Solar for Home

Solar for Home

The economics of a home solar electric or PV system are determined by both the capital and operating costs. Capital costs include the initial costs of designing and installing a PV system. Operating costs include the costs associated with maintaining and operating the PV system over its useful life. The factors that affect both capital and operating costs include:

• System components
• System size
• Whether a system is grid-connected or stands alone (off-grid)
• Solar resource at your location (amount of sunlight).

Before selecting system components and sizing a PV system for an existing home, you should evaluate your energy consumption patterns and try to reduce your home's electricity use. You can start by performing a load analysis, which includes these tasks: Looking at your utility bills over the past year
Calculating energy consumption
Recognizing consumption trends.
By understanding your "energy habits" and becoming more energy efficient, you can reduce the size of the PV system you'll need, lowering both your capital and operating costs.

GRS India -generated electricity to the higher costs of smaller PV systems. PV-generated electricity is usually more expensive than conventional, utility-supplied electricity. However, these costs will vary by geographic location.

Many homeowners use PV systems because other considerations -- such as environmental benefits and energy independence in their favor.

A grid-connected home solar electric or PV system receives back-up power from a utility's grid when the PV system is not producing enough power. When the system produces excess power, the utility is required to purchase the power through a metering and rate arrangement. Net metering is the best arrangement. Under this arrangement, the power provider essentially pays you retail price for the electricity you feed back into the grid.

The first thing to do before going solar is to see if there are ways to optimize/reduce your energy consumption. Check for all conventional equipment in your home and see what you could make more efficient or reduce. CFLs are 4 times more efficient and last 10 times as long as an incandescent bulb, so replacing regular lamps with CFLs and LEDs can bring huge energy savings.

Check if you are using energy-star rated equipment. These might cost more in the beginning but will pay for themselves in a few years compared to equipment that has no energy rating. Reducing your energy consumption makes it easier to go off the grid and convert your energy source to solar power.

The amount of space you have in your home fundamentally decides how much you can go solar in your house. Find out how many sq.ft of roof/balcony area you have in order to install a solar panel.
It is optimal for solar panels to face South so that they get sunlight throughout the day. Solar Panels usually come in standard 250Wp (Watt Peak) to 300Wp panels for larger home installations. Even some medium to large installation use multiple 74Wp or 100Wp panels. It depends on the installer, the space availability and the system design.

Though solar power can cut down your electricity bills, it does require some installation cost and initial investment. Figure out how much you can spend and plan your solar implementation accordingly. The cost of solar varies from Rs.40,000 to Rs.6,00,000 depending upon how much of the energy you would like to generate from solar.

The life of a solar panel is 25 years. Solar panels have no moving parts or electronics and require practically no maintenance throughout its life of 25 years or so. While buying, ensure you are picking up reliable equipment from genuine certified suppliers. Question the dealer about how they have built the structure of the panel and what is the guarantee.

Solar energy is environmental friendly, safe and in abundant supply. In addition it is far better for the environment and can help offset energy costs. Canadian Solar offers homeowners in many countries complete solar energy systems that cater to different building applications with varying system sizes of 1.5 kW (CS1500), 3.0 kW (CS3000), 5.0 kW (CS5000) and 10 kW (CS10000). We also provide customized solar kits for special requirements.

Installing a residential solar power system is a great way to do the right thing for the environment and cut energy costs over the long term. In addition, many governments and municipalities offer financial support for solar power system installation as well as pay you for excess power fed into the grid, so even when you’re not using the system it is still working for you.

Because homes come in different sizes our residential solar power systems do too. You can invest in a 1.5 kW (CS1500), 3.0 kW (CS3000), 5.0 kW (CS5000) or 10 kW (CS10000) solar kits. And we can also provide you with a solar energy system customized to your specific requirements.