Is A Solar Electricity System Right For You?

With the cost of energy forever spiraling upwards one can understand the disquiet many have. Unfortunately we be sure that things are not going to improve in the near future.

Let's face it the Power Companies are charging us way too much for power! And yes, we do need electricity but until now we had no other way of getting it.

Year on year the price of energy has risen at an alarming rate and the reason for this escalation in price is not going to change in the near future. By now, I'm sure that you must have considered generating your own electricity. I know that I did, every time that I receive an gas or electricity bill. It did not seen to matter what I did to try to keep our energy bills down, the bills kept on rising.

Should you be thinking of purchasing a micro solar power plant for your home or business you will joining millions of other individuals around the world each with their own reasons for doing so; whether it is to save money, to live off the grid or to "save the planet".

Micro solar power plants supply reliable, pollution free energy from a inexhaustible resource known as the Sun. As improvements are made in photovoltaic (PV) cell design and construction micro solar power plants made from solar panels are becoming more affordable.

Helping towards making these systems more affordable, some solar electricity systems are able to participate in net metering in several states and it looks like the UK government is considering the same thing. This means that when your micro solar power plant generates more electricity than you are use, your electricity meter runs backwards. This results in an even swap of power between the electricity you use when you exceed the electricity supplied by your own micro solar power plant and that when your micro-power plant generates more than you use.

As most home energy solutions operate within a just-in-time system framework. This means that the surplus energy produced by the system is not stored. It is either used as it is produced or, if you are participating in a net metering system, pushed back into the grid. At night, your reduced electricity production forces you to draw electricity from the grid. This system certainly cuts your electricity bills and may even produce a small windfall if you use less electricity than you produce.

Before you decide to invest in a solar electricity system for your home or business, it would be expedient to understand exactly what you are buying and how the system works.

The component part of any micro solar power plant is the photovoltaic cell. In order to form solar panels or modules the photovoltaic cells are wired together.

As the Sun's UV light hits the photovoltaic cells of a solar panel electricity is produced and passed through an inverter that changes the electrical current from AC (alternating current) to DC (direct current), making it usable to power household appliances and the utility grid.

It is to your advantage to add a power storage component to your micro solar power plant in the form of batteries so that you are able to store the excess electricity produced by your system. The stored electricity can then be used at night or during power outages.

It is essential to recognize that a solar electricity systems only works when the sun's UV light hits them. This should not pose a problem if you use a power storage system such as a battery backup system or are connected to the grid.

The initial high investment cost of installing some of the commercial solar electricity system to a home can makes it very difficult to get a return on your investment. Some of the cost of a commercial system can be reduced through net metering and government grants or rebates.

You don't need to understand the physics behind a solar electricity systems to understand it's appeal. A solar electricity system will run for approximately twenty-five years once it is installed without the need for fuel apart for sunlight.

That said a solar electrical system is not for everybody. For instance should you want to install a solar electrical system on your roof and you live in the northern hemisphere you need to have a south facing house. However, if you did not meet the criteria for installing solar panels on your roof but had a large enough garden that fitted the criteria you could always install a ground mounted system.

That said you also have to contend with planning regulations. As much as governments hype up their green credentials, the planning authorities could prove to be a stumbling block to installing a solar electrical system.

Therefore, if you are looking to install a solar energy system, the first thing you have to do is check whether you will be permitted to do so. If there are no objections from the planning authorities why not start investing a bit of time and minimal funds to research some of the solar electricity systems available on the market today.

You may not be able to eliminate your energy bill totally but you may be able make considerable savings.