Choosing Solar Power

More and more people are faced with rising electric bills. When this happens you have a few options, you can ask for more hours at work to meet the costs, you can refuse to pay it and have your utilities cut off, or you can invest in alternative energy solutions and cut or eliminate your bill. A form of alternative energy that is quickly

gaining popularity is solar power. While you will have to invest some money in start up costs, you will see a quick return on your investment and then the reward will be lower bills every month for life!

Solar Power is made from the energy produced by the sun. There is enough energy coming from the sun in 24 hours to power the entire population of the earth’s energy needs for 1 year. The sun produces close to 770 trillion kilowatts which is five-thousand times more than all of the energy produced on the earth from today’s modern technology. The sun will be around for at least another 4.5 billion years making it the ultimate sustainable energy source.

When solar cells, also known as photovoltaic cells, receive energy from the sun they produce energy that can be used to create electricity for your home. Its actually quite an easy process to understand. When the suns energy hits these cells, it produces a chemical reaction that makes an electrical current. This current is used to make electricity.

The two types of solar power are passive and active. Passive solar power does not use solar panels to use the suns energy. Instead, it is the energy you put to use when it comes through your windows to light your home, hits your roof in the winter to keep you warm, and basically any other means of using the sun’s energy without using any type of mechanical devices.

Active Solar is when solar panels are used to collect the suns energy and transfer it into electricity. The panels are placed on houses or land to receive the most sunlight possible. When the sunlight is collected and the chemical reaction occurs, it produces Direct Current and the system transforms it into alternate current. This is then used to power electronic devices or stored in batteries to be used later.

While solar power is a great source of alternative energy, it does have some disadvantages.

It can cost several hundreds or thousands of dollars initially to buy the solar panels and have them set up. Of course this amount can be lowered by building your own solar panels. Furthermore, if you live in an area that does not receive much sunlight, you will not be able to collect enough solar power to use. This is when wind generators can be helpful.

However, the advantages of using solar power are greater. Solar power is a renewable resource with an unlimited supply. The electricity can be stored for use on days when it is cloudy or raining. Solar power is good for the environment and in the long run will cut your electricity bills dramatically. Finally, you will be making an improvement to the environment for future generations by cutting down on the use of fossil fuels which create pollution and are used to make electricity.