Sustainable Stevie - Solar Power for Sustainable Living: What to Consider Before Going the Do It Yourself Solar Route

Solar Power forSustainable Living

What to Consider BeforeGoing the Do It Yourself Solar Route

By Sustainable Stevie

Table of Contents

Copyright Notice

Solar Power forSustainable Living -

What to Consider BeforeGoing the Do It Yourself Solar Route

Digital Edition 1.0

Copyright 2013 bySustainable Stevie

All rights reserved. Nopart of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without the writtenpermission from the author.

ISBNs: Print9781630223946 | eBook 9781630223953

Manufactured in theUnited States of America

Disclaimer

This publication isintended to provide helpful and informative material. It is not intended todiagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem or condition, nor isintended to replace the advice of a physician. No action should be taken solelyon the contents of this book. Always consult your physician or qualifiedhealth-care professional on any matters regarding your health and beforeadopting any suggestions in this book or drawing inferences from it.

The author and publisherspecifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk,personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly orindirectly, from the use or application of any contents of this book.

Any and all productnames referenced within this book are the trademarks of their respective owners.None of these owners have sponsored, authorized, endorsed, or approved thisbook.

Always read allinformation provided by the manufacturers product labels before using theirproducts. The author and publisher are not responsible for claims made bymanufacturers.

Many different sourcesand personal experiences has gone into this book as well as fact checking andgiving credit where it is due; including resourceful website links for thereader's further research into a subject matter on his/her own. We do notendorse nor assume any responsibility for the content on remote websites asthey frequently move or disappear. While all links to remote sites are checkedon a regular basis to confirm their continued existence, the author andpublisher have no control over, and cannot be responsible for, the availabilityor content of remote websites. In the event that any material is incorrect orhas been used without proper permission, please contact the author atsustainablestevie@gmail.com so that the oversight can be rectified.

Thisbook is dedicated to all those who appreciate how beneficial solar can be forliving off the grid.

Courtesyof joncallas

T here has been a spike in interest over renewableenergy worldwide in the form of solar energy, among others; especially duringthis 21st century. Renewable energy in its rawest form is the sun,oceans, wind, heat deep within the earth, lakes, plant growth and rivers. Byconverting these natural endless resources into the form of electricity, heatfor our homes, heat for water and transportation fuels, modern technologycontinues to demonstrate the potential for replacement of finite resourcescurrently being used.

This is a major topic of discussion foreconomists, governments and environmentalists. There are many reasons for this buttwo of the main ones are: (1) Utility costs (electricity, heating, water &gas) continue to increase making sustainable energy an attractive alternative tofossil fuels and other non-renewable sources and (2) harnessing clean renewableenergy or "green" energy is simply better for the environment andcuts down on greenhouse gases and carbon footprints.

New technologies in the field of renewableenergy continue to be developed and many want to take full advantage of this.We will focus on solar power because there is such a great interest in thisparticular form or energy right now. There are some new and interesting optionsthat you may not be aware of as yet, but might want to explore further.

[THISEBOOK IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK] and [AUDIOBOOK]. Search the Internet forSustainable Stevie.

S olar power is the conversion of sunlight orsolar energy into electricity. A popular "active" solar techniqueused to do this is the direct use of photovoltaic ("PV") panels as ameans of harnessing that energy. Solar thermal collectors, pumps and fans forthe conversion of sunlight into useful outputs can also be used. But we willfocus mostly on the former.

Considering that photovoltaic (PV) powergeneration is a technique greatly involved for taking advantage of thisenergy, having a closer look at it will broaden your understanding of how theprocess works. Photovoltaic(PV) power generation uses solar panels which are made of many solar cells thatcontain photovoltaic material such as crystalline silicon (aka C-Si or solargrade silicon). A PV "system" uses at least one solarpanel for conversion of sunlight into electricity, which involves variouscomponents such as mountings, photovoltaic modules (solar panels), means ofmodifying or regulating the electrical output, and mechanical & electricconnections.

A single PV module or solar panelrarely produces enough power to meet the requirements of a home (or business),so the panels are linked together to form what's called a solar array (or PVarray). These are attached together in series to get the voltage you want. Eachstring is connected in parallel which allows the system to produce more electriccurrent. In most cases, there's an electricity grid that the electricity is fedinto using a power inverter to convert the direct current (DC) power that itproduced by the panels, which isn't usable, into alternating current (AC) whichcan power lights, motors, and other items that we can use. There are power invertersthat include an LED display which keeps track and monitors the system'sperformance. There are many kinds of inverters and you can see what they looklike here: livesmartinfo.com/inverters.

In standalone systems, energy orelectricity that is not immediately needed is stored in batteries and can beused to recharge or power portable devices. It can also be fed into a largeelectricity grid thats powered by central generation plants; even combinedwith domestic electricity generators to feed into a smaller sized grid.

A photovoltaic cell (or solar cell) is anelectrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricityvia the photovoltaic effect (which is the creation of electric current orvoltage in a material when exposed to light). Solar cells are oftenencapsulated (via protective waterproof enclosure) as a module or solar panel.Or there could be a sheet of glass on the sun-up front side so that light canpass while still protecting the semiconductor wafer (aka "slice")from getting scratched by wind-driven debris or rained upon, etc.

I t's not going to be cost effective or a wiseinvestment to have PV panels installed as a means of lowering your utilitybills (or eventually getting rid of them altogether) if enough solar powerisn't being generated per month to cover your household utility costs. Thismeans you'll need to calculate beforehand some information regarding costs,output, etc.

1) What is your average monthly energyconsumption?