Building A Solar Powered Home – So Many Options!

There are many different things to consider when converting to a solar powered home. There are basically three different methods – passive solar design, solar hot water and Photovoltaic Panels (PV panels).

Passive solar design is really about designing the layout of your home to maximize the exposure to the sun to utilize the most heat and light from the sun. This is typically acheived by designing your house so that it has as much of a southern exposure as possible, installing as many windows on the south side of the house as you can, and using flooring that will absorb and retain heat for long periods of time, usually stone, brick, ceramic, etc.

Solar hot water systems use different methods to heat your water in the sun, then pump it back into your house or pool. A common method uses coiled black tubing on your roof. The water is pumped up into the hose and it heats up as it flows through the black hose in the sun then it flows back down into your house or your swimming pool.

Another method is to use an open-loop design on the roof. These are made of glass tubes with copper ends. The idea is similar – the water is pumped up to the collector panels, heated and then pumped back down to a hot water tank.

Photovoltaic panels are used to collect solar energy that is converted to household power and stored for future use or be fed back to the grid. The standard PV panel system consists of the panels, a bank of batteries to store the power, and inverters that convert the stored DC power to useable AC current for powering the lights, appliances and other electrical items in your solar powered home.

Whether you choose to use one or all of these methods in your solar powered home, you will be saving a lot of money on energy costs as well as reducing your carbon footprint. Depending on which technology you choose, and whether you decide on a professional installation or a DIY project will determine your initial costs. A professional installation is still very expensive, while a do-it-yourself installation can be started for as little as $250.

If you are interested in learning how you can convert to a solar powered home yourself, be sure you get a good DIY Solar Guide. This will save you a lot of trouble and money. Building your own system is not hard, but you need a good DIY Manual to make sure you get it right.

By: Melanie Crouse

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