Using Solar Power at Home: A Brief Guide to Planning Installation of a Home Solar Electric System
Electricity generated by coal plants is not only extremely pollution oriented but is also becoming expensive by every passing day. Power cuts and increasing dependence on DG sets is causing a lot of damage to the environment. The demand supply gap for electricity is also increasing that makes it very significant for people to start thinking of other methods of fulfilling their energy requirements. Keeping this fact of new and renewable energy in mind, the Government of many countries is promoting the use of off-grid solar PV systems. A vast number of people have started feeling the need of installing Solar PV system for their home, apartment complex or small office use. In this article, the use of solar power at home and a guide to planning its installation is elaborated.
A solar electric or photovoltaic (PV) system can reliably produce electricity for your home or office. These small or distributed solar systems are often installed by home or business owners to offset their electricity costs.
If you are one of those individuals willing to purchase a rooftop solar PV system for your home, then the federal tax credits and other state, local, or utility incentives can offset some of the upfront cost. There are also several other financing options available for homeowners willing to install solar PV systems for home, including energy-savings mortgages, home equity, property assessed clean energy loans, and more traditional bank loans.
Even if you cannot directly purchase and install a solar PV system because you rent your home, have inadequate solar resources, or lack financing, you may still benefit from switching to solar electricity, and there numerous business models that make solar simpler, cheaper, and more accessible. Options such as community or shared solar programs, solar leases, and power purchase agreements allow millions of households to take benefit of solar energy. There are several noteworthy solar installation service providers across the UK that offers solar panels for home or commercial places. The solar panels offered by these UK-based companies are of high-quality and reasonable costs.
If you are planning to install a home solar electric system with the help of these UK-based solar companies, then consider taking a review of these following points.
There are a great number of steps to follow when planning to power your home with solar energy, such as:
1. Investigate Your Home’s Energy Efficiency
Before starting the process of powering your home with solar energy, homeowners should investigate their energy use and consider potential efficiency upgrades. Homeowners should be well aware of their total electricity usage, and consider low-cost and easy-to-implement efficiency measures before choosing solar.
2. Assess Your Solar Potential
Before deciding on the best method to use solar energy at home, assess the potential solar energy that can be produced at your address. Because PV technologies use both direct and scattered sunlight to create electricity, the solar resource across the US is ample for home solar electric systems.
However, the amount of power generated by a solar energy system at a particular site depends on how much of the Sun’s energy reaches it and the size of the system itself.
There are several mapping services and tools are available that helps you determine your home’s solar energy potential. Some of the services also offer information on the estimated system size, potential costs, and savings, and local contractors. Using such tools and services is also very effective to determine whether your home is suitable for solar, and if not, the best path forward for still benefiting from solar.
3. Estimate Your Solar Electricity Needs
In order to help your contractor to provide recommendations for your system’s type and size, gather information about your home and electricity use. For instance, gather electricity bills to determine annual electricity needs, and many more.
4. Assess Your Options for Using Solar
Buying and installing a system that you fully own and maintain is no longer the only option if you want to go solar. Even if you rent your home or do not want to purchase a rooftop system, there are many programs that will enable you to still benefit from solar electricity.
Below are the some options for using solar energy at home. Check with the installers and your utility for solar programs available in your area.
Buying a Solar Energy System
Solar Leases
Power Purchase Agreements
Community or Shared Solar
Solarize Programs
5. Understanding Available Financing and Incentives
It is very important to understand the available financing and incentives, when willing to opt for solar. You need to under the pros and cons of solar leases or programs, before opting for it.
6. Obtain Bids and Site Assessments from the Solar Installers
When researching installers be sure to find qualified and insured professionals with the proper certifications. You can refer and ask your friends and family members, who have recently gone solar and can also check the online resources for reviews. When having known about recognized solar installation company like the ones in UK, obtain bids from them for solar PV system installation and upgrade programs and get acquainted with solar PV systems in brief.
Therefore, get rid of the dependency on coal plants for domestic electricity, instead go solar and make your home self-sufficient and energy-efficient.
To get more details about home solar electric systems, get help from a professional solar installer!!
