Can you afford residential solar?

This is a neat article by Eric Duncan

by Eric Q. Duncan

The economy is not getting any better. This means most people are still limiting their spending any way they can. Many are thinking about alternate sources of energy to use at their residence to save money on a long-term basis. Residential solar panels are a good choice for saving money and this source of energy does no harm to the environment.

It is a common belief that the only way to have green renewable energy is to purchase a system through an alternative energy company and have it professionally installed in your home. This is out of reach for most people, as they cannot afford it. What they do not know is they can build their own solar panels for a reasonable cost at home.

Your own homemade solar panels can be connected to your utility company’s grid in such a way as to feed your unused power back through their lines. They are obligated to pay you for the excess power you produce. This means not only can you lower your bills; you may also receive a check from the power company.

The solar panels depend on sunshine to produce power to your home. What will you do at night or on rainy days? Here are three options for you to think about.

A system of batteries can be set up to store power for use when you need it. When your solar panels are not getting enough sun to work, your batteries will take over to provide power to your home. Once you have the battery back-up system in place you will not be dependent on the electric company for power. You can have your power from them shut off.

This means your home is producing all its energy needs from your homemade solar panels. This is referred to as living off the grid. You are running your lights, air, heat, or anything else you use electricity to power without using the services of the power company.

You can also build your own wind power system and use it as well as your homemade solar panels. It will kick in when the sun is not shining and power your home. It is easy to construct your own wind system from simple inexpensive products from your local supply company. But then again sometimes the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.

For this reason, it is still wise to hook up to the power grid or invest in a battery bank to ensure you never have to go without power. However, by using both types of green energy you provide more energy to your home and very rarely have to depend on your back up methods for power.

The third method is to simply be hooked to the grid. If you ever are in a situation where the sun is not shining you home simply draws power from the grid. Usually it only costs you a few dollars per bill and often times due to the power the grid has used from your solar panel you break even.

It is time to do all you can to cut the cost of living and having your own residential solar panels is a good way to do it. The environment needs help and this green alternative energy source will not harm the earth or atmosphere in any way. Anyone can make and install their own solar panels with the right guidance.