What is a Solar Panel System? By Y.T. Lee At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

If you are really interested in saving the environment and reducing your electricity costs you should invest in a home solar panel system. Contrary to popular belief, these panels are not very costly. They are the only alternative of reducing the costs of electricity that are increasing every year. The main advantage of using such a system is that sunlight is free and inexhaustible and these panels are powered by sunlight. Think of it as a free for life powerhouse. Just think of the savings you shall be making per month on power bills without reducing electricity consumption. If this is not sufficient reason for you to go ahead and install a photovoltaic panel, think of the contribution you are making towards saving the environment.

Till a few years back, these photovoltaic cells and panels were quite costly, but with mass production the costs have come down drastically and they have come down to a range affordable by all. While the readymade panels are still a bit costly, nothing like what they used to cost before, the do it yourself kits are relatively cheap and cost around $700. A basic knowledge of using a soldering iron is more than sufficient to set up and configure such kits. When solar power is being converted into electric power, there are no harmful emissions. The low cost of these kits ensure that they pay off for themselves in just a few months of use.

These kits are available at quite a number of stores or you can also search the Internet for them and order them online. Basically you need solar panels and mounts in which to affix the panels. These mounts are lightweight and constructed of aluminum and can be easily adjusted for both summer and winter. A battery is also required for storing the power generated by the panels during the day. You also need to invest in a trickle charge controller that ensures that the batteries are neither overcharged nor undercharged. They stop the flow of current if the charge of the battery goes beyond a permissible limit and ensures flow of current only when the battery charge has dropped below that limit.

You will also require an inverter for converting AC power to DC power. Though deep cycle batteries are best suited for the purpose, if you are on a budget, you can go in for the ones that are used by golf carts. You will require roughly 6 of such batteries for saving power from the photovoltaic cells during the day and then supplying them to your house during the night. The location of the solar panel system is an important issue. It should be located in such a place where they are exposed to the maximum amount of sunlight without physically moving them. The solar south direction is ideal and will ensure that your panel gets exposed to the maximum amount of sunlight without being physically moved. There are excellent guides & manuals available that will help you with your task.

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