by Cherry Kelly

Created on: November 14, 2008   Last Updated: November 21, 2008

WHY CHOSE HOME SOLAR ENERGY.

The sun is down and suddenly everything just went to black, another power outage. "Where's the flashlight?" Oh no, the batteries are dead. Can't find the candles or the matches? What about the food in the refrigerator if the power is out for several days ... or weeks?

While a generator will work to help cover some of your home's needs, solar energy will provide for more of your needs and do so more efficiently. Some years ago, this area was hit by a severe winter ice storm that took out the power to millions of homes. That power was not restored for weeks and in some cases two months. We had energy - solar energy that provided power to our 110 requirements.

Residential solar panels create the energy, which is stored in a series of batteries. This energy is DC and requires a converter to AC for home use. A small system of solar panels to create this energy can run all of the 110 needs for almost 18 hours of the day or longer. Larger systems of panels can provide a full 24 hours.

When the need for the solar energy is not an emergency situation, the power provided can be used to cut the power requirements from standard utilities. With a larger system of solar panels, the excess power can be sold back to most electric utility companies.

Solar energy exists even on cloudy days. Just think of how a person can go outside on a cloudy day and get sunburned. Clouds do not stop ultra-violet rays. The residential solar panels capture those rays and transform them into energy, electric energy in this case. This energy is stored for later use, or can be directly used in conjunction with any electricity provided through utility services. A definite plus with the increasing rates charged by utilities.

In addition to electricity, solar energy can also provide hot water heating through a series of water panels. The pre-heated water is kept hot by your standard water heater. That heater can also be hooked up to smaller solar panels and converted to AC in order to provide the needed energy for the water heater.

Our small solar panel unit of six panels has been in use for over a decade and while we will have to replace the storage batteries, it has cut our electricity costs in half. It has also provided power during numerous electric outages. Some outages are merely hours; some have been as long as the previously mentioned ice storm, which lasted for three weeks in this area. We lost none of our frozen foods, had hot water for washing, suffered no broken water pipes from freezing temperatures and best of all was able to provide a lighted home for our extended family and friends.

Learn more about this author, Cherry Kelly.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.