Home Solar Power

For centuries we have used the sun’s natural energy to our advantage. For example, it has been used in ancient times to provide natural lighting in temples, for photosynthesis and natural heating for growing crops, to desalinize and purify water, and it has been magnified and intensified to heat thermal power plants.

But, more importantly it can also be used on a domestic level, as a clean source energy for various households.

So far people have discovered how to home solar power their homes in 4 ways:

Solar Ovens:

A solar cooker is an extremely healthy, inexpensive and clean alternative to cooking your food. Though solar cookers have been used a lot to desalinize water in poor arid countries, many 1st world countries are adopting them in summer for cooking their food.

The solar oven works where reflective material is constructed in a bowl-like shape, and concentrates the sunlight on a single point, that heats up a pot. A number of meals can be cooked in this energy saving oven, from roast chicken to soups to bread. Depending on the design, enough food can be made to feed a family of five.

The one problem with a solar oven is that it takes rather long to cook the food - up to 4 times longer. But if you are prepared to wait for a healthy, wholesome, energy saving meal to be ready, then a solar cooker is a good idea.

Solar Water Heater:

Solar water heating has a number of uses, and thanks to technological developments, modern solar water heating systems can be used at home to completely replace conventional boilers or geysers.

How it works is water passes through solar panels that convert the sun’s energy into heat, that is then used to heat the water. This water is then stored in a cylinder for use in the home. With the larger solar water heater, the water can get extremely hot and has to combined with cold water to cool it down.

Passive Solar Design:

What people do not realize is how much power they consume just to heat and light their homes. And if they could just see the benefit of using natural lighting and heating from the sun, they could save a lot of power and money.

With passive solar living, a household is design to effectively use the sun’s rays for natural heating and lighting. This would include being built on a sun-facing slope, with the length of the house facing the sun and having a number of large Low-E windows. And as a result staying naturally warmer in the colder months.

For natural lighting, the effective placement of large windows and mirrors in your home can help reflect and distribute sunshine throughout the house, and lower you dependence on traditional light bulbs.

A natural air conditioning solution would be to plant deciduous trees on the sun-facing side of your home. This would provide cool shade in summer, but allow warm sunlight though in winter.

For free ventilation, you could make use of a solar chimney or solar attic fan, where hot, stale air is sucked out of the home and replaced with cool, fresh air from outside.

Electric Solar Energy:

More scientifically known as photovoltaic energy, this form of home solar power can be used at home as a renewable source of electricity. For a solar electric panels system to be most effective, the panels should always be facing the sun.

How the system works is as sun hits the panels, the solar cells absorb the light and convert it to electricity, which is then stored in special batteries. For you to be able to use home solar power in your home, it first needs to be converted from direct current into alternating current with the help of an inverter.

The good thing about home solar power is that as long the sun is shining, you will get free power, technology is bringing down the costs and there is little effect on the environment. What’s more is, if you cannot afford to spend thousands of dollars on an expert system, you can learn to build your own solar panel system for a tenth of the price.

So that is how to home solar power your home in four ways. If you just implemented one or two of these strategies, you would decrease your dependence on fossil fuels, get renewable energy tax breaks, and reduce your power consumptions and costs while helping the environment. It is not a matter of these solutions being too expensive or complicated to use, but a matter of us being willing to learn how to use them at home.

Solar Energy Solar Energy