To better understand solar electric systems and how they work, you first need to understand the technical components making up a residential solar energy system.

New solar rental services are emerging that offer solar power in new and simple ways. There are a number of solar panel rental offers now on the market. They offer energy efficiency in your home, better control and tracking of home power, and make a home's electricity services more reliable, and renewable.

This article explains, defined, and illustrates the parts and pieces going into a residential solar energy unit.

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Panels

The primary components of a home solar system are the Solar (PV) panels. These panels utilize solar cells to convert sunlight directly into home electricity. A group of solar cells hooked together make a solar panel. A single solar panel can produce 250 watts (w) of electricity when the sun is shining at maximum capacity. The panels then route power through an inverter where a controller determines how to distribute the power throughout your home.

Solar Energy Controller and Inverter

The controller is the device that monitors and manages the distribution of electricity produced by a residential solar energy system. Its capability extends even further by monitoring and managing the flow of energy between the house, the solar (PV) panels & system, and the local utility company. Often these controllers also have the ability to manage secondary storage through the use of batteries for more flexibility and control.

Coupled with the controller is the brains of the operation; the inverter. An inverter is in essence an electronic circuit that converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). An inverter allows the 12 or 24 volt DC power produced from solar panels to supply AC power to operate all of the electrical needs around your house.

Solar Array Mounting and Connection Components

Connection components are made up of electrical wiring and the rail mounting structure. Several solar panels are arranged into a grid, secured by a rail mounting device, and connected together to make a solar (PV) array. Electrical wiring is needed to connect the solar panels to the controller, then to your meter box, and then to your utility company via the existing electricity grid. Little additional solar energy equipment is needed, other than the panels, controller and inverters, wiring, and the roof mounting system.

The mounting rail is another simple structure that secures your solar (PV) array to your roof with the little need to drill holes through your singles. It is constructed with sturdy materials and engineering, allowing for quick assembly of the solar panels.

Rental Options for Residential Solar Energy Systems

Homeowners now have the ability to generate electricity right at home in safe, simple, and environmentally conscious way. Residential solar energy systems convert sunlight (i.e. photons) directly into usable home electricity. Residential solar energy systems, now offered to homeowners on a rental basis, provide a new source of reliable electricity and they enhance electric services without expensive investments in solar purchases.

In a future article, we will continue this series related to residential solar energy systems. We will explain in common terms how to measure the power of the sun. One objection often voiced by homeowners researching home solar power relates to the quality of the sunlight.

Is too cloudy? Is it too foggy? How does snow effect solar cell output? We will show how to calculate your sunlight hours and to determine if your part of the country gets adequate sunlight hours to have a solar system make sense.

At Solargies, our goal is to spread the use of renewable solar energy as simply and as rapidly as possible. Daniel Stouffer is a freelance writer and solar energy consultant. Find out how to rent a solar energy system at: => http://www.reThinkingSolar.com
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The main disadvantage that solar energy has for many people would be the initial installation cost. The initial set-up of the equipment has in the past has been too much for an average family but things have improved now with reduced prices & generous government subsidies & rebates available.

Solar energy is still the best clean renewable alternative source to use compared the available dirty fossil fuel technologies. With the price of the solar panels continuing to decrease with improved technology and more widespread manufacturing there is likely to be a widespread increase the use of the solar cells to generate electricity for both home and industrial purposes.

Another disadvantage of solar energy installation is that it requires a large available area (generally roof space) for the system to a high enough KWh size to be efficient in providing a large source of electricity. This can be a problem in high density urban areas where space is minimal and often expensive to own as well in some cities.  High Pollution can also cause a disadvantage to the solar panels as it can degrade the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells.

Clouds also give a similar disadvantage, as clouds lessen the energy of the sun rays. These disadvantages were more pronounced with the older solar components and designs however, and the newer designs of solar panels have features that lessen these kinds of effects…... As we already know solar energy needs the sunlight to produce and convert energy into electricity so solar panels can only be useful during the day and at night your expensive solar equipment is useless. However, the use of solar battery chargers helps to reduce this disadvantage, or even better in Australia & Germany there are effective Feed In Tariff programs that allow people to sell their solar produced electricity during the day at a profit & buy fossil fuel produced electricity at night for a cheaper rate.

