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Technorati Tags: solar panel angle, Solar Panels For Home Use

For your solar panel do it yourself project to work, you need to let your solar panels have a direct line of site to the sun. Do this by taking a praetor of your property to see if you can find at least three line of site possibilities for your project. The first place to look is an obvious one: your roof. Three areas there are on your home, your garage and your shed. You want to pick sites that are not too near trees or boundary walls.

Aside from line of site criteria and obstructions like trees and walls, even buildings, you also need to look at the angle your panel will be using. How well it works is directly related to its angle. In North America, angles translates into southern sky. Similar to aligning your satellite dish, you will angle your solar panels toward the southern sky, because this is where the Sun spends most of its time. But if you can’t find a suitable direct line of site on your property, fear not…just use the western or eastern roofs to accommodate. Remember, solar panels for flat roofs work best.

But, let’s say you can’t find a suitable location on any roof, flat or angled, east, west or south. What do you do then? Go down. To the ground, that is. For this set up, you can use either a tracking mount or a fixed mount. Fixed mount means exactly that. It doesn’t move. But a tracking mount will tail the sun through the sky and keep your panels as juiced up as they can be throughout the day.

If considering a ground mounting setup, then you want to take into account the time of year. All your ground mountings need to be on a pole, so that you can change the angle of your solar panels each season. For spring and fall, you want your solar panels aligned to the latitude of your home’s location. For winter, add fifteen degrees to the angle, and for summer, take it down fifteen degrees from latitude.

Now, let’s get back up to the roof. As I said above, a flat roof works best for you, but if you have an angled roof, you can still set things up appropriately. While an angled roof gives you less work to handle when installing, because you can just lay things out using the roof’s angle itself, with a little bit of extra effort you can maximize the use of your new solar panels.

With solar panels for flat roofs, you will need to construct racks to provide angle to your panels. You also need to take into account the material your roof is made of. You want to avoid leaks in your roof after installation, so take the time to do things right, based upon your roof type. Composition and metal roofs are the best, with a little roofing compound to seal the deal. Concrete and tile roofs will need the help of a good roofer more than likely.

Do you know that it can cost up to $30,000 to hire professional to build solar panels for you? Save THOUSANDS by building your own home made solar panels by following simple step-step-by-step instructions at http://www.solarpanelsmadeeasy.com!

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Technorati Tags: solar panel angle, Solar Panels For Home Use

Solar panel (also known as pv panels) mounting come in all sorts of shapes and sizes depending on their purpose. Some can be stand-alone, where as others can be mounted on a pole enabling them to track the sun throughout the day. Here I will advise the main types pv panel mounting and what is best for your solar power system.

Main Solar Panel Mounts

There are 3 main types of pv panel mounts.

1. Flush Mounts
2. Roof – Ground Mounts
3. Pole Solar Mounts

Each has their advantages and disadvantages to take into consideration before you make your decision how to mount your domestic solar panels.

FLUSH MOUNTS

This is the cheapest and easiest way to mount your domestic solar panels. You can do this by fastening a couple of metal brackets either side of your solar panel and raising it a few inches from the surface underneath.

Advantages: Don’t cost much, simple to install, low wind resistance and light weight. Suitable small sized panels on roofs and those you see a top of RV’s (Recreational vehicles)

Disadvantages: Not suitable for large solar panels, can not be used in some types of roofs. No flexibility in tilt or orientation. Solar panel(s) have to be pre-wired before installing.

ROOF – GROUND MOUNTS

As the name implies this type of mount can be used on both your roof and on the ground. It consists of a metal triangular frame with a set of telescopic legs. This enables you to change the angle your solar panel is pitched at. This allows you to optimize their vertical orientation for greatest amount of solar exposure during the day.

For example:

If you live in Portland (Oregon), with latitude of about 45 degrees, your domestic solar panel should be set at an angle of 45 degrees from the horizontal.

