Before you read this article on PV solar panels you should be aware that the costs quoted can be drastically reduced if you know how to make PV solar panels yourself. It’s actually a lot easier and cheaper than you probably think.
Solar PV panels generate electricity from sunlight and don’t require sunny weather. PV cells are made of a semi-conducting material that creates an electric field when exposed to sun light. This generates DC electricity which is then converted to AC using an inverter so that it can power the home. Planning permission is often required as the panels can be very heavy and require a sturdy roof.
PV solar panels (Photovoltaic) can generate energy to power most of the electrical needs in your home. In August 2007 the Daily Telegraph newspaper published an article about Paul Norris who was generating electricity for his three bedroom home in Tunbridge Wells in the UK. He was not only generating sufficient energy to power his home, he also had a surplus which he was also selling to the National Grid.
His main motivation was his concern about climate change. When you take into account the expense of buying commercial PV solar panels and the many years it takes to see a return on the investment, environmental concerns often provide the motivation for installing them. But if you were to learn how to make PV solar panels then the cost can easily justify their installation.
Paul Norris said that his solar panels even produce a decent amount of power on cloudy days in the middle of winter. His annual electricity bill was £300 but instead he a now receives a cheque for £200 from his electricity supplier. He paid £8,500 for his PV solar panel system and that was with a 50% grant from the government. At that rate his investment will take 14 years to pay for itself. Compare that to the cost of $200 or less that the Earth4Energy guide will show you to how build PV solar panels for.
At the time of publishing in 2007 around 4,000 homes in the UK had installed PV solar panels. That is dwarfed by Germany where over 800,000 properties have had the technology installed due to a guaranteed energy price using a feed-in tariff.
David Merrill, also in the UK said that his annual electricity bill had been cut by £400 and that he was pleased that he was cutting his carbon dioxide emissions by almost two tonnes per year. Not only that the PV solar panels have increased the value of his home by 6%. Homes with PV solar panels also tend to sell a lot quicker when they are on the market as they stand out from the crowd and property papers will often feature them as their property of the week.
Solar power has become trendy thanks to many Hollywood stars turning to this form of energy. Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DeCaprio, Orlando Bloom and Cate Blancett are all using solar power in their homes.
