SOLAR PANELS FOR HOME ELECTRICITY

A great alternative to power cuts and higher rates are solar panels for home electricity.

SOLAR PANELS FOR HOME ELECTRICITY

The installation of solar panels in a house is becoming easier every day thanks to the continuous development of photovoltaic technologies. This makes it possible to reduce the price of installing solar panels by making solar energy available to more people each day, thus helping to reduce the cost of electricity bills and achieving environmental conservation.

What are solar panels?

The  solar panels are devices responsible for CAPTR sunlight and transform it into electricity, form an indispensable facility to capture energy from the sun and can use it for their own consumption.

These are technological devices that take advantage of  solar radiation  and, together with an inverter, convert sunlight into domestic consumable energy, mainly electricity. Solar panels can take advantage of solar energy in two ways, so we find two types of panels:

• Thermal : through the use of heat.
• Photovoltaic : through the use of light.

How do photovoltaic solar panels work?

Solar panels work by transforming  solar radiation  into direct current through the exchange of electrons produced by the photovoltaic effect:

1. Capture of solar energy through photovoltaic panels.
2. The charge regulator controls the voltage and current intensity produced.
3. Transformation of the direct current in Alterna through an inverter.
4. Immediate consumption of the generated energy.
5. Storage in batteries of surplus energy or injection of said excess into the power grid of the distributor.
6. Consumption of the remaining energy required from the network, in case the point is connected.

The   daily solar energy production will respond to an evolution curve according to the time of day and, therefore, the solar radiation that the photovoltaic panels receive.

This depends on the climatic conditions and the place where the installation is located, as well as the orientation of the system, although it is summarized as follows:

¿ What are the steps in installing photovoltaic panels?

1. Budget : Request an engineering study for your home with which they will provide you with budget, savings and availability. Remember that this installation budget will be completely free.
2. Purchase and installation : Once the budget is accepted, a team of experts will be responsible for all the installation of the panels and the necessary procedures. Forget about taxes for installing solar energy.
3. Start saving : Do not worry and save on your electricity bill for the next 25 or 30 years.
4. Maintenance : The materials of the solar panels resist even the hail, you only have to clean the dust once a month or less.

What are the necessary components for the installation of photovoltaic panels

• Photovoltaic panels
• Solar inverters
• Charge regulator
• Batteries (dispensable in intalaciones connected to network)
• Switch (dispensable in isolated installations)
• Domestic electrical installation

The installation of solar panels is a cost-effective option in various cases, due to the energy savings they can provide, and its consequent preservation of the environment due to the no emission of toxic agents.

Some examples of where it is more interesting to install solar panels is at those points removed from the distribution network that do not have access to supply, such as rural houses. Also in areas where solar radiation is very high, and therefore the use of solar energy is greater.

What is the current efficiency of solar panels?

Currently there is a healthy competition between international scientific institutions. In laboratories efficiencies of more than 45% have been achieved. Unfortunately, it is years before these products are commercially available at prices that mortals can afford.

• For solar panels with cells of one element, it was determined that theoretically they can convert a maximum of 33.7% of solar energy into electricity.
• Some solar panels with silicon cells, the effectiveness is 29%.
• Solar panels of silicon monocrystalline cells achieve an efficiency of 20% while panels with polycrystalline silicon cells reach a 16% efficiency (commonly those that we can buy in the market)
• Solar panels with amorphous cells and thin-film cells rarely exceed 10%.
• For special uses, gallium arsenide modules are produced that achieve an efficiency of 30%.

How much energy can I save with solar panels for houses?

Savings with solar energy are difficult to calculate due to the variables that come into play with each solar panel system. An important variable is the climate that can cause the same solar panel to generate a completely different amount of electricity depending on the location.

Another variable is that the technology of solar panels is growing so its efficiency too, a recent system is more efficient compared to other solar panels of 5 years ago. The prices of electricity also change depending on the area, so the savings can be very different.

In general, with the installation of solar panels in your house you can save from 50% of electricity from the first month. If you make a system interconnected with the electrical network of your locality, you can install a small system and save from 25% up to 90%. With an isolated system you can completely cover the energy needs of your home.

Solar plates: prices for a house

The  budget for installing solar panels varies, The average price per watt for solar panels varies from $ 2.67  to  $ 3.43 , and the costs of the solar panel for an installation with an average size in the US. UU

They are usually in a price range between $ 11,214  and  $ 14,406 after the solar energy tax credits. 

Even so, this amount is reduced proportionally the larger the size of the installation to be made.

However, although the installation of solar panels supposes an important initial outlay, from the moment they are installed, they begin to be amortized by saving electricity and natural gas.

The calculation of savings for a single-family house (villa) located in the Spanish capital, with an average consumption term of € 200 per month in discriminated hours is around € 45,000 during the entire life of the installation. the solar panels.

Maintenance of solar panels for houses

One of the biggest advantages of photovoltaic solar energy is that solar panels are practically maintenance-free. Solar panels do not contain fragile parts, so do not pay too much attention.

If the installation is good, your system can last up to 20 years. All that is needed is to clean them from time to time, as if it were a window. Literally you can use a damp cloth and give it a pass. It is not recommended to use solvents or detergents.

In some areas there may be a lot of dust, in other areas pollution or strong winds that can help cover the solar panels with dust, ice, leaves, bird droppings, etc. Thus the performance of your solar panels can be reduced by 15% or more.

Depending on the area where you live, you can clean your panels once a week, once every 15 days or up to once a month.

When you do the installation, make sure that no tree, building, etc, is or will shade you.

Alternatives to solar energy

There are numerous energy possibilities if you do not want to use sunlight, with more or less benefit. These can be of two types:

• What if I can not install solar panels?
• Renewable energy sources: such as wind or hydro, although with a higher installation cost.
• Non-renewable energy sources: mainly electricity, but also propane, natural gas (also known as city gas) and butane.

In the case of electricity, the most common energy present in almost all homes, there are different rates and price plans to hire according to the needs of each user.

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