Chapter1-What is solar energy?

It is important that you understand exactly what solar energy

is.Wikipedia defines solar energy as "energy from the sun in the form
of heat and light"

when you use the term solar energy,you are actually referring to two
different types of energy:heat and light.

Each type of solar panel is designed to work either with the sun's
heat,or the sun's light.

For homeowners today,there are two types of solar panels,These are

solar electric(Otherwise known as photovoltaic)Solar electric panels
work with the sun's light.Solar electric panels create electricity from
the sun's light that can be used to power your appliances-
lights,fridge,etc.

And there are solar hot water panels,Solar hot water panels use the
sun's heat to heat the water for your shower,kitchen,etc.

Chapter 2-Types of solar electric panels

Solar panels-(AKA PHOTOVOLTAICS)For most home and panels

normally used are silicon.This
technology has been around for the last 50 years.And While efficency
has certainly improved,the way these panels work has not really
changed.

Solar tiels-These are simply solar panels,but come in a much more

integrated form.Instead of panels that sit on top of your roof,solar tiles
are integrated into the roofing as actual tiles.

Tiles are slightly less efficent than panels,so you need more of them to
produce power.However,they do the job of roofing as well as energy
production.This can make them a very cost effective option,especially
if your house needs re-roofing.

What is in a solar electic panel system?

This depends what type of solar panel system you have.The next
chapter explains each type of solar panel system.
It's important to note here that the actual solar panels themselves only
make up about 50% of the cost of the whole system.The rest of the
cost comes from the other components explained in the chapters
below.

Chapter 3-Solar panel system components

Solar panels -These come in different shapes and sizes(see

chapter"types of solar panels")but they all do the same thing-turn
sunlight into DC electricity.

Inverter-The inverter turns DC electricity from your solar panels into AC

electricity.
Dc stands for Direct Current electricity.Grid power and your house
appliance run on AC electricity.

So once the solar panels have made DC electricity this needs to be

turned in AC with an inverter.There are many types of
inverters.However,if you have a grid-tied system,you will need to have
a true-sine wave inverter.

CHARGE CONTROLLER-This is only needed if you have batteries.A

charge controller regulates the voltage and current coming from the
solar panels going to the battery.They also stop your batteries from
getting overcharged and a reverse flow from your batteries to your
solar panels during the night.

NET METERING -This is an electric meter that can spin backwords.This

allows you to sell power back to the grid.Sometimes power companies
require you to install a separate meter foryour solar power system.This
is because some meters are unable to run backwards.This is what your
meter will do when you are producing more solar energy than you are
using.

CIRCUIT BREAKER/DISCONNECT-This is a safety feature-it is used to

disconnect your solar panels from your house electrical system and the
power grid.This is necessary for maintenance work-both on your home
and on the main power grid.For instance,when there is a power
outage,you need to be able stop the solar power from flowing into the
main power grid for the safety of the maintenance team.

NB.Off grid houses can be wired for DC power.This eliminates the need
for an inverter(except for some appliances that aren't made to work
with DC power.There aren't many DC sound systems for example.)The
Advantage with keeping your power DC is that you won't lose power
through converting it to AC.Typically,converting DC to AC will mean
6%power loss.

Chapter 4-Types of Solar panel systems

System1.GRID TIED

Components:Solar panels,Inverter,Net Meter,Circuit Breaker

Grid tied systems work by connecting your solar energy to the

electricity grid.You generate solar power and sell the excess power
back to the grid.

The advantages of this system is that it is cost effective and you can
sell your power when you aren't using it.The disavantages are that you
cannot store your solar power.So if there is a power cut,you will only
have power if it is sunny outside and your solar panels are making
power.

System 2.OFF GRID POWER SYSTEMS.Components:Solar

panels,inverter,circuit breaker,batteries,charge controller,backup
power

Off grid systems mean you are not connected to the grid-you live in a
remote area.These systems are more expensive as you will need
storage for your power in the form of batteries.Off grid systems also
require a backup power source.You wiil need backup power if you have
many rainy days in a row that use up your stored battery power.
Backup power can also be useful for unexpected heavy power usage-
for instance if you have many people to stay at one time.

System 3.GRID TIED WITH BATTERIES

Components:Solar panels,Inverter,circuit breaker,batteries,charge

controller,Backup power,Net metering.
The grid tired with batteries system is when you are connected to the
grid and you have batteries to store your solar energy.