Advantages: Reasonably priced, common fittings to a wide variety of panels. Can be positioned almost anywhere and available with adjustable tilting for best sun angle.

Disadvantages: May require heavy duty fastenings in areas with very high winds. Not the most pleasing of mounts on the eye and some states may have restrictions on what you are able to erect.

POLE MOUNTS

Pole mounts come in three types.

1. Top of pole mounts
2. Side of pole mounts
3. Poll tracking mounts

Top of Pole Mounts are made up of a rack and rail component that is fastened to a metal sleeve that sits on top of the pole

Sides of Pole Mounts are essentially similar to top of pole mounts the only difference being the mechanism is fastened side on

Again Tracking Pole Mounts are similar to top of pole mounts, the only difference being they have a device allowing them to follow the suns daily path.

Advantages: Your domestic solar panels are easy to wire up due to the easy access to them. Panels can be raised to a height where by they avoid shading from other obstacles.

Disadvantages: construction costs, digging a hole and making sure your pole is anchored securely.

If I could show you a way to reduce your home power bill would you be interested? Take a look at the Green Power Review Today to see how you can go greener with solar DIY http://www.greenpowerreview.net

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Technorati Tags: solar panel angle, Solar Panels For Home Use

Once you have decided to install a solar power system, you have to decide how you want to mount the solar panel. There are a few ways to mount the panel, each offering varying level of energy production. Among the factors need to be considered when choosing the type of mounting system should reflect your budget, the amount of shadow received at your house and how much of energy you expect to generate in order to run your home.

Let’s discuss the 3 common types of solar panel array mountings that are being used for households.

1. Fixed array mountings

This is the simplest and least expensive type of solar panel mounting system. Since this type of mount remains stationary, they need to be positioned so that the panels are faced to the best direction to absorb as much light from the sun as possible, usually they should be set toward the equator. Although this type of panel mount is easy to install and it is the cheapest, it has least flexibility because you can’t easily change the angle of solar panel once it is being installed. Therefore, the solar system may not be able to optimize for sunlight absorption at certain time due to the changes of the earth orbit throughout the year.

2. Adjustable array mountings

The solar panels position may need to be changed when the season changes. Therefore, adjustable array mountings provide more flexibility than the fixed mounts. For example, during the summer, the sun appears from a higher angle, approximate at latitude -15 degree, the solar panels can be adjusted to this angle for sunlight optimization. With the adjustable panel mounts, the solar output generated from panels can be expected to increase about 25% if compares to the fixed version. Although the adjustable array mountings are more expensive than the fixed version, they enable you to adjust the angle for receiving the best sunlight according to the seasonal changes for the best energy efficiency.

3. Tracking array mountings

The tracking solar panel mounts are built-in with intelligent to follow the sun throughout the day and the year for the best energy absorption to provide the highest energy efficiency among the types of solar panel array mountings. They come with two common types of tracking format: a single axis tracker follows the sun from east to west throughout the day; whereas, the double axis tracker moves with the sun direction throughout the day and makes seasonal declination movement of the sun throughout the year. In term of energy efficiency,they are the best type of mount for a solar power system, but they cost about 30% more expensive than other types of mounts, making those who are not wiling to invest for high initial cost choose the alternative options to go for fixed or adjustable mounts.

Summary

The above solar panel array mountings are the three types of mounts that are commonly used in solar power systems. By understanding the pros and the cons of each type of solar panel mount, you will be able to choose the type that best fit your requirements.

Dave Stillman reviews various Home Energy Guides at http://www.wind-solar-power.info. Read his reviews before you buy any of these guides. Find the best step-by-step on how you can improve the Solar Power Efficiency from Dave’s resources.

