Solar power ???

Question

I would like to install solar power to my house to so i dont have to rely on electric companies any more, would i be able to be 100% self reliant just using panels and where can i get more information from?Does any one have information on this?

Answer 1

Hello There!

In order to figure out if you could be entirely self reliant for your energy needs using solar power, a whole study would have to be done. This study would include the projected "radiation gain" from your location, the number and position of panels, your normal energy usage, etc. It is unlikely to be free of the "Big Companies" with just solar panels.

You also could consider many small windmills as an addition to the Solar Panels. Another thing to consider is the way your house, with it's main large windows faces, it is north, east, south or north?

One thing that is incredibly cost effective is Geo Thermal Heat or cooling. If you have the land, you can dig up an area and place pipes in the ground a few feet deep. . .again, it depends on where you are located. The piping system gets connected to another piping system that runs throught the floors of your house. The temperature in the ground after you go down a few feet should be about a constant 50 degrees. With the pipes connected to the ones in the ground, you use a small pump (that can be powered by solar or wind) to move the water throughout the floors of your house. In the winter, heating the water from the pipes outside to 70 degrees from 50 degrees is much cheaper than any other way of heating your house. In the summer the coolness of the 50 degree temperature water running through the pipes in the floor will really help keep the house cool.

Ideally, a house that is going to be energy efficient should be built with these ideas in mind, but it still can be done to a good sustainable amount in an older house too! Enlarging some windows, shrinking others, etc can also really help to make your house more energy efficient.

There is another source of geothermal energy, but I don't know if you will require permits, but that is to dig a fairly small hole, way down into the Earth. In many places of the Earth there is a tremendous amount of Steam that could be tapped. Just one small pipe, put in the right place could be harnassed to supply you with enough energy to power your house for many decades.

In many places on Earth the Energy Companies MUST buy any excess energy from you.

Many countries will actually subsidize the purchase of all these types of Alternative Energy Systems.

So, depending on how you place the Solar Panels, and how many you can put on your property, it can be well worth it. And keep in mind that the other methods combined could make your house totally independent, but incase of failure of one of your systems you should always remain a 'customer' of you local energy company.

There are also many other things you can do to reduce your usage of Electicity!

Have fun with your project!

Answer 2

Going Nuclear is probably the most eco-friendly thing we can do to reduce CO2 emissions. Electrical power produces the majority of our CO2, not cars. Countries like France produce 80% of their electrical power from Nuclear. If it were not for Nuclear, Japan would not be a world economic power. Nuclear power is the only proved alternative that can provide the massive amount of power we need to support our lifestyle. Unlike Solar and wind, Nuclear makes power 24/7 and 365 days a year at a lower cost than Wind and Solar. Nuclear can be located all over the country and requires a very small foot print. Wind and Solar only produce power about 35% of the time in very good locations. There is not many very good locations. They both require huge areas of land to produce much power. Can you imagine solar power in Seattle where the sun may not shine for days and weeks? Wind generators require a minimum of 6-8 MPH of sustained winds to generate. Every time you have a still night, no power. Wind and solar are great for supplementing a nuclear or gas/coal grid, but will never obtain the cost and reliability of Nuclear / coal.

Answer 3

Probably not. The sun doesn't shine at night so if you want to be able to disconnect from the grid at night you'll need to have batteries to store the power you generate in the day.

You'll also need to have enough excess capacity during the day to charge up the batteries and that probably won't be happening all the time even if you cover your roof with panels.

You might want to find out where the power from the wall comes from to see how bad it actually is.

Answer 4

Just u ,look at your electric bill and u will have an idea of how much solar power u need . I think it will be cost prohibitive.

Answer 5

it depends on the climate at your house. some places you could rely solely on solar power but others you couldn't.

Answer 6

Homemade Solar Power Videos - http://SolarPower.siopu.com/?adl

Answer 7

U have tried hard to find about solar power panel, then this is the site for ur ultimate search for ur doubts.

by

http://www.dhaarvi.blogspot.com

Answer 8

Try the source.

Answer 9

It will cost you bucks. Check this out:
http://www.hopewellproject.org/