Solar Panels For Sale
There were a
few pioneers, who invested into Photovoltaic Solar systems back in the
late 1970’s. These systems were quite rare and equally expensive. I knew
of a family in Colorado who installed a complete self-contained battery
backup PV solar system. Modern solar thermal systems are a lot more
reliable, efficient and more solidly built than they were forty years
ago. And with mass production, the price has come down while quality has
gone up. In today’s market, almost everywhere you look there are
solar panels for sale. The
popularity of solar energy has peaked over the past ten to fifteen
years. It isn’t uncommon to see
solar power systems on houses as you drive through various
communities. That is especially true in sunny areas such as California
or Florida. Many new home developers now include solar panels on their
homes as part of the package as an incentive to home buyers.
When I
installed my system a few years ago, there were only a handful of larger
solar companies competing for my business. Today, there are literally
dozens. Competition is always good; and with more companies in the
market, it equates to better deals for the consumer. If you have the
expertise, you can go to Home Depot and buy a system to install
yourself. Unless you are assisted by a professional, I wouldn’t
recommend installing your own PV
solar panels. If you are an electrician or have extensive experience
in wiring a home or electrical systems, you may be OK to do so. But
there is a lot more involved than just putting the system in. You need
to do light studies to see where you will get the greatest production
for your money.
When looking
for solar panels for sale, the following areas are important to consider
and understand first.
Types of Solar Panels
The primary
types of solar panels for sale
are known as photovoltaic panels.
These are used to convert the energy of sunlight into electricity. Most
solar panels contain a number of solar photovoltaic semiconductor cells
inside an aluminum casing covered with a thin sheet of glass. A solar
panel typically contains about forty semiconductor cells. Traditional
solar cells are made of sandwiched layers of silicon doped with
semiconductor material. The reason solar panels are fairly expensive is
because they have to be constructed individually.
When photons
in sunlight strike the cell, the electrons in the cell are knocked loose
and they travel to one side of the cell. Electrons from the
series-connected PV cells travel through connecting wires to supply
electric potential to a solar panel system. A typical solar power array
contains between ten and twenty solar panels connected together. The
solar panels connected together along with an inverter and power
conditioner form a solar system
for home. As new technologies are developing, they are making solar
electricity generation cheaper and more efficient.
A recent new
development has been Thin-Film Modules. This newer technology permits
amorphous silicon and other semiconductor materials to be deposited in a
thin film onto a substrate. These solar cells are less efficient than
the traditional silicon wafer photovoltaic cells but cost less to
produce and can be made in larger numbers.
Because
thin-film solar cells can be deposited on different substrate materials
and can be cut to any size or shape, the logical next step was to put
them on roofing shingles. Now your roof can be an array of hundreds of
solar roofing shingles.
These solar shingles can easily be
installed in place of traditional roofing shingles. What’s nice is they
blend in with the rest of the roof. You can’t even tell you have solar
panels. These solar panels are constructed of layers of semiconductor
materials that are sensitive to different wavelengths of light. All the
shingles connect to form a large solar-power array on the roof.
Solar
technology is rapidly improving. Nanotechnology is one of the newer
solar technologies that is being used to make solar panels more
efficient and less expensive. Nanopolymer materials can now be sprayed
onto any surface. This technology can actually embed the solar-cell
material like ink on paper. There are companies now that manufacture
high efficiency solar cells on inexpensive metal foil. The cost for
these types of panels will be considerably less as these panels are more
easily manufactured.
Another
popular type of solar panel for sale is a
solar thermal panel. This is
a totally different animal. When hot water systems are used for
buildings, there are normally two main parts. The first is the solar
collector, which is normally a flat-plate collector that is mounted on
the roof. This collector consists of a thin, flat, rectangular box with
a transparent cover that is facing the sun. Small tubes carrying fluid
pass through this thin box. The fluid that is used is either water or
some kind of antifreeze solution. These thin tubes are attached to an
absorber plate which is black in color which is used to absorb the heat.
At the heat builds up inside the collector, the fluid that is passing
through it is also heated.
The second
part of this kind of system is a storage tank that holds the hot liquid.
This container is usually larger than a regular water heater, and is
very well insulated. Systems that use something other than water have a
coil of tubing inside the tank. As the fluid passes through this tubing,
it heats the water.
Leading Manufacturers
The
Department of Energy has held a Solar Decathlon each year since 2002. In
this event, each college that participates competes in ten areas of
design. They have to design and build the most attractive and most
energy efficient solar powered
home possible. When designing their home, they have to keep the
energy needs of the typical family in mind. Each team can choose from
any solar panel manufacturer that they want. During the 2011
competition, six of the 19 college teams chose to use SunPower solar
panels on their homes. In fact, since 2005, every winner of that solar
decathlon, has used SunPower solar panels. There are a number of
manufacturers that produce a good solar product. You need to shop around
when looking for solar panels for
sale. Price isn’t the only factor. Quality is also a major factor.
Here are
some questions you may have. Hopefully you have found your answer. If
not, check out some of our other solar facts pages.
How expensive is solar energy?
What are some solar panel manufacturers?
Are there solar lease programs where I live?
What kind of market is there for PV?
Can I install my own solar electric system?
How will having a solar power system affect the value of my house?