Solar Power for Houses: Your Residential Solar Power System

Have you always dreamed of having a house powered by the sun? Perhaps you are seriously thinking about it, but want to know more about your options. When most people think about solar power, they think of the classic solar panels that produce electricity. These are solar photovoltaic panels. But solar photovoltaics are not the only way to use solar energy.

Solar hot water: uses the sun to heat your water instead of fossil fuels. There are several different types of solar hot water systems available. They are usually lower tech and cheaper to install than household solar photovoltaic systems, although pricing varies widely with the type of system chosen.
Pro: cheaper to buy than photovoltaic
easier to DIY than photovoltaic
Con: will only give you hot water
too heavy for some roofs
cheapest varieties don’t work in freezing temperatures

Solar swimming pool: this is actually a very inexpensive way to heat your swimming pool. It pays for itself within a few years.
Pro: short payoff time
Con: only heats your pool water

Solar thermal: technically this includes both solar hot water and solar swimming pool systems, as well as solar cookers. It also refers to heating air by the heat of the sun.
Pro: cheaper than solar photovoltaic for the amount of energy produced
Con: heat only, won’t give you electricity

Passive solar/solar architecture: designing or renovating a house so that it gains the maximum benefit from the sun’s heat, while not getting overheated during the summer.
Pro: adds very little to cost of a new house for major reductions in heating needs
Con: hard to retrofit

Solar cooker: uses the sun to cook food. It tends to cook food more slowly – can be compared to a slow cooker. Very easy to DIY compared to other solar options. They are also inexpensive to buy.
Pro: easy to DIY
cheap to buy or make
Con: needs sun to cook food
won’t do anything other than cook food
cooks food slower than most cooking methods

Solar photovoltaic: solar electricity created using the classic solar panels. A full system for your house is expensive compared to other solar power options, but it’s more versatile. It is also possible to buy very small systems intended for charging cell phones for laptops. These are very much cheaper.
Pro: extremely versatile as electricity can be used for almost anything
Con: more technically complex than other solar methods
more expensive than other solar methods for the amount of energy acquired
high-voltage electricity produced makes DIY photoelectric more hazardous than other solar power projects.

The need for solar power

The Earth is facing a multi-headed environmental crisis. These problems may seem enormous, but we are not powerless.  There is a great deal we can do to take control over our impact on the Earth and its biosphere.  The tools to do so are not yet to be invented.  We already have them, and they’ve been available for years.  We just have to do the work to change the way we do things. One of the main dangers is climate change, which is currently being driven by fossil fuel extraction. This means we need to reduce fossil fuel use drastically.

But we will still need a power source. This is where solar power comes in, along with wind, small hydro, biomass, geothermal and other renewable energy sources. Some include nuclear, but I’m not going to get into that debate right now.

Solar power, in both its thermal and solar photovoltaic forms was discovered many years ago.  It has been used in various ways since – you’ve probably used a solar powered calculator, tried to burn something with a magnifying glass when you were a kid, and seen photographs of spacecraft with their solar panel wings. We can do far more with it than we have so far.

In its thermal form, people have been making use of solar for far longer – think solariums, greenhouses and orangeries. Then of course there’s plants and photosynthesis. Starting with cyanobacteria and other algae, they’ve been using it for at least 3.5 billion years!

Solar power’s two flavors: solar thermal and solar photovoltaic

Solar photovoltaic transforms light from the sun into electricity.  If you want to light your home with solar, you need to use solar photovoltaic.  This form of solar energy is more versatile than solar thermal since you can use electricity for almost anything, but is also more technically complicated and expensive to install for the amount of energy produced.

Solar thermal uses the sun’s energy in the form of heat. It is frequently used in the form of solar hot water systems, as well as pool heating, greenhouses for growing plants, solar cookers, solar dehydrators, and passive and active heating for the house. Solar thermal is a lot easier and more practical as a DIY project than solar photovoltaic.  The materials are often cheaper and less technically complicated.  It’s also safer if you have less skill with electrical circuits, since you aren’t working with high voltage electricity.

Why solar power is practical, and how to make it work for you

Solar photovoltaic power has undergone major improvements in recent years and has become a lot more affordable.  There are now many solar photovoltaic modules with a price of under $2.00 per watt.  This is vastly better than even a year ago.  There have also been changes in the way solar is marketed – a few power companies are offering to install solar photovoltaic systems on your house for free, and then charging a set price for electricity produced that is lower than their standard electricity rates.  This makes residential solar a possibility for many people who would not have been able to afford solar on their own.

With the exception of a very few power companies, most of the costs of solar photovoltaics are up front, one time costs.  If you go this route, you pay a large sum at the beginning but then have free electricity thereafter.  Under modern circumstances of fluctuating energy prices and a changing climate, this is an excellent investment if you have the money. If you’re off the grid using a generator, you can save a lot of money over time if you go solar.

If you have rather less money but have skill with building things or electronics and some basic equipment, there are also kits for making solar panels and solar installations.  Remember that solar thermal is usually easier and safer as a do it yourself project than solar photovoltaic.

Of course, you might be more interested in other renewable energy options. There will be more articles on these subjects on this site soon.