Solar Energy Panels – What You Need To Know

You may be on the brink of buying yourself a set of solar energy panels. Yet there is the feeling of uncertainty about its benefits. Most consumers have similar experience. But at some point in time, they take the step of faith to install solar panels on their property. As a result, their utility bills decreased dramatically. Most, if not all, are delighted to sell their extra supply of electricity back to the power grid.

As energy cost increase over the last decade, more and more homes are installing solar panels on their property. Although it takes some upfront investment to own solar panels, they really pay for themselves after some time.

On the average, it takes about 12 years for you to make back your investment in solar panels. But many states are now offering rebates, so the final cost of your investment is really much lesser than it seems to be. Rebates vary from state to state, so be sure to check out what you’re entitled for. The government also offers other incentives to encourage you to use renewable energy for your home.

Over the past 30 years, the price of solar panels have fallen to only 10% of what it used to be. It was virtually impossible for consumers to get a good return on their investment in the past without extraordinarily high solar exposure on their property.

However, solar panels are much more efficient than they used to be. Therefore they also generate much more power than before and they need minimal maintenance. Best of all, these maintenance can be done by yourself with very little time. Modern solar cells are also much lighter and compact. Thus they can be installed on your roof with little modifications to its structure. As solar cells become cheaper, adding photovoltaic panels to your home is a permanent solution to expensive utility bills.

But before you go shopping for a solar energy panel, there are a few basics you need to find out. These will help determine what types of solar energy panels you’ll require:

1. Know Your Energy Consumption. You need to know how much power you consume – the average, the highs and lows. This information helps you size up your system so you can figure out how many panels you need and what design is most suitable for you.

2. Find Out How Many Sun Hours You Receive At Your Location. This is obvious, but even the most efficient photovoltaic panels cannot generate enough power if there is insufficient sunlight. It would be impractical and costly to pay for gigantic solar energy systems that produce trickles of power.

3. Decide Whether You’ll Be Going Off-Grid. On-grid and off-grid systems have their own advantages and disadvantages. Most homes will stay on the grid because they can tap extra power (especially during winters) when they need to and when they generate additional power, they can sell it back to the grid. If you’re located in a remote region, going off-grid may be practical. You’ll thus need a storage system such as a battery bank to store energy so you can use during the night.

4. Find Out The Rebates And Incentives Available To You In Your State. This is crucial in helping you find the true cost of your solar generator. This may be an important factor that helps you decide if using solar energy is worth it after all.

John Greenspan is an expert in DIY solar panels and has build several solar power generators in his spare time. Are you interested in building DIY Solar panels? Pick up your FREE “How To Build Solar Panels” eBook at => http://www.diysolarpanelsworld.com

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