by Jim Martin

The Beatles rejoiced at the sight of the sun and sang, ‘Here comes the sun". Indeed, the sun has been spreading joy and warmth all over the world since time immemorial. The best thing about the sun is that it is free to enjoy. Irrespective of religion and nationality, the sun shines upon all of us in all its glory. And now, man has the knowledge and know-how of harnessing a part of the tremendous energy contained in the sun and putting it to various uses. Whenever one talks about solar energy, the first picture that comes to the mind is that of those shiny photovoltaic cells. Indeed, photovoltaic cells and panels still remain among the most popular ways of generating solar power. Even though the initial set up costs can be quite high, the long-term financial benefits are undeniable. The sun provides us with a unique advantage of generating enough power for ourselves and sell off any surplus to the local utility company or the grid at a profit through what is known as the "Net-metering Scheme". It requires no raw materials and has no running cost. All one needs to do is connect the system to the local power grid and send back the excess power generated by him to the local company. An example will make things clearer. Say, your monