Solar energy for residential homes is nothing new. It has just been relegated to the background in lieu of rising cost of real estate ; more moderen more advanced building materials, design and the limitation of resources.
Since man started building houses, daylight played a major influence in the design. In fact, even in the more advanced urban planning technique of the Ancient Chinese and Greeks, the orientation of the buildings is as much as humanly possible directed towards where it could capture the most sunlight.
The ancients would possibly not be as intellectually complex then to use catch phrases as passive solar and thermal mass but when they build, they were building in compact proportion, employing overhangs, manufacturing insulations and building in manners that direct the airflow within the structure and manufacturing well lit, well ventilated spaces using the relative position of the sun to the orientation of their structures.
Lately, as the traditional sources of energy became costlier, owners were once more turning to the sun for energy requirements.
Since the 1950′s, harnessing the sun’s rays has been developing and today the solar cell technology has achieved extraordinarily efficient levels that modern ( supposed green house ) designs apply the sun’s power to provide energy for the home.
While solar energy is free, the device that will convert it to run our appliances is not. To provide solar energy for the home, solar cells called photovoltaic made of semi-conducting materials, are grouped into modules. These solar panels are mounted on rooftops, yards or open spaces where it can capture the maximum quantity of daylight.
Whenever possible, the panels will be installed facing south to get the most out of the sunlight but tracking systems are also used to follow the direction of the sun. The solar panels collect the energy from the sunlight. The process fundamentally is that when the panels are exposed to sunlight, the electrons are separated form the atoms. This movement of the electrons creates electricity.
To store power, pumps are sometimes used – circulating water in the cells. The water goes into a storage tank where the power is stored, ready for use. Sometimes, the use of gravity is employed if it will just the same store the heated water in to the tank.
In spite of all the development in solar energy though, the use of this technology isn’t really enough to provide power to the entire house. The best method so far can only satisfy about 80% of a households power needs. The employment of solar energy for the home will still require the utilization of the standard power distribution technique.
Powering the homes by solar means will still, for some time be enlarged by a local power distribution agency. To many, this is already a good kick off point. Homeowners that feel the high value of powering their homes thru solar power, is justified when put next to the price that is now being paid for typical electrification strategy where horrible amounts of CO2 are being dumped into the atmosphere solely to generate a pathetic amount of electricity.
However, due in part to the skyrocketing costs of energy, the technology for solar energy has been undergoing rapid phases of development. Gurus are confident that within five years, powering the home thru the solar method will be made widely available for those who like it as its sole energy source.