A long as your home has enough roof space and the proper orientation to the sun, a solar power system could provide all of the electricity for your home. Because of a problem with one or the other of these requirements, many homeowners who would otherwise be interested in solar power have not been able to take advantage of the technology. The result would have been solar panels that didn’t generate enough electricity to justify installation costs. The increasing efficiency and tolerance of sunlight angles of more recent solar panels has given some hope to these homeowners. If you take the solar panel and connect it to a 12 volt battery and charge controller, you have the most common application of a 12 volt solar charger.
The improved technology and more advanced manufacturing techniques used today provide better panels for all types of solar power installations. The newer solar cells used in modern panels can offer homeowners better energy production than cells that were available even a few years ago because of several different improvements. Being able to produce more power from less sunlight is the primary advantage of these newer solar cells. This is good for homeowners since it means that they are more effective for longer periods of the day. The number of hours per day the older panels could be used was more limited because they required the sun to hit them more directly. When the sun was hitting the panel at a steeper angle, these panels would generate little to no energy, like in the early morning or late afternoon. They also wouldn’t generate energy consistently on days with minor amounts of coulds, even if the sun could shine through them. In all levels of sunlight these newer panels will produce more energy and so can help many homeowners justify the cost of installing a solar power system. They can also allow people with homes that have less than perfect alignment with the sun to justify a solar installation because of the additional energy they will generate.
Another benefit of these newer solar panels is that the average home will need fewer of them to generate enough electricity to eliminate their electric bill. The cost for the system will also be less because fewer panels will be used. For people with limited roof space, this can make a big difference. To figure out how many solar panels you will need for your house, visit this Solar Panel Calculator.
The newer solar panels also will also last significantly longer. Older panels would last 10 to 15 years in a moderate climate before they needed to be replaced. After about 10 years the panels would slowly degrade until they were unusable. This was because as the solar cells aged, they would fail one by one. As the cells began to fail, the panel would produce less and less power. The newer solar cells will last longer and will also produce more electricity while they are viable. This means that a homeowner will enjoy their benefits for many more years, and makes their investment in solar electricity technology an even better choice. Many people save a lot of money on the cost of a solar installation by making their own home build solar panel.
