One of the problems with photovoltaic (pv) solar panels is their inefficiency relative to other forms of renewable energy. In one sense this doesn’t matter very much because the source of energy – sunlight – is free. On the other hand solar home energy systems tend to take up a lot of roof space in order to provide a useful amount of electricity. Do it yourself solar power systems are easy to make and install, and the material costs are not very much. But it would obviously be a good thing if the system could be made smaller, and many large energy companies – Mitsubishi, for example – are making big strides in developing both commercial and residential solar energy systems that will deliver pv solar panels with both greater efficiency and lower costs.
Halving costs every eight years is now the target, with improvements in efficiency of 20% to 30% in the same timeframe.
One development uses a type of magnifying glass to squeeze more solar power on to each pv cell. This is known as the fresnel effect, which uses a series of optical lenses to direct large amounts of sunlight on to small areas of pv material. Already it has been possible to make pv cells one fortieth the size of current ones, and undoubtedly even better performances will be achieved.
Some pv solar panels are beginning to use new types of polycrystalline cells which produce nearly 25% more power than present systems. Solar power for homes will work better and cost less, and it is not confined to sunny areas either. Happily, pv solar panels depend on daylight rather than sunlight. They work best in latitudes between 40 north and south, which get more overhead sun on an average day, but do work very well in countries outside these latitudes – Germany and the UK being cases in point.
Don’t be surprised to see some of these developments in a local solar home in the near future.
Financial assistance or investment has not always been a strong point for many state and local authorities, but there is now a firm move towards more sensible encouragement for the funding of diy home energy systems. For example, the EU has introduced quite ambitious targets for improving renewable energy levels by 2020 in its member states, and this has had a very positive effect on solar energy developments. As a consequence, energy produced from photovoltaic sources will rise from its current average of about 1% to perhaps as much as 12% and, to enable this to happen, the feed-in tariff system has been introduced in many countries to encourage and sustain renewable energy investment. Versions of this exist already in many US states.
The system shifts the emphasis from grant-based incentives, which seldom pay very much of the total costs, to a legislated price for each unit of energy fed into the national grid. This is much more attractive for investors, and will stimulate further improvements in achieving an efficient home solar power system.
We believe that solar home energy is essential for reducing our carbon footprint, and we know that diy solar power is both easy to make and also very rewarding. We know that there are going to be better pv cells available shortly, but every second’s delay in building your own system NOW loses you more money as you continue to pour cash in to the utility company’s pockets.
It really is a good idea to plan to make a home solar panel or two. It is also a good idea to get some professional guidance and to use good quality plans, so we suggest you take a look at an excellent kit, which we believe to be the best presently available. It does what it says on the box, gives you great value for money, and also gives you peace of mind that you will be making the system properly. Take our advice, and you will have no regrets.
Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4