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Technorati Tags: solar panel angle, Solar Panels For Home Use

Technorati Tags: solar panel angle, Solar Panels For Home Use

A lot of homeowners are thinking about installing a solar power kit on their home to take advantage of the free energy, tax incentives, and clean conscience that they offer. But before you go out and purchase a system or call an installer, you need to think about where it will installed. This article will help you decide. These are the questions you should be asking yourself:

1. Where is the best access to sunshine? Solar panels in the Northern Hemisphere should face south, or as close to south as possible. Many people automatically assume that the array should go on the roof. But if your roof does not have a south-facing section, you may have to consider putting it on the ground or on an out-building such as a shed or a garage.

2. How much shade will there be in this place? Shading will kill your panels’ efficiency quicker than anything else. You’ll have to consider your trees, your neighbors’ trees, vents, air conditioning units, and any other obstructions that could shade your panels. And don’t forget that the suns angle changes not only over the course of a day, but over the course of a year. The best tool to determine what kind of shading you will experience year-round is a Solar Pathfinder, which can be ordered at most online solar stores.

3. Will shading be a problem 10, 20, or 30 years from now? Solar panels can last anywhere from 20 to 50 years. So the system you install today will be there for a long time. Take a minute to think about how tall bushes and trees will be 30 years from now. Can you trim them? Will you want to?

4. Will I need to access them to remove snow and/or clean them? Homeowners in areas prone to snow, dirty rain, or heavy dust may need to occasionally clean the panels. If they are on a roof this may be dangerous and inconvenient. Usually solar panels are placed at an angle near 45 degrees, so they tend to “clean” themselves. Often cleaning simply involves a garden hose or a long handled broom.

5. How much room do I need for the system? The most common panels take about one square foot of space for every 10 watts they produce. For example, if you decided that you wanted about 3,000 watts for your home, you would divide 3,000 W by 10, for 300 sq.ft. This is about 17 by 17 feet square. You’ll also need about a 3′ by 3′ area on the wall near your electric meter to install the necessary components. If you are considering a battery bank for the system, you’ll need an area about the size and shape of a large chest freezer to store them.

6. Will I be able to adjust them as the sun angle changes? As the seasons change, so does the angle of the sun. The optimal angle for the panels is at a 90-degree angle to the sun. The more adjustable the panels are, the more energy they will produce. Tracking systems will follow the sun across the sky at any angle. For those not wanting to change the angle of their system, the system should be place at an angle equal to their latitude. So someone living in Spokane, Washington, which is at 48 degrees latitude, would place their panels at 48 degrees from horizontal.

7. Is it close to my power needs? Solar units produce direct current (DC) power, which is notorious for line loss, which means the farther is has to travel, the more power it loses. The way to offset this loss is to use larger, and more expensive, wire to transport this energy. So, the farther away from the home equals greater installation cost.

8. How will this affect my neighbors? Solar arrays obviously collect sunlight, and therefore cast a shadow. Will this shade your neighbor’s award winning tomatoes? Will the panels block their satellite dish? Installing solar is at least partially about being a good citizen, both locally and globally.

9. What are the local zoning codes and covenants? Although most municipalities are “greening” their codes to allow for renewable energy systems, they all have restrictions on height and proximity to property lines that systems can be built. A visit to the local permitting office is usually worthwhile. Try to talk to someone with the most authority on the matter (usually a Planning Director or Compliance Officer) so you avoid the whole ‘but the lady at the counter said it was ok!’ conversation down the road.

10. Can I do this myself? With proper planning and education, the kits offered today make it easier than ever for do-it-yourself homeowners to install solar. However, you should always obtain the proper permits (this process will tell if you’re even allowed to put it up yourself) before you start the work. You should also always have a licensed and insured (and preferably Master) Electrician do the final connections and testing on your system. And remember, working in high places can be dangerous, so always use proper safety equipment.

With these questions answered, you should know if a solar power kits will work for your home, and now you can get down to the fun stuff: how much solar power can I afford?

Kriss Bergethon is a solar expert and writer. For more of his useful articles on solar power, please visit Solar Power, supplier of solar panels, solar power kits, and systems.

