Martha Maeda - How to Solar Power Your Home: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply

How to Solar Power your Home

Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply

By Martha Maeda

A few years back we lost our beloved pet dog Bear, who was not only our best and dearest friend but also the Vice President of Sunshine here at Atlantic Publishing. He did not receive a salary but worked tirelessly 24 hours a day to please his parents.

Bear was a rescue dog who turned around and showered myself, my wife, Sherri, his grandparents Jean, Bob, and Nancy, and every person and animal he met (well, maybe not rabbits) with friendship and love. He made a lot of people smile every day.

We wanted you to know a portion of the profits of this book will be donated in Bears memory to local animal shelters, parks, conservation organizations, and other individuals and nonprofit organizations in need of assistance.

Douglas and Sherri Brown

PS: We have since adopted two more rescue dogs: first Scout, and the following year, Ginger. They were both mixed golden retrievers who needed a home.

Want to help animals and the world? Here are a dozen easy suggestions you and your family can implement today:

• Adopt and rescue a pet from a local shelter.
• Support local and no-kill animal shelters.
• Plant a tree to honor someone you love.
• Be a developer put up some birdhouses.
• Buy live, potted Christmas trees and replant them.
• Make sure you spend time with your animals each day.
• Save natural resources by recycling and buying recycled products.
• Drink tap water, or filter your own water at home.
• Whenever possible, limit your use of or do not use pesticides.
• If you eat seafood, make sustainable choices.
• Support your local farmers market.
• Get outside. Visit a park, volunteer, walk your dog, or ride your bike.

Five years ago, Atlantic Publishing signed the Green Press Initiative. These guidelines promote environmentally friendly practices, such as using recycled stock and vegetable-based inks, avoiding waste, choosing energy-efficient resources, and promoting a no-pulping policy. We now use 100-percent recycled stock on all our books. The results: in one year, switching to post-consumer recycled stock saved 24 mature trees, 5,000 gallons of water, the equivalent of the total energy used for one home in a year, and the equivalent of the greenhouse gases from one car driven for a year.

Introduction

Photovoltaic energy is electricity produced by the suns radiation. It is considered clean, renewable energy because its production does not burn fossil fuels, release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, or have a damaging impact on the environment. Since the 1970s, scientists, engineers, academics, and government officials have regarded photovoltaic energy (PV) as a key to solving our worldwide energy crisis and slowing climate change. Today the solar industry is rapidly expanding, with new technologies coming on the market and prices dropping every year.

The idea of using the suns radiation to supply the energy we use every day is attractive. The concept is simple: Put some solar panels on your roof and enjoy free electricity and the satisfaction of knowing you are not harming the environment. The reality, as you will learn in this book, is more complicated. The cost of purchasing and installing solar equipment means that your free electricity will be more expensive than the electricity you buy from your utility company. The U.S. Department of Energy is working with solar manufacturers to bring down the cost, but in the meantime anyone purchasing a solar system must define his or her priorities in deciding how much to invest. As you read this book you will learn to evaluate how much energy a PV system will produce in your geographic area, and how much you will have to spend to get the energy you need.

Your federal, state, and local government and your utility company would all like to see you install solar panels on your home. Current tax deductions, rebates, and incentives can reduce the cost of your solar system by 30 to 50 percent, so that in just a few years you will be enjoying truly free electricity. Learn how to take advantage of the incentives offered in your area, and what you must do to qualify for these benefits. Few homeowners have the cash on hand to purchase a solar system outright; review the options for financing your solar system with grants, loans, and leases.

There are many ways to incorporate solar energy in your lifestyle with both small- and large-scale projects. Use solar power to charge your cell phone, pump water from a well, power your RV or weekend cottage, or run all your appliances 365 days a year. Learn the difference between a completely independent off-grid PV system and a grid-tie system that lets you sell electricity to your power company and buy it back when you need it. Besides producing electricity, solar energy can heat water or help keep your home warm in winter. Find out how you can build a home that uses the suns energy in multiple ways to provide a comfortable and convenient environment for your family.