Today many more people are interested in eco friendly homes and for a wide range of reasons. At the end of the day we should understand that we are only custodians of this planet and not the owners, therefore it is down to each of us as individuals to ensure we leave a legacy which would be acceptable to the generations to come.

The effect we have on the natural environment is now all too clear to see. Unfortunately problems such as global warming, destruction of habitat, and the pollution of the oceans and the air needs action on a national and global level, but this does not mean that you should not be taking steps to reduce your carbon footprint and overall impact on the planet.

Calculating your homes solar power needs would include the following: determining your home's average power consumption and sizing the solar panels that would meet these needs. Let's take a look at the calculations below.

Calculating Your Home's Average Energy Consumption

It's estimated that an average US home consumes around 10,000 kWh of energy yearly, but every home is different. So, let's calculate your home's yearly energy consumption.

To calculate this value, you will need to put together your power bills for the last 12 months. Look for the monthly kWh values on each bill and write each of these values down on a sheet of paper. Now add these 12 numbers together to get your total yearly energy consumption value.

For the sake of simpler calculations, let's assume that your total annual use of electric is 12,000 kWh (with the average monthly consumption being around 1,000 kWh).

Calculating Your Solar Power Needs

Now that you know your total annual electric needs, you need to match them with a solar panel of an appropriate size. Note that solar panels have a peak rated output and an average rated output, and you will need to find out your panel's average yearly output.

To make it simple: a 10 kW solar array will have a 12,000 kW/h estimated yearly output; if this panel is installed in a place like Philadelphia (this area has an average of 7 daily hours of sunshine).

So, a 10 kW panel can run a home that uses 12,000 kWh of electric annually in the Philadelphia area. What would the dimensions of a 10 kW system be? Its total area would be around 700-1,000 Sq ft. The array could consist of 48 smaller solar panels by 210 watts each.

Two important notes:

1. Estimated output of a panel largely varies depending on the geographical location of the home, as well as on the orientation of the installed panels.

2. Solar panel retailers often estimate the average output of a panel for the sunniest areas in the world, such as the Mojave Desert in California. They may estimate a10 kW panel output to be as much as 30,000 kW/h annually, which exceeds the normal value by 3 times (the 30,000 kW/h value would be correct for those who live in the Mojave Desert, and incorrect for those who live in a moderate climate area like Philadelphia).

Financial Aspects – Costs and Savings

How much money could a 10 kW panel save you annually, in terms of electric? An average standard grid electric rate in the US is $0.12/kWh. If we multiply 12,000 kWh by $0.12, we will get a total of $1,440 annually.

A commercial system of this size could cost around $30,000 (after all the rebates and tax credits, such as the 30% US Tax Credit). The system would pay for itself in around 20 years, and then start generating free electric. Building this system on your own could save you many thousands of dollars, allowing your system to pay for itself much-much faster.

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.solarpanelmanual.com which focuses on solar energy. Please visit his web site to learn more about calculating your solar panel power consumption.

Solar cells convert the suns energy using something called the photovoltaic effect. This is why many solar panels that are constructed go by the name photovoltaic solar panel. The photovoltaic effect involves creating an electric current (or voltage) in a material because of exposure to electro-magnetic radiation.

What builds up voltage between two electrodes is the generated electrons being transferred from one material to another. In most cases the radiation is sunlight and used in solar panels. At times you would use solar panel to specify that the energy source is the sun, and photovoltaic solar panel may indicate that a light source isnt specifically the sun and not indicated.

There are a variety of different materials that use solar radiation and convert it into direct current electricity. These materials currently include polycrystalline silicon, cadmium telluride, copper indium sulfide, and amorphous silicon. The recent increase in interest in solar energy and photovoltaic arrays has advanced the technology greatly used in the renewable energy conversion business.

In the United States in 2006 investors offered free solar panel installation in return for a contract of twenty-five years. It is expected that most commercial photovoltaics installed are with a power purchase agreement. Many other cities are offering incentives to invest in photovoltaic solar panels, if you are interested in converting your home to solar energy, then you would do best to contact your local municipality and ensure you are taking advantage of any financial offsets you can. Most municipalities are allowing you the option to buy back excess energy produced by your system, this way, not only do you not have to pay your energy company, but they pay you!