This is a system where you get the advantage of selling excess power
to the grid.Yo also have emergency backup power for when the grid
goes down.
If you live off the grid-solar panels are usually a better investment than
power cabling to connect to the grid.As a rule thumb-if you live more
than 1 mile away from the grid,the cost of connection will be about the
same as the cost of a solar system.

Deciding the best type of system for your home

A solar system gives you "free power",unlike the grid,where you are
paying for power by the watt.If you live on the grid there is one thing
to consider-do you get frequent power cuts?If you do get frequent
power cuts,then a grid tired system with batteries will provide
emergency backup power for when the grid is down.

Otherwise,a grid tired system will give you the benefits of solar energy
and bill savings,without the added expense of batteries.Batteries add
approximately 20-30% onto the cost of a grid tied system.

Chapter 5-Solar Electric VS. Solar hot water

There are two things to consider when choosing between solar hot
water and solar electric panels-climate and payback time.

Solar electric panels tend to have a longer payback time.On the other
hand,they last longer than the solar hot water panels.Solar electric
panels are often warrantied for 25years,but they have been known to
contivue working for 40years,with less than 20%drop in energy
production.

If you live in a hot and sunny climate,solar hot water is considered an

excellent investment.It can break even in 3-8 years,and in some
climates will supply 70% of your winter hot water needs and 90% of
your summer needs.

Solar hot water is less expensive than solar electric,and can work even
in states with colder climates,For example,many solar hot water panels
have been successfully installed in New york,New Jersey and
Canada,all places where it snows in winter.

Solar electric panels work slightly better in cold and sunny climates.As
they are harvesting sunlight energy rather than heat,Low temperatures
are not a problem.

The advantage of solar electric is that is not only supplies you

power,you can sell excess power back to the grid.The peak production
time for solar panels is from 10-3pm.This is when most people are out
of the house.

During this time,your solar panels are producing energy that isn't
being used-if you're out,the lights are off,appliances aren't running.So
this excess power can be sold back to the grid.If you have
batteries,this power can then charge your batteries.

You could also invest in solar hot water and solar electric.If you are
building a new house,this may prove very cost effective.

Chapter 6-Sizing your solar electric system

Solar electric panels are sized in KW.A 1kw system will output
approximately 1kw per hour on a sunny day.

Due to small losses in power from the inverter and other

inefficiencies,a 1kw system will put out about 0.7kw per hour.

There is no exact correlation between the size of the system and the
payback time.If you have a larger system it will be more
expensive.However.it will also supply you with more electricity,thus
saving you more off your power bill.

Therefore, a smaller solar system and a larger system will have

approximately the same payback time.However,once it is paid off,your
larger solar panel system will save you more money.This means it has
a greater return on investment.

The amount of power you use effects the size and cost of your solar
system.For example,if you use 200KW a month,a 4KW system will take
care of most of your needs,depending on where you live.
If you live in California,you have on average 5.5 usable sunshine hours
a day.

Usable sunshine is measured by KW/M2 per day.This is called solar

insolation.To find how much solar insolatin you have,you can check a
solar insolation map on internet.)

So your 4kw system will make more power if you live in California.If
you live in New Jersey,you have on average 4.25 usable sunshine hours
per day.SO this same 4kw system will m ake less power.
 Chapter 7-Costing your solar electric system

There are several factors controlling the cost of your system.The size
of your house means abosolutely nothing.

What does matter are the factors listed below.

Cost factors that you don't control:

What state you are in (for rebates and tax incentives)
How much sun you get per day

Cost Factors that you control:

Size of system-the bigger the size,the more expensive the system

Type of system-Off grid,Grid tired,Grid tired with batteries
How much power you use

The size of your house means abosolutely nothing!

An important part of costing is gathering several quotes for a job.This

can be as simple as phoning several installers(most installers will do a
free site evaluation and quote.)

Chapter8-Choosing a solar installer

There are two ways to install a solar system-you pay someone to do

it,or you install it yourself.

Unless you are a registered electrician and have solar experience,we

recommend paying a qualified installer to install your solar panels.

The reasons for this are threefold:

Most councils require the electrics to be certified-this means the work

must be done by a certified installer.Many of the rebates can only be
claimed by people who have had their system installed by a qualified
installer.

Solar panel suppliers often require a certified installer as

well.Depending on the small print in the gurantee, doing the installatin
yourself can sometimes void the gurantee.

For solar panels to work at maximum efficiency,there are many factors

that need to be taken into account.Having a competent solar installer
for your system means that you\'re more likely to get your solar panels
working at optimum efficiency-thus saving you more money.

When selecting an installer there are several things to take into

account.Collect several quotes to make sure you are getting a good
deal.Make sure that your installer has had previous experience with
solar systems.There are several organizations that certify solar panel
installers.