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Technorati Tags: solar panel angle, Solar Panels For Home Use

When installing solar water heaters, you must take its tilt angle and orientation seriously. This affects the efficiency of the heat collectors. It also ensure the panels receive maximum amount of solar energy through different seasons, especially winter, when there’s little sunlight. With proper setup, solar collectors can be smaller — this means they take up less space — and these are surely less expensive than larger panels.

For folks living in the northern hemisphere, their collectors need to be tilted southward. The tilt angle is 15 degrees plus the latitude of the installation site. This is the ideal configuration that allows you to collect maximum sunlight all year round. For example, Arizona has latitude of 33 degrees. Adding 15 degrees to its latitude gives us 48 degrees — this is the tilt angle your panel should be in order for it to harness maximum energy. But this is just theory…

Many homeowners choose to conform the tilt angle to the inclination of their roof. They are concerned about the aesthetics of the installation. After all, who would love to see a gigantic piece of material sticking out like a sore thumb from their roof? Although we will not achieve an optimized configuration (from an engineering point of view), this setup serves the user’s needs and wants after all.

Fortunately, solar heat collectors are more forgiving than their photovoltaic panel cousins. Tilt deviations that fall within 20 degrees (either direction) from the optimal angle will not cause serious loss to their efficiency. In fact, tilting them up to 15 degrees northward from its optimum angle can have its advantages. During summer, water will not overheat and during winter more hot water is produced.

Similarly, tilting your heat collectors southward (away from the optimum tilt angle) can result in more overheating during summer and less hot water during winter. This may not be a bad thing after all — some folks would prefer to have more hot water during summer to maintain their pool temperature. With this knowledge in mind, you can adjust the angle to suit your needs.

Preferably, tilt angle is allowed to be changed according to seasons. But the hardware required to implement this setup often end up as an ugly structure of metal and joints. Not many homeowners are receptive to such mess. Moreover, there will be more moving parts to be maintained.

When orientating your heat collectors, you should ideally point them to true south. Similar to tilt angle, heat collectors can tolerate a far wider deviation in orientation angle than solar panels. They can receive most of the solar energy even if you installing them 15 degrees off true south. Beyond this tolerance, the effectiveness of the heat collector decays rapidly.

You may often be forced to make a choice between an east-biased or west-biased orientation away from true south. Perfect orientations tend to be impractical at times. If you’re in this fix, choose the west so heat collectors can be exposed to more heat as a result of higher ambient temperatures in the afternoons.

As you line up your compass to find true south, remember that it is pointing to magnetic south instead. Corrections must be made to locate the optimum orientation. To do this, you need to compensate for the magnetic declination of your site.

As you are evaluating the installation site, remember that shadows cause your heat collectors to be drastically less efficient. Although solar water heaters are not as sensitive to shading, it is good to place them in an open, unobstructed location from 9am to 3pm so they can be exposed to the maximum amount of sunshine during this critical period. Using a standard shade analysis tool like a solar pathfinder, you can make it easier for yourself to evaluate the shading condition of your location.

You can finally prepare to mount the collectors, having determined its orientation, tilt angle and location. Whether you buy the mounting rack or make it yourself, the choice of material is as important. In areas of low humidity, painted angle iron may be used. Otherwise, materials like aluminum or stainless steel is more suitable as they are more resistant to corrosion. Solar water heaters installed in rainy, tropical and coastal climates will benefit from these materials.

John Greenspan is an expert in DIY solar panels for home and has build many 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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Technorati Tags: solar panel angle, Solar Panels For Home Use

Solar panel installation is a growing industry since it stands as a very economic alternative to electric usage. It is a limitless free source of energy available to each and every one of us. It does not belong to anyone and we can take as much of it as we want. 