At this time building integrated photovoltaics are being included in the construction of new homes and businesses, either as the primary electrical power source or ancillary. Generally you will find a photovoltaic solar panel incorporated into either the roof or the walls of a building, although it is now becoming popular to purchase and install photovoltaic roof shingles.

If a building is already built, a photovoltaic solar panel may be retrofitted to fit within the roof or walls of the building. If this isnt possible or practical, then an array can be placed outside of the house and connected to a main power supply.

When choosing to be on the grid or completely off the power grid, you will want to take a look at how close your home is to it. If you are in a remote location, having a solar power supply complete off the grid is practical, if you are closer, putting it on the grid makes best use of the system, and you are protected in case of failure.

In any case, deciding to go greener and install a renewable solar energy source for your home is a smart move. You can eventually recoup the layout costs through your energy savings, and your home becomes more attractive to future buyers.

Jakob Jelling runs http://www.solarpanelmanual.com which focuses on solar energy. Please visit his web site to learn more about photovoltaic solar panels.

I always thought that having solar panels installed was a great idea, but I also though it was a specialist job until I read a couple of green DIY energy guides and watched some of their video tutorials. If you are relatively handy it seems as though you are able to learn the secrets of building your own green friendly solar energy plant and it costs less than $200.

Solar energy is renewable and changing to it is the best decision that a person can make. Switching on to solar energy is not only going to be beneficial to the environment but also to the individual as it helps a person cut his electricity bills. All this might make a person excited to switch over to solar energy but before buying and installing solar panels it is essential for a person to consider a few factors to decide if those panels are going to be useful to him or not? Every technology has its own pros and cons and it is important for the individual to weigh them both and solar energy is no exception.

Here is a quick review of advantages and disadvantages of using solar energy.

Advantages of solar energy:

The best renewable source of energy is the sun light and even all other non renewable energy sources are used up, the sun is still available to us and it will continue to shower its rays irrespective of other factors. This is main reason which makes changing to solar energy a wise decision to make.

The green house gases have made a terrible mess of our environment and this is consistently on the rise too. So it is important for everyone to switch to solar energy mainly to protect our environment from global warming. Also a person gets to save a lot of money by making use of these panels.

The economic recession has had a great impact on everyone and everyone is looking for ways to save money. So, solar power systems are the right choice for anyone and everyone who is looking forward to save a lot of money every month.

Disadvantages of solar energy:

There are no big disadvantages of these solar power systems but there are a number of constraints which have to be considered. Not everywhere one gets to see the sun most of the day and a few places on earth or mostly cloudy. Even places where sun shines most of the time can still get cloudy and this drops the efficiency of the power produced.

The major drawback of any solar power system is that it costs relatively more to install a power panel and people have to dig their pockets to get all the money, but overall in a period of time, you are going to save more than what you spent. With an overall view on both the advantages and disadvantages of solar energy systems one can understand that changing to solar energy is the right decision to make.

Do you also want to save a lot of money on huge electricity bills by switching to solar energy? Know more about Advantages and Disadvantages of using Solar Energy at my Solar Panel blog.

Even though there have been many breakthroughs in harnessing residential solar energy, very few homeowners are have jumped onto the bandwagon of having solar powered homes. The key reason is due to high price of commercially built systems. Commissioning a professional to assemble and install a system could set you back about 20,000 dollars for a roof top mount. But then again, few know about the benefits of DIY solar electricity.

Have you ever thought about how great it would be to reduce your electricity bill? Would you ever think that its even possible? Imagine that you were able to cut out your electricity company forever? Could you ever dream this was possible? Perhaps not… but for people who live in consistent sunshine or live in areas of strong wind currents, these ideas are actually more of a reality then a dream!

The best thing about solar power is that it has an unlimited potential. Learn how to build solar energy systems for home easily and save $1000s on utility bills forever. You just need to know how to make your own renewable energy source and today I am going to tell you exactly how to build your own solar energy systems.

If you want to learn how to build solar energy systems for home, you'll need to learn some basics on how exactly do solar panels work. This way, the entire procedure will be much easier to handle.

