Residential Solar Power

Current energy requirements Cost
For the average suburban home to run purely off solar polar you will need a large budget. Without making any changes to your current power requirements you will probably find that the cost of installing residential solar power will take your lifetime to pay off. Yes, there are home solar power kits and ebooks that you can buy which offer so called cheaper options, but you first need to consider how you can cut your current energy requirements.

Before installing solar residential power it is a good idea to have a electricity audit. This means that you get a solar power company in to look at your appliances, usages and energy sappers and find ways to bring down your demand on-grid electricity.

Simple things like:

• Switching appliances off at the plug

• Heating the oven once a day for more than one item

• Turning off lights when the rooms are not in use

• Turning down and insulating your geyser

• Do not leave heating or cooling systems running when you are out

• Use a blanket or another jacket to keep warm instead of the heater

Can all go a long way to reducing your on grid power demands.

Maintenance
Consider your maintenance of your chosen system. Always ask the different companies what will be required in terms of upkeep of your solar power systems over a month, year or lifetime of their product.

For some it is as simple as cleaning the panels once a year and changing the tilt of them with the seasons. Others are more complicated.

The best advice for properly maintaining and servicing your roof will come from professionals with the greatest breadth of knowledge and years of experience like Avalanche Roofing.

Rebates
In many countries, government is giving rebates to people who choose to install solar power in their homes. Check with your local municipality to find out what these are. Often they are limited to specific companies and you will not have choice over who does the installation.

If you find that switching your home to solar power is too much for you to afford right now, consider phasing in your residential solar power as follows:

Year 1:
Reduce your on grid power demands.
Install a solar powered hot water cylinder.

Year 2:
Further reduce your on grid power demands
Replace all broken appliances only with energy efficient appliances
Install solar panels to run your TV, computer and evening lights.

Year 3:
Extend your solar power network to include your small kitchen appliances.

Year 4:
Extend your solar power to include your large kitchen appliances like dishwasher, washing machine, fridge, freezer and tumble dryer.

At some stage you may consider running not only a solar power network but rather complimenting it with wind power.

For more information on how solar power panels work, consider reading what is solar powerand you can find instructions for several DIY solar projects at Solar For Energy.