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Solar panels for the home have been around for quite some time and in recent years have become a great alternative to help augment or even eliminate your electricity costs. The modern solar panels that are available today are easy to install, last for years and have come down in price to where most people can afford to install them. The installation is fairly straightforward and can be accomplished by anyone who is handy, but you might want a licensed electrician to tie the system into your home wiring. The great news is that as soon as your system is connected, you start generating electricity and saving money, while helping the environment.

The technology behind the modern solar panel was invented in the 1800’s by Charles Fritts and because the technology was brand new it was very inefficient, only converting about 1% of the light into useful electricity. Through the years major improvements have been made to the core technology as well as production methods for the panels. The modern panels available today will easily last for more than 20 years with very little service or maintenance required and will provide “free” power as long as the sun is shining. They are also very efficient and currently their conversion rate is about 30% which makes them very cost effective. This is because the higher the efficiency, the less of them you need to generate the same amount of power. Most homeowners have limited roof space and the less of them they have to buy and install, the lower the cost and the sooner you can break even.

Most modern solar panels are based on the (PV) photovoltaic cell and produce a direct current when exposed to sunlight. A solar panel is basically a large, flat, weatherproof box that contains a group of these cells wired together into a panel. This panel will generate a certain amount of power when exposed to the sun, which can then be converted into AC current and used in your home. To really benefit from this technology, you need a few of these solar panels installed to generate enough power to liberate you from your electric bill. The good news is that even if you only install a few of these panels to start, you can still reduce your bill considerably. The nice thing is that you can always add panels over the years and tie them into your solar grid to generate more power and save even more money. If you have enough room on your roof, you might even generate more power than you need for your home and be able to sell that back to your local power utility and make a little money.

The panels are easily installed on your roof using specialized brackets or rails. These are secured to the beams in your roof through the roofing material and support the panels a few inches off of the roof to allow rain and snow to pass below them. Using a rail system makes it easier to expand the system at a later date by sliding the new panels into the existing rail. This might be a consideration if you decide to start small and grow as you go.

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