Photovoltaic (pv) solar panels, unfortunately, have much lower levels of energy efficiency compared to other sources of renewable energy. Looking at it one way, this does not seem very important because the energy source – solar power – is free. Looked at another way, however, solar home energy installations tend to eat up large areas of roof space to produce a satisfactory amount of electricity. Building a do it yourself solar power system is easy, and the material costs are not very much. Nevertheless, smaller systems would be very welcome, and many solar electric companies, such as Mitsubishi, are rapidly developing residential solar energy systems that will produce pv solar panels with much greater efficiency and at much lower cost.
It is expected that costs will be halved every eight years, with improvements in efficiency of 20% to 30% in the same timeframe.
One way to do this is to use a version of the magnifying glass to concentrate a greater density of solar power on the pv cells. It is called the fresnel effect, which uses optical lenses to beam sunlight on to the PV material. It has already been possible to achieve the same amount of electricity with one fortieth the size of pv cell, and this will improve further.
There are pv solar panels now beginning to use a new range of polycrystalline cells which provide much higher efficiency ratings, up to 235 watts per typical panel compared to the present 190 watts. Solar power for homes is getting better and cheaper, and it is not confined to sunbelt states either. The fact is that pv solar panels depend on available light conditions rather than direct sun. They do work best in hot countries, where daylight levels are good, but they do also work very well in colder climates, for example Canada and the UK.
Quite possibly this sort of thing will be coming to a solar home near you in the next year or so.
Turning to the vexed question of investment assistance from state and local authorities, there is now a welcome improvement in many parts of the world to fund diy home energy systems properly. The European Union has various directives in force that mandate very significant improvements in renewable energy systems by 2020, and many member states are finally co-operating to achieve these targets. As a consequence, energy produced from photovoltaic sources will rise from its current average of about 1% to perhaps as much as 12% and, to enable this to happen, the feed-in tariff system has been introduced in many countries to encourage and sustain renewable energy investment. Several US states already have similar financial incentives.
The feed-in tariff replaces the old idea of partial grants or loans with a mandated price for energy units fed in to the national grid system. This makes financial planning much easier for investors, and will have a great influence on getting a better home solar power system at lower cost.
Solar home energy has always been a favorite project for us, and we know that diy solar power is not only simple but is also very satisfying to make. Yes, developments in the pipeline mean that more efficient pv cells will become available for diy solar panels in due course, but every second’s delay in building your own system NOW loses you more money as you continue to pour cash in to the utility company’s pockets.
Building a home solar panel will make a big difference. It is also a good idea to get some professional guidance and to use good quality plans, so we suggest you take a look at an excellent kit, which we believe to be the best presently available. It works very well, doesn’t cost much, and will give you an excellent return very quickly. You will not be disappointed if you take our advice.
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Tags: solar home energy, how to make a solar panel, do it yourself solar power, how to build a solar panel, renewable energy
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