Nowadays, more and more people are looking for alternative energy sources for their homes.
Solar panel roof is the first thing which usually people think of when considering alternative domestic energy source. Roof solar panels is a great technology, because they don’t have moving parts, they last for 25-30 years and even longer and they generate electricity-very convenient form of energy, which could be easily transformed to any other kind of energy.
So, how to get a solar panel roof for your house? Keep in mind that it only makes sense to install solar panels on a roof side which faces south, otherwise they won’t get enough sunlight and won’t generate much electricity. Also there are two ways you could go about getting a solar panel roof.
First you can take regular roof solar panels and screw them with special mounts on top of your roof. WHile it’s the simplest way to go about it, imaging the hassle of chaning shingles underneath your panels or cleaning leafs. The other way is to replace your regular shingles with solar roof shingles — small solar panels which interlock and protect your roof from water, just like regular shingles, but they also generate electricity on top of that.
Solar roof shingles, a special type of roof solar panels, allow you to get the true solar panel roof, but they do require a bigger initial investment, since price per watt is usually higher comparing to regular solar panels. There are also some exotic choices like solar water heater which usually installs on your roof too and this device heats your water and not generates electricity, quite different from standard solar panel roof, but still will save you money on your heating bill.
There are two kinds of solar panels you can make at home. So far the cheapest way to get a good quality solar panel is to solder one yourself. You can purchase all the materials required for cheap and then spend some time soldering individual cells. Going this route allows you to get solar panels for as low as $1 per watt, while if you buy ready assembled modules, you’ll pay at least $2-$3 per watt and often even more.
How do you start with home made solar panels? First of all you will need all the ingridients and equipment. Buy solar cells, PV tinned interconnection ribbon and soldering iron. You will also need some wood, acrylic glass and transparent silicone. First you solder one line of solar cells together after that you solder your rows of solar cells together to act as one solar panel.
If you soldered everything correctly you should have a bunch of cells soldered together in a rectangular form. Take it outside in a sun and test output voltage. You have to make sure your home made solar panels work, before you enclose it in a protective case. The last step is to make a box out of wood, put your soldered cells there, place acrylic glass on top of it and seal everything with transparent silicone. This will make sure water and snow don’t damage your delicate cells. Don’t forget to leave positive and negative connections to hook up your homemade solar panels to your electrical system.
If you are considering a solar panel system (domestic, RV or boat, not that important), then you probably already know, that solar system requires a substantial initial investment. You have to buy a panel, betteries, charge controller, maybe invertor, somehow mount it all and hook up to each other. Now, another cost to consider is a solar panel maintenance. You did not think that once installed your solar panel will last forever on autopilot.
How much you spend on solar panel maintenance depends on the system and setup you choose. For example if you want and off-grid system, then your biggest headache will be batteries, because they are the weak part of the system and wear out in a several years. If you have a tracking mount (a special device which rotates your panel in order to follow the sun), then it also could experience mechanical problems, since moving parts are introduced to a system.
But let’s say you have the simplest domestic setup with a solar panel and inverter only, what solar panel maintenance is required? Industrical (that is if you bought ready solar panel and did not make one yourself) solar panels are designed to withstand elements including rain, snow and hail for many years to come. Good manufacturers usually give a 10 year warranty for panel performing up to 90% of it’s maximum power and 25 year warranty for panel to perform up to 80% of it’s power. As you see, your panels will gradually loose electric output.
If you have a high quality panel, then you don’t have to do much solar panel maintenance. Just make sure you keep them clean, since they will produce less electricity if there is dirt or leafs on them. Also they should be installed properly with proper wire isolation, otherwise your wires could wear out. And Check roof mount from time to time to ensure that there is no leaks in the places where panel is screwed to the roof.
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