There are usually two types of people when it comes to green products. There are the people who know little to nothing about it, and there are the people who are extremely passionate about them. This list of solar energy benefits is an attempt to bring a happy medium of awareness to those who know little to nothing about solar energy.

The first benefit is that solar energy is a renewable resource. As long as the sun is in the sky we will be able to make use of its energy. You cant say that about other traditional methods which might run out. Even trees which may be re-planted are being consumed faster than we can renew them.

Fossil fuels have an unfortunate side effect of releasing things like carbon dioxide, carcinogens or greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Solar energy does not have this negative environmental effect. Noise pollution is also caused by other renewable energy resources, but this is not the case with solar energy cells.

More solar energy benefits occur because the fact solar panels are very dependable. They do not frequently move so replacing parts is generally minimal. When it comes down to numbers, a few thousand hours of energy generation can occur with very little or even no maintenance.

Solar energy benefits also include those that involve money. You dont have just one single company producing one type of solar energy panel. You can get ones that cost in the ten thousands and others in the hundreds. This means your budget doesnt restrict you, you can start off going solar with any type of budget.

The original outlay of solar panels isnt the only financial concern when taking advantage of solar panels, the long run shows that solar electricity is less expensive than getting it from the power company. Once your equipment is installed, it starts paying itself off. After you break even, you then see money back in your pocket!

You dont necessarily stop there either. Most power companies want to buy your excess power also. You need to get in touch with your local power company for full details, but it would be exciting to have them pay you for energy they use! If you dont want to contact them, you dont have to: your solar energy benefits include the luxury of living off the grid.

Solar energy methods and equipment is constantly being researched and improving. With the increasing interest in solar energy alternatives costs are decreasing; solar products are becoming more mainstream and a variety of different solar energy products means that consumers have the option of going as green as they want to.

While there are a number of activists out there who want everything to be as ecologically friendly as possible, we live in a society where we are accustomed to some comforts, but by realizing the advantages, and know that solar energy benefits arent an all or nothing scenario, everyone can start going a little more green.

Jakob Jelling is the founder of SolarPanelManual.com which focuses on solar panels and solar energy in general.

If the prospect of actually getting a check back from the electric company, instead of writing one, sounds good to you " youre going to love this article.

Were going to look at how simple it really is to harness the power of the sun to augment or replace the electricity you pay for each month.

How Solar Energy Works
Solar panels consist of photovoltaic cells. Their name comes from the Greek terms for light (photo) and power (volts). These cells convert sunlight (photons) to electricity (electrons). From simple solar calculators, to the huge photovoltaic arrays that power satellites, the basic principles generating electricity from the sun are all the same.

So, How Does Solar Energy Work?
Photovoltaic (PV) cells contain semiconductor materials usually made from silicon. When sunlight strikes the solar panel, some of that light is absorbed by the semiconductor material.

This process creates an energy transfer by stimulating the electrons found in the silicon. The panel channels these flowing electrons in a common direction which creates an electrical current.

The top and bottom of the solar panels contain metal contacts that the current is attracted to. The contacts are connected to wires which are used to channel electricity to your home through some special equipment.

Theres a lot more physics at work than I covered in this simple description. But you dont have to know anything about the deeper scientific principles to using solar power in your home.

Heres What the Typical Residential Solar Setup Looks Like One or more solar panels are installed on the roof or somewhere on the ground where there is plenty of sunlight. How many panels you use depends on how many kilowatt hours (kWh) you want to generate.

Installing solar panels couldnt be easier. If you can use a power drill, screwdriver, tape measure and a hammer, you have the skills you need.

You connect wires to the connectors on the panel and run those wires to a charge controller. This is a simple plug-in device that regulates how much electricity enters your home at any one time.

Then you connect the controller to an inverter. The inverter converts the incoming 12 VDC power to 120 VAC.

Finally, if you want to be able to store the generated power for later use, the inverter is connected to a series of storage batteries. These batteries are usually connected to your home circuit breaker panel.

Thats all there is to it. And dont worry if some of these devices sound foreign to you. You can buy solar panel kits that come with everything you need. Converting to solar energy is a great family weekend project.

Jakob Jelling runs http://www.solarpanelmanual.com which focuses on solar panel technology.