It's important that solar panels are properly placed where they can get the maximum amount of direct sunlight so that your systems optimal output can be reached. Obviously Solar panels should not be placed in an area that has obstructions like buildings and landscaping, and the direction & aspect of the roof is also very important. Make sure your solar system is installed by an experienced and accredited installer.

So these are the disadvantages of making the switch to renewable solar energy. People should always consider the positive or the advantages of solar energy. At this point in our environmental crisis solar energy is proving to be one of the greatest invention of mankind, and it is set to become even more crucial and bigger in the future!

Premier Solar is committed to being Australia's leading Solar Power & Renewable Energy solutions provider for both homes and medium to large scale commercial solar projects. We are specialists in effective and affordable solar panel System design and use only fully certified installers and product components which pass all government standards and certifications, to enable our customers to access full discounts and rebates, as well enjoy the peace of mind of 25 year warranties from long established manufacturers.
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At present the inexpensive way to use the renewable solar energy in your homes in by using solar water heating systems or by making your own solar panels. This energy can be effectively used to warm your homes during winter and cool it during summer. The cold north European countries have been using solar energy from past several decades. The advancement in this technology has reached to the level where now, one can substitute it for the grid power. Some other facts about solar energy are:

Solar energy can be used to heat your swimming pools.

Industries are using solar energy to manufacture solar-powered vehicles.

NASA has successfully developed an airplane that can function entirely on solar energy.

How does the renewable solar energy work? Majority of the devices that are powered by solar energy use the photovoltaic cells, which produce electricity as soon as they are exposed to sun rays. These cells consist of panels which comprise of two layers and these layers become positively and negatively charged, once the sunlight falls on them. This leads to the production of electric current, which can be connected to the main supply of your house, and used to run your electric devices like computers, phones and blenders.

The amount of electricity produced depends on the size of the solar panel, strong sun rays and length of exposure to sun rays.

All this may seem like a rocket science, but the fact is that this is a very simple to make. You can start producing your electricity over the weekend. However for this you need to understand and follow the concepts, which are readily available on the Internet in the form of manuals or guides.

The author has been into saving energy from past 5 years and now he invites you to understand how to save energy at home, at his website Renewable Energy 4 Earth. If you save energy, then you indirectly save money apart from reducing expenditures. Read more about the this concept, by visiting the renewableenergy4earth.com today.
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The sunlight carries two types of energy; the 1st is the light energy, which can then be manipulated by the solar panels to produce electricity, and the 2nd is heat energy which used by the solar hot water systems to produce a continuous flow of hot water.

The major challenge that we face with solar energy is that the sunlight isn't available for 24 hours and even in the daytime continuous supply isn't guaranteed, due to many factors. However countries like Australia are blessed with more than enough sunlight strength to provide useful energy production in summer even on cloudy days. The growth of solar technology has been rapid; if you turn your clock back a few decades ago, harnessing the sun's energy wasn't possible in any way, but today we have solar PV technology as the prime carrier of solar energy's viability.

Australia is one of the leading nations in solar technological advances. Not only do we have perfect climatic conditions, but also the geographical capabilities and knowledge; Australia gave birth to the top solar scientist in world! But one major disadvantage to our widespread use of solar technology was the very size of our country and the logistical difficulties to overcome because of that, and so our earlier advancements got bogged down due to financial difficulties and other countries soon overtook us.

Fortunately though in the last couple of years extensive Government funding combined with technological breakthroughs has made solar energy much cheaper to obtain and so more accessible to every householder. Also  rapid improvements in manufacturing technology means it's now possible to have much better power generation from the same size of panel system, so that an average roof space is more likely to be able to produce enough power to cover a considerable portion of your existing electricity bill.

Aside from household Solar use becoming more and more widespread, the really exciting news for both our environment and the Australian economy are the large commercial aspects now being pursued;  huge scale commercial solar power parks are being established in an attempt to generate the massive clean energy production necessary for large corporations to be able to bypass our dependence on traditional fossil fuel "dirty" energy sources, mainly coal.

