Do It Yourself Solar Power Basic Information For Non Scientists

For people who are interested in home solar panel installation, there's one common problem: Most of us aren't scientists. Even if you're generally interested in science, solar energy probably isn't something you learned about in Physics 101, so you may feel slightly intimidated by phrases like "parabolic reflector" and "monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic cells." And you may start to wonder if this is the kind of thing that's best left to the experts.

But no, solar power is simple, really. And the best part is that with Do-It-Yourself solar power kits, you only need to know the basics. The advanced stuff is taken care of by the manufacturer, and you're just the user.

Think of it as similar to a personal computer. If you're not a techie, you probably don't know much about what's actually going on inside the machine you're using to view this article right now. Operating systems are designed to give the impression that computers are pretty simple, so we tend to forget that none of this stuff would be possible without the hard work of thousands of computer geniuses.

Green energy technology is beginning to reach the same level. While it does help to have some tech knowledge (as it does with computers), you can install and use small solar panels at your house without knowing much of anything at all. All you need is the ability to follow instructions.

Here's how a basic Do-It-Yourself solar power system works:

* PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS: The word "photovoltaic" basically means "light electricity," a.k.a., "solar energy." That's all. If you're looking at solar power kits that say "photovoltaic," that just means they convert sun into energy. But you already knew that, so don't be intimidated by the big word.

* HOW DOES IT WORK? When light hits certain kinds of metals, electrons are emitted-and electrons are the basis of electricity. Most photovoltaic cells are made of the metal silicon, primarily because silicon is very sensitive to this effect, and it's also a good conductor of electricity. Using this method, the PV cells gather electricity, store it, and feed it into your home's electricity system. Pretty simple, right?

* WHAT ABOUT WHEN THE SUN'S NOT OUT? Yes, it's true that home solar power systems don't gather electricity when the sun is down or when it's very cloudy. This is one of the downsides of the technology. However, what home solar power kits can do is store energy for later use.

* HOW MUCH ENERGY IS GENERATED? Here's the bad news. If you build your own solar system, you're probably not going to be able to cover all your energy needs via solar. It's going to be a while before simple solar power kits reach that point. However, small solar panels can take some of the load off. For a modest-sized house, it's reasonable to expect your system to cover the equivalent of about two days' worth of energy per week. Of course, when you spread this out over months and years, this equals big savings.

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