| By :
Nick Messe
Do you want to do your part to help the environment while saving yourself some money? Then why not cover your roof with photovoltaic solar panels? Many home and business owners are using solar panels as a way to control the cost of heating, cooling or powering their buildings, helping the environment and generating income. California is the national leader in using solar panels to capture, use and sell the energy of the sun. If you live in North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico or even New Jersey, you may soon be able to trade in your plain old roofing tiles for power generating, money making solar panels. Solar panels have been available for years but the older models were heavy, cumbersome and required a specially reinforced roof. Today there are lightweight, efficient photovoltaic solar panels that generate electricity directly from sunlight. The solar power is converted to electricity using an inverter, charger, and a battery. Large scale solar systems traditionally used a technology called solar thermal which uses mirrors to concentrate the sun's heat and direct it to a liquid. The liquid heats up and generates steam which in turn runs a generator which creates electricity. The advent of photovoltaic panels have now made it possible for homes and small businesses to capture sunlight and generate enough electricity to power their homes. The bonus is that they can sell the excess power to utility companies. As demand has increased and manufacturing techniques have improved in the past few years, the price of the panels has dropped almost fifty percent. The old solar panels required the home or business owners to drill holes in the roof, create elaborate systems to tie the panels to the roof and reinforce the roof to take all the extra weight of the solar thermal system. This was a disincentive, however the new photovoltaic panels are light, easy to install and do not require reinforcement of residential roofing or commercial roofing. These two factors combined with the commitment and incentives from many states and the federal government to employ alternatives to fossil fuels have created opportunities for home and business owners to go green while making green. You probably are wondering how many solar panels and how much sunshine you need for your home or business. Then there is the upfront cost. These are questions many people considering solar need answered. To start off, the key concept to understand is the term insolation. This is not insulation spelled incorrectly, these are two different words. The word insolation refers to the intensity of the sunshine in your area between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm. In terms of size, some home owners can begin with solar panels covering only 50 square feet of their roof. The larger the system, the more it will cost initially, but the more return you will get on your investment in the long run. To get exact pricing for your needs, contact a reputable solar panel company or do some research yourself.
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