Solar Power Is Cheaper Than You Think

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by: LanceJensen | Total views: 230 | Word Count: 473

So you want to solar power your home for the cheapest way possible. So the first thing you need to do is to learn about solar panels.

The first thing you are probably wondering is if it is possible to buy just one solar panel to power your entire home. This is one of the most common questions asked by people looking into installing their own solar power system. You might even have a list of things in your home that you would like to put on this single solar panel such as an air conditioner, dishwasher, TV, and so on.

I'm sorry to tell you that the answer is no. It is impossible for a single solar panel to power an entire house. I've lived off the power grid for 15 years and solar panels have come a long way. Even with the latest technology and most expensive solar panels on the market, you would need about 15 solar panels and a dozen or so deep cycle batteries. If you live in the desert or any environment where you really need to run your air conditioning a lot, then you will need even more. Your air conditioner is the most power hungry "appliance" in your home.

What you need to learn is that nothing in your home can be run off of a solar panel. Things in your home are run off a battery bank. The solar panels job is only to keep your battery bank charged. You might think this is just clever semantics but it is not. Voltage spikes are very bad and can fry computer chips in all sorts of appliances. This is why power strips have voltage spike protection in them. If you plugged things in your home directly into a solar panel, every little cloud or bird that crosses between your solar panel and the sun would send a massive voltage spike to whatever you are running off it causing it to fry. You must have a steady flow of electrons coming into your home to power things. This is precisely what a battery bank does for you.

You may want to use solar panels to power your whole house excluding the air conditioner. For your air conditioner, switch it over to gas.

If you are gone at work during the day, shut off your air conditioner so that during the day, your power meter is running backwards while very few things in your home are using energy from your battery bank. When you get home in the evening, turn your AC on and you will then be using energy from your power company.

You should be able to cut your electricity bill by 65% or more as long as you don't live in the desert where you have to run your AC all during the night in order to sleep.

About the Author

By Lance Jensen. For more free solar power tips and advice including an interactive java solar power calculator, see solar power

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