Our sun is a source of renewable energy called solar energy. Solar cells are utilized to transform this energy into electricity. Solar cell is also called photovoltaic cell or PV for short. One solar cell generates only small amount of electricity, so solar cells are organized and packaged into panels. Currently one can secure both solar panels for commercial purposes and solar panels for homes.

Crystalline silicon is usually the material used for solar cells. When presented to sunbeams, wafer-based crystalline silicon cells produce electricity. An average of 13% of solar energy is converted to electrical power. Nowadays, 18% is achieved, however 30% is a targeted value by researchers.

If you are thinking to install a solar system for your home, solar panels for homes are the main hardware you need. Basically, techniques for manufacture and materials used differ for each kind of panels one can find in the market, so you have to know the requirements of your system to be able to pick the appropriate solar panel for your home.

One thing to remember is whether your system will be stand-alone or attached to the grid. In addition to that keep in mind your geographical area and pick the right solar panel based on your area. If you live in an area where the sun always shines, pick the concentrating solar collectors. These kinds of panels are angled to gather direct sunbeams. Otherwise, purchase the non-concentrating solar collectors, because they can absorb reflected sunlight as well.

Solar panels that can be used in your home are available in a variety of power output ratings, in the range of 60 to 190 watts. If you want greater output than 190 watts, you need to purchase more panels and set them up in an array.

Depending on the brand name, a single Solar Panels Fort Collins is valued around $1,000. Mitsubishi, Sharp, Evergreen, Kyocera, Sanyo and Uni-Solar are popular brands. These items come with a 20-year warranty. Preferably, pick brands that have low manufacturing impact on nature.

You have to think about the productivity of individual brands because systems with greater effectiveness will pay for themselves quicker than expected. Productivity of between 16 and 18% is already great, and anticipate around 10-year payback period. This will be chopped down to four years when panels with 25% productivity become available later on.

With brand new panels costing about $1,000 a piece, the whole system for your home can cost you up to $20,000, provided that a contractor does the installation for you. If you do it yourself, the expense would be diminished to not exactly half. You can save even more if you purchase broken panels and repair them yourself.

The market pattern for solar panels is towards cheaper panels. On top of that, both the federal and state legislatures offer incentives that assist with reducing the total expense of a solar panel system. Keeping these factors in mind, many homeowners are considering installing solar energy system for their homes.