Solar
Why Go Solar?
Going solar is one of the key steps to a net zero home. After reducing your energy use through energy efficiency work and switching to renewable heating, solar can provide 100% of your home’s energy. Did you know all of our fuel sources at some point got their energy from the sun? This includes fossil fuels, which are formed underground over a long period of time from organic matter such as prehistoric plants and animals. Unlike the burning of fossil fuels for home energy, energy production from solar panels produces no air pollutants or carbon dioxide.
Solar used to be very expensive and only a small amount of people were able to participate in this kind of energy. Now there are different ways to go solar that work even for renters. While most people think of photovoltaic cells that are mounted onto homes, there are actually options that are more affordable and available to renters! This accessibility and variability of solar energy makes it a financially feasible renewable energy choice for many residents.
To see how much solar energy is being produced and consumed by the PowerHouse, visit our monitoring system dashboard. For this off-grid system, production is regulated so that when the batteries are full, the panels produce just enough to cover consumption. This is why it may look like the PowerHouse panels aren’t producing much even on sunny days!
Will one or more of these work for you?
The Magic of Solar
Components of a typical residential solar installation
The main components of a solar cells are the solar panels, a meter and an inverter. Each solar panel is comprised of a positive layer and a negative layer of semiconductors. When sunlight hits the solar panel, it knocks electrons loose from the atoms of the semiconductor material. An electric circuit provides a path for the electrons, creating direct current (DC) power. This form of power cannot be directly used for home energy, so the inverter makes the DC power alternating current (AC) power. This AC power is used for electricity, and the meter tracks energy use and demand.
Solar cells are also sometimes called photovoltaic cells, or PV cells for short. Photovoltaics is the conversion of electricity from light, the function of a solar cell. Another term you may have heard is solar thermal. Unlike solar electric which converts the sun’s energy directly into electricity, solar thermal technology uses the heat from the sun. This heat energy is usually used for residential water heating. However, solar thermal is not widely used in our region because it requires a significant amount of direct year-round sunlight for this to be an effective heating method in all four seasons. Generally, solar thermal is much more common in the southwest United States.
This video from the U.S. Department of Energy provides a good overview of solar technology and its benefits.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems can generate clean, cost-effective power anywhere the sun shines.
three Ways to Go Solar!
This video from our partners at Smart Energy Choices presents an overview to the three main ways to go solar in New York State. More info on each option is provided below.
An overview of the three ways you can get solar energy for your home in New York State (source: Smart Energy Choices)
To learn more about going solar, visit Smart Energy Choices.
Don’t Forget about that Energy Audit!
Of course, we also recommend getting an energy audit to talk to a professional about how to make your home more energy efficient. This will reduce your household’s energy demand, and may impact the size of the solar system that is best for your electricity needs. Learn more about audits at the Air Leaks exhibit and page.