If you are considering on investing in solar panel installation for your house, you must consider some questions first before doing so. First, you need to determine how much are you willing and able to invest. This is usually the show stopper for many because the initial cost of investment is high but once they are up and running, they require minimal maintenance and you can look forward to lower monthly electrical bill from then onwards. Solar panel installation are also un-obstructive since they are installed on rooftops and environmentally friendly.

There’s some good news on the cost of investment, do-it-yourself solar panels installation are becoming quite popular nowadays. It will save you a great deal of money compared to having someone else do the installation for you. What you will need for a do-it-yourself solar panel installation is a decent manual as a guide. This can easily be acquired online or with home improvement magazines and shops. 

It is best to go for guides that have videos which will demonstrate what you need to do so that you can follow the process a lot easier. Aide from the fact that these guides show you how to go about doing the installation properly and effectively, they also will show you other alternatives to power sources such as wind turbines. 

Solar power installation is both economical and ecological. You save money and help nature with this choice of power source system. If you want to put a stop to those climbing electric bills, this may be the best alternative that you have!

Jack has been in the solar module manufacturing line for years. Putting together information here and sharing with all who is interested in going green.
For more information about solar panels and solar energy visit http://www.greenergyforlife.com

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Technorati Tags: solar panel house, Solar Panels For Home Use

Moving time is fresh with all kinds of new beginnings: a new house to get used to, a new neighborhood to become acquainted with, and new projects to tackle. Use your relocation to better your new surroundings, and feel good while doing it. Consider installing solar panels as a way to reduce your dependency on fossil fuels by using a source of clean energy.

Over the past couple of decades or so, the expenses of installing this type of panels have significantly decreased by over 40%. Nowadays, almost anyone can install photovoltaic cells in their house, and even some apartments. The sun is a constant source of energy, which means that installing solar panels will keep you self-sustained for a long time after you’ve set them up for yourself and your family.

Why should you think about using your move as a chance to install solar panels? Here are five excellent reasons to get yourself off the grid:

1. Receive tax incentives. By installing them, you will have the federal government thanking you in the form of incentives and rebates. Get up to 30% of your initial investment back from Uncle Sam when you choose to reduce your reliance on coal, oil, and other harmful energy sources. Plus, when you have excess energy from the sun harnessed in your solar panels, you can sell it back to your utilities company.

2. Receive 100% pure, clean energy from the sun at all times. Regardless of actual weather situations, you can still receive energy from the sun to be captured in your solar panels. The use of photovoltaic cells doesn’t produce any harmful effects to the environment, making them one of the cleanest ways to receive your energy. An added benefit: the sun isn’t going anywhere for the next several billion years, so you don’t have to worry about your energy source dwindling.

3. Budget. Perhaps one of the best features about going green with your solar panels is the fact that you can build up your ideal set up over time. You don’t have to worry about amassing a small fortune to cover your setup because you can install panel by panel according to the green you have available that moment.

4. There’s no need to replace them often. Solar panels are created to sit on top of your roof during all kinds of adverse weather conditions. You can fully rely on the durability of the panels, even if there’s a typhoon-like storm knocking down your local power lines. The typical lifespan of a solar panel is anywhere between 20 to 30 years. It’s well worth the investment for their sheer longevity alone.

5. Hang on to energy for later. Another good thing about solar panels is that they can be equipped with a capacitor, which enables the use of energy in the event of emergencies or even in a power outage. When the whole neighborhood is battling with the utilities company in an effort to get their power turned back on, you can relax at home, remote in hand, watching Monday Night Football uninterrupted.

Soon after the moving companies you work with have finished settling you in, take a closer look on installing solar panels to help get you off the grid. Combine your desire to save the planet with a cost-effective solution for your new house. Find out some more information about the basics of solar panels, including the different types and how to self-install, when you visit these two Websites: Solar Panel Info and EnviroHub.

MovingCost.com is your ticket to find professional movers for all of your relocation needs. Each of the moving services that our team of moving companies perform is customized and individually planned to be stress-free.

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Technorati Tags: solar panel house, Solar Panels For Home Use