Here are some basic facts about solar energy for the home.

A home solar power system has several standard components they are as follows:

* PV Modules or solar panels (to turn solar energy into electricity)

* A charge controller (this is an electrical device that prevents batteries from overcharging and from power running from the batteries into the solar panels).

* Batteries, to store the electricity for night time usage.

* An inverter (an device which changes the electricity created by the solar panels into electricity ready for use in your regular household wall sockets). Solar panels create Direct Current DC and a household runs on A/C Alternating Current.

* In the case of a hybrid home solar system, an automatic switch to get current from the electrical grid, or some other power source such as a generator would be included as well. The advantage of using a hybrid system is that you will not be dependent upon solar energy alone.

* A 1-kilowatt home solar system is sufficient for most households.

* A 1-kilowatt home solar system will provide roughly 1,600 kilowatts per year in a sunny climate (receiving 5.5 hrs of sunlight each day) and about 750 kilowatt hours per year in cloudy climates (receiving 2.5 hours of sunlight each day).

* A 1-kilowatt home solar system is uses about 10-12 solar panels, and requires about 100 square feet of installation area (which could be the roof of your home or a section of land on your property).

* A 1-kilowatt home solar energy system reduces waste and pollution by about 170 pounds. of coal from being burned, 300 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere and 105 gallons of water from being consumed each month! A big step toward protecting our environment, in other words.

* With battery back up, a solar energy system can provide electricity day and night, no matter what the weather conditions. Other options, which include back-up generators and grid-tie systems, provide total security.

* On average a 1-kilowatt home solar system takes about 1-2 days to install and costs around US$10,000 (though prices are coming down), but can vary greatly and does not take into account any tax incentives offered by the government for reducing carbon emissions.

* Most systems come with a 5-year warranty, although the solar panels are warranted for 20, and as technology advances some are even coming out with a 30 year warranty.

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Installing solar power into one’s home is a great way to help clean up the environment and save money as well.

Learn more about Home Solar Power at the author’s website on Solar Energy. You can also visit this Solar Power Store to find a variety of solar powered equipment.

If you haven’t heard all the talk about Renewable Energy, you must have been living in a cave for the last 10 years. Even so, if you were in a cave I am sure someone would have told you about solar energy, wind power or hydro power. These are all examples of renewable energy, that are being used in to days world and with the concern of Global Warming, at no other time in our history has this concept been more important. Click for Michael Harvey Renewable energy enthusiasts,

1.Wind Energy

For thousands of years man has harnessed the power of the wind, it used to be the only way a ship could get across the oceans. You will have also seen windmills that harnessed to power of the wind to grind grains or to pump water. Nowadays we are harnessing the power of the wind to create a clean source of electricity in all parts of the world. Wind Farms have been appearing all over the countryside, and can produce enough electricity to power thousands of homes. They are surprisingly simple in how they work, the blades of the windmill and connected to an electrical generator through the use of gears and shafts, that mean when the blades turn electricity is created by the generator.

2.Water Power

Water power is another example of renewable energy that has been used for hundreds of years. The earliest machines were waterwheels, which back then, provided power for grain mills and lumber cutting. Hydroelectricity, as it is now called is the same principle but on a larger scale, the power of the water is used to turn turbines to produce electricity. Hydro power produces an impressive 60% of the electricity in Canada today, unfortunately, the United States are nowhere as close.

For the home owner the simplest ways to get started in producing alternative energy is to look at solar power or wind power, there are now a multitude of options available to get started with. Remember you don’t have to start big, as big changes usually come from lots of small ones, so what small change are you going to make today.

where you can learn about solar power and other forms of alternative energy you can use around your home. You can also learn how you can do your bit to stop Global Warmings- earth energy sources programs