Solar Heating Panels: Find Out How You Can Become Energy Independent
The Benefits of Solar Heating Panels Solar heating panels can be installed to provide ambient heating not only for your home, but for your workshop, garage, trailer, or RV.
They not only reduce your fuel and heating costs dramatically, but also your gas expenditures by heating your water supply.
Most people have heard about solar and may have even considered it seriously, but have felt that their financial situations made it impossible to enjoy the advantages.
In fact, with the rebates and tax credits available for green energy under the Obama administration, these limitations do not exclude 50% of Americans.
With these incentives, putting up solar panels can cost as little as a few hundred dollars.
The only limitations are how much space is available on the roof and how much sunlight you are exposed to.
Calculating the Cost of Installing Panels The key to finding out how many panels you need is to first consider the heat load that your heater has to deliver.
Several factors go into calculating heat load.
First, you need to calculate your water supply, by checking your water bills over the past three to six months.
Second, calculate your square footage of the total living area--that is, any area where your family spends a significant amount of time during cold months.
Third, you need to figure out your average energy consumption for heating.
The general rule of thumb is that 40% of your total electricity expenditure comes from heating water, and another 30% for heating the air.
Therefore, just take the average of your electric bills during cold months and multiply it times 70%.
By figuring out this cost, you can determine your total heating energy needs.
Take the total that you have calculated and divide that by the price per watt of energy.
The average price in the U.
S.
, for example, is 11 cents per watt.
However, your state may be higher or lower depending on local regulations and distribution costs.
Now that you have that number, you can determine how many watts of energy throughput you will need to provide for your home's heating needs.
I recommend starting with a small number of solar heating panels to begin--enough to provide about 25% of your heating needs.
This way, you can test the results of the panels you selected and your sunlight exposure over a few months.
You can always add more cells in the future.
Deciding on Whether to Buy or Build your Panels Buying panels can cost in the thousands of dollars.
You can save money by building your own solar heating panels yourself, but I would only recommend this for people experienced in working with electricity and do-it-yourself kits.
If you are handy with DIY projects around the home, there are many great resources available online and from home improvement stores such as Home Depot.
These resources will give you blueprints and instructions in written, eBook, or video form.
You only need to be able to follow these directions to the letter and have some basic repair person skills.
Some of these resources can also direct you into finding the best deals and bargains on cheap solar panel components off the internet or in retail stores.
A little time and effort on your part means less money out of your own pocket.
Solar heating panels are a huge step toward going solar and you will be making use of this free energy for the years to come.
You could always decide to be solely dependent on solar power later.
They not only reduce your fuel and heating costs dramatically, but also your gas expenditures by heating your water supply.
Most people have heard about solar and may have even considered it seriously, but have felt that their financial situations made it impossible to enjoy the advantages.
In fact, with the rebates and tax credits available for green energy under the Obama administration, these limitations do not exclude 50% of Americans.
With these incentives, putting up solar panels can cost as little as a few hundred dollars.
The only limitations are how much space is available on the roof and how much sunlight you are exposed to.
Calculating the Cost of Installing Panels The key to finding out how many panels you need is to first consider the heat load that your heater has to deliver.
Several factors go into calculating heat load.
First, you need to calculate your water supply, by checking your water bills over the past three to six months.
Second, calculate your square footage of the total living area--that is, any area where your family spends a significant amount of time during cold months.
Third, you need to figure out your average energy consumption for heating.
The general rule of thumb is that 40% of your total electricity expenditure comes from heating water, and another 30% for heating the air.
Therefore, just take the average of your electric bills during cold months and multiply it times 70%.
By figuring out this cost, you can determine your total heating energy needs.
Take the total that you have calculated and divide that by the price per watt of energy.
The average price in the U.
S.
, for example, is 11 cents per watt.
However, your state may be higher or lower depending on local regulations and distribution costs.
Now that you have that number, you can determine how many watts of energy throughput you will need to provide for your home's heating needs.
I recommend starting with a small number of solar heating panels to begin--enough to provide about 25% of your heating needs.
This way, you can test the results of the panels you selected and your sunlight exposure over a few months.
You can always add more cells in the future.
Deciding on Whether to Buy or Build your Panels Buying panels can cost in the thousands of dollars.
You can save money by building your own solar heating panels yourself, but I would only recommend this for people experienced in working with electricity and do-it-yourself kits.
If you are handy with DIY projects around the home, there are many great resources available online and from home improvement stores such as Home Depot.
These resources will give you blueprints and instructions in written, eBook, or video form.
You only need to be able to follow these directions to the letter and have some basic repair person skills.
Some of these resources can also direct you into finding the best deals and bargains on cheap solar panel components off the internet or in retail stores.
A little time and effort on your part means less money out of your own pocket.
Solar heating panels are a huge step toward going solar and you will be making use of this free energy for the years to come.
You could always decide to be solely dependent on solar power later.
Source...