Here's one place to start looking for a solar installer:

Chapter 9-Payback of your solar electric system

The payback time is the amount of time it takes after you bought a
solar system for it to start making you money.This is generally though
of as:

Cost of system/Yearly savings off your bill=Paybacktime

In other words,once your solar panel system has saved you more off
your power bills than it cost you to buy it,its payback time is over.Each
time the sun shines,you're literally making money.

There are the factors your solar system payback time:

1.Price of system -This is covered in the chapter above.However you

can certainly look for a good deal on solar energy systems.The less you
pay,the shorter the payback time.It's still important to make sure that
you are buying quality,backed by a guarantee.

2.YOUR POWER BILL- If you are being charged an expensive rate for
your power,your payback time will be shorter.The way to work out your
power rate is in $/kw.On each power bill,there is a monthly amount for
KW used.
Take this amount,and divide it by your power bill minus the fixed rates,
(fixed rates are what you pay the power company anyway,regardless
of how much power you are using)This will give you your power rate.
The average cost for electricity in America is$0.10 per kw.

3.Energy Prices-This you can't control,however,the faster energy prices

rise,the quicker your solar panels will pay themselves off.This is
because your solar system will save you more money off your power
bill.Your solar panels make the same amount of energy,but this energy
is more expensive.Therefore,you spend less on expensive power.
4.Your house value Studies have shown that solar panels add to the
value of your house.This value added is approximately 15times the
yearly power bill savings.Here's one such study

Oregon Realtors-Solar value added to Hourse Resale.

For example,if your solar system saves you $500 in the first year,the
system has added about $7500 to the value to your house.

For solar electric panel payback time,go and check this Solar
calculator-that will give you an estimate of payback time.

NB.It is important to realize that values from the solar calculator are
estimates of paybacktime,and cost.When installing solar,it's
recommended to get a professional costing because there are so many
variables that affect your solar panel performance.

5) Warranty-When selecting a solar supplier,make sure that you are

getting a suitable length ofwarranty for the solar system. Solar electric
systems should be warranted for 20-25 years.Inverters can also be
warranted for 2-5years.

The reason why a warranty is so important is that solar panels are a

long term investment.By having a longer warranty,you are guranteeing
that you will get your return on investment.

Chapter 10 -Rebates Available

Rebates Available
See dsireusa.org

Each state provides rebates and cash incentives.Some states provide

greater benefits than others.Most rebates can only be applied for after
you have installed your solar system.Some rebates allow you to claim
tax rebates from the state for several years after installation of your
solar system.

There is also a federal rebate-you get 30% off the price of your solar
system in tax rebates.The maximum amount you can get is $2000.And
if you install a solar electric system and a solar hot water system,you
can cliam for both of these systems separately.

This rebate is available to everyone who installs a solar system.One

thing to know though,is that most other rebates come on a first
come,first served basis.Each year,a certain amount of money is
allocated to give to people claming the rebate.Once that amount is
reached,either the rebate amount is less,or the rebate is no longer
available.

Chapter 11-Solar panel maintenance

POWER OUTPUT-For solar panels,you want to check every few months

for drops in productivity.You can do this simply by keeping track of
your power bills.

ROOF PENETRATIONS-Check the flashing and sealing around roof

penetrations.

DUST AND LEAVES 2-3times a year,give your solar panels a hose

down.If they are dusty or dirty,there performance will drop.

SHADING-If there are trees around your house,check that they aren't
shading your panels,Shade on your panels will reduce their
performance and power output.

Before you buy-Optimizing your house

You can reduce your energy demand by taking a few simple steps.

Lightbulbs -replace your regular incandescent light builbs with a

compact fluorescent light bulb(CFL)Compact Fluorescents use about
60% less energy than a regular bulb.

By simply using this bulb in place of a regular household bulb,you can

save up to $60 per bulb in the costs of energy over the course of the
bulb's life.

ENERGY EFFICIENT APPLIANCES One way to check for this is the energy
star rating system.Here's a USA goverment website where you can find
energy efficient appliances:

You can also look for the energy star logo on appliances in stores.

Appliances with the sticker have met the energy efficiency guidelines
set by the EPA and US department of Energy.

PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN If you are building a hourse,design for passive

solar heat gains.

INSULATION This cuts down on heat losess and your heating bill.Many
states have grants in place for improving your house's energy
efficiency.Some programs will even put extra insulation into your
house for free.Check DSIREUSA.org for details.Look up"energy
efficiency rebates"