Solar energy for home houses is nothing new. It has just been relegated to the background in lieu of skyrocketing cost of property ; more recent more sophisticated building materials, design and the limitation of resources.
Since man started building houses, sunlight played a major influence in the design. In truth, even in the more advanced urban planning technique of the Ancient Chinese and Greeks, the orientation of the buildings is as much as humanly possible directed towards where it could capture the most sunlight.
The ancients would possibly not be as intellectually complex then to use catch phrases as passive solar and thermal mass but when they build, they were building in compact proportion, employing overhangs, manufacturing insulations and building in manners that direct the airflow in the structure and producing well lit, well ventilated spaces using the relative position of the sun to the orientation of their structures.
Recently, as the typical sources of energy became dearer, owners were once more turning to the sun for energy requirements.
Since the 1950′s, harnessing the sun’s rays has been developing and today the solar cell technology has achieved extraordinarily efficient levels that modern ( supposed green house ) designs apply the sun’s power to provide energy for the home.
While solar energy is free, the device that will convert it to run our appliances isn’t. To provide solar energy for the home, solar cells called photovoltaic made from semi-conducting materials, are grouped into modules. These solar panels are mounted on rooftops, yards or open spaces where it can capture the maximum quantity of sunlight.
Whenever possible, the panels will be installed facing south to get the most out of the daylight but tracking systems are also used to follow the direction of the sun. The solar panels collect the energy from the sunlight. The process fundamentally is that when the panels are exposed to sunlight, the electrons are separated form the atoms. This movement of the electrons creates electricity.
To store power, pumps are sometimes used – circulating water in the cells. The water goes into a storage tank where the power is stored, prepared to be used. Sometimes, the employment of gravity is employed if it will just the same store the heated water in to the tank.
In spite of all the development in solar energy though, the employment of this technology is not enough to provide power to the whole house. The best method so far can only satisfy about 80% of a households power desires. The employment of solar energy for the home will still need the use of the conventional power distribution method.
Powering the homes by solar means will still, for a while be augmented by a local power distribution agency. To several, this is already a good starting point. Homeowners that feel that the high price of powering their homes thru solar power, is justified compared to the price that is now being paid for typical electrification technique where horrendous amounts of CO2 are getting dumped into the atmosphere simply to generate a pathetic quantity of electricity.
However, due in part to the skyrocketing costs of energy, the technology for solar energy has been undergoing rapid phases of development. Experts are confident that within five years, powering the home through the solar system will be made generally available for people that prefer it as its sole energy source.