This is where the proposed Carbon Tax will be hugely influential as it is designed to make it cheaper for industry and corporations to purchase clean renewable solar energy using "Solar Credits" then to continue to use electricity produced via dirty energy…….we will have to wait and see exactly what happens in Parliament for that one, but certainly this scheme or something similar seems  the only likely way for Australia to meet their emission target requirements for 2020.

Premier Solar is committed to being Australia's leading Solar Power & Renewable Energy solutions provider for both homes and medium to large scale commercial solar projects. We are specialists in effective and affordable solar PV panel System design and use only fully certified installers and product components which pass all government standards and certifications, to enable our customers to access full discounts and rebates, as well enjoy the peace of mind of 25 year warranties from long established manufacturers.
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Solar energy is a form of renewable energy that will never end. Since long time, humans are harnessing this energy using various tools and technologies for the betterment of the mankind. Solar energy has a large number of applications in various fields. This article is all about the benefits of solar energy. The sun is a consistent source of power that will be with us every time. Unlike fossil fuels that release carcinogens, green house gases, carbon-dioxide and other poisonous gases in environment, solar cells do not release any of these venomous gases in the air. Thus it is environmentally friendly that does not pollute the air.

As the solar energy can be utilized in the rural areas, in the same way they can be utilized in the populated areas also. All the average houses have enough space in their roof where electricity can be generated that is enough for the entire house supply. Huge investments are not required, initially some amount has to be invested but after that everything is profit. Once the break-even point is reached, no loss is there. It is true that solar energy is not free, but it is an exhaustible form of energy.

Hence, it is true that out of all the natural sources of energy available, solar energy is the most beneficial and renewable source of energy that can be used in numerous sectors.

For more information on Solar energy and the benefits of Solar energy Israel and Solar energy Portals please visit the mentioned website
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Wisconsin, at 2.5 – with a peak of 3.5 – is harder to imagine. Yet Wisconsin is the only state in the union other than California and Texas to have two major cities included in the Solar America Cities program; Milwaukee and Madison.

The Solar America Cities program is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy, which aims to see accelerated adoption of solar energy technologies to create a cleaner, more secure energy future. Comprised of 25 major American cities, the program operates through 180 municipal, county and state agencies, as well as solar companies, universities, regional utilities and various non-profit policy organizations, all of whom are committed to seeing solar energy take a front seat at the energy table.

The fact can’t be accounted for merely by Wisconsin’s renewable portfolio standard, or RPS, since the goal is 10 percent of energy from renewables by 2105.

The law, SB 459, enacted in March 2006, allows utilities to fulfill their requirements by buying renewable resource credits (RRCs) from one another, and also allows a carry-forward method of accounting.

In spite of that, Wisconsin really is leading in renewable energy, notably solar, with a proposed $19.6 million project for Roundy's Corp. supermarket distribution center in Oconomowoc.

Initiated by the state’s Office of Energy Independence (OEI), and funded through an $8.822-million grant that the OEI applied for in 2009 (via the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Community Renewable Energy Stimulus program), the 12,000-panel, 3.177-megawatt installation will, when completed, become the largest solar project in the Midwest.

The project will also create 190 jobs, double the state’s solar portfolio, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4,237 tonnes per year, and provide for almost 20 percent of distribution center’s electricity needs.

Add to that the new factory in Mazomanie, to be built by Menomonie-based Cardinal Glass, which makes low-e glass for energy-efficient windows and will now being making solar panel glass, adding about 60 jobs and competing with Corning, an industry leader in glassware production who is also thinking of expanding into solar panel glass manufacture.

Wisconsin is a leader in solar panel installation training, with more certified solar installers per capita than nearly every state in the nation, according to the Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s executive director Terri Parker, whose agency plans to train 200 instructors across six states over the next five years, thanks to a $3.3-million grant. And this isn’t even counting the cooperative, internally financed solar education “farm” being developed by the Milwaukee Area Technical College and Johnson Controls, which will consist of about 2,500 panels.

Some information in the story was provided by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Cooler Planet is a leading solar resource for connecting consumers and commercial entities with local solar Installers. Cooler Planet's solar panel resources and solar energy page contains articles and tools to help with your solar project.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/wisconsin-leading-solar-energy-push-1730704.html

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