that period? Will this affect the charger,batteries or the inverter?-
ANSWER:
The "solar power system" is irrelavent until you ask a few IMPORTANT questions.
Like what kind of a system do you have and what is it powering.
If you powering up the entire house, I doubt you want to turn the power to your freezer off for 2 months.
And it also depends on if you have a system that only powers your home during daylight hours or if its a system that provides total 'off the grid' power to your home.
If you want to "conserve" on your system, your solar panels will continue to make electricity unless you throw a tent over your home, so you might as well allow the system to work just to keep the batteries in service and in use.
I'd recommend that you keep the breaker to the kitchen on to keep the frig going along with the solar system working. That way only the essentials are in use while your gone and the load is minimal on the solar system.
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QUESTION:
when it come to home solar power why do some choose 24v and others 12 v systems?
i want a solar power system, but dont know if i choose 12v or 24v and why.-
ANSWER:
it all depends, since you're going to be spending top dollar for the panels anyways you should just go with the best. 24v would essentially be better in the long run because it can carry a heavier load, but if you're trying to save a few bucks get the 12v which isn't bad, but expect more limitations.
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QUESTION:
What is take on solar power systems?
I am looking into getting solar panels installed. Do you recommend any particular brand? Or not to have it done at all?-
ANSWER:
You have to be more specific. PV panels or solar heating panels...
The quality is good for the newest line of PV panels. Many rural traffic indicating devices use them for power.
If you want to heat the house ( where most of the power goes ), stick with a known brand that stands behind the workmanship. Some vendors do not.
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QUESTION:
Where can I get good information on Solar Power Systems for a home?-
ANSWER:
Greenpeace or a dealer
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QUESTION:
experience with neighbors combining resources for solar power systems?
can a neighborhood association possibly obtain a site where there is plenty of Florida sunshine, erect solar panels and sell the power to the grid?, sharing the credit?-
ANSWER:
This is exactly how Germany has become the world's leading nation in distributed renewable energy. The German Government passed laws obliging utility companies to pay private individuals and groups for energy that they generate and feed into the national grid. These payments are called feed-in tariffs and they enable homeowners to get a reasonable payback on their investments in distributed renewable energy.The real issue is how much you would be paid for the electricity you generate in Florida. Large-scale solar PV panels would be required to generate several kilowatt-hours per day. They cost - per peak watt (Wp) and an installation of the scale you need will cost your neighbourhood association many thousands of dollars.
I don't know the laws about feed-In tariffs in Florida so I can't tell you how to meet local requirements. I suspect the low price of electricity in the US (relative to Germany) will make it an uneconomic proposition for you at the moment. If this is the case, I suggest you re-evaluate the costs and benefits in a few years, when the price of electricity really hurts.
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