Sunday, January 18, 2009

Buying The Right Number Of Solar Panels

By David Sullivan

People are more concerned than ever with the environment; this includes an awareness of the dangers of global warming. One of the positive results of this has been a greater interest in using solar power for home energy needs. Not only do residential solar panels allow you to save a lot of money on your energy bill, they also reduce your carbon footprint and provide a benefit to the environment.

Of course if you are going to install solar power systems into your home, you'll want to make sure that you choose the best solar panels available. So, how to you go about choosing the solar panels you need? Here's a closer look at the factors you need to keep in mind when you choose residential solar panels for your home system.

The size of the solar panels is important so that you have a suitable amount of power for your house. The amount of electricity certain solar panels produce is expressed in watts. It is is actually a rate of electricity production in watts/hour.

You'll find that the watts of a panel is also going to affect the size. The higher the watts, the larger the panel is going to be. It's important that you get panels big enough to cover the various appliances that you have within your home. Also, remember that the higher the watts, the higher the price will probably be.

Take a look at efficiency when you are looking at residential solar panels. This refers to how effective the panel actually is as it takes the light from the sun and turns it into electricity. Just remember, no matter the efficiency, which can be important, if you have a 100 watt panel, it will still be providing you with 100 watts of electricity.

You'll also want to look at the kind of warranty which is provided for a solar panel before making a purchase, as well as durability. Since your solar panels will be mounted outside, you'll want to be certain that the panels are durable enough to stand up to the elements.

The warranty on purchased panels should be more than 10 years. This will produce almost enough power over that period to justify the purchase in most cases. Many panels come with 25 year warranty which will ensure that your purchase will be worth it.

Of course for most people today, cost is going to be an important part of selecting residential solar panels. The cost is determined by the longevity, the size, and more. Cost is important, but it shouldn't be the only thing you look at when you are choosing the panels for your home system.

You'll have to calculate the amount of power you'll be saving over the long run with solar panels. It is possible to actually save money compared to traditional power if you take care of your panels and they last a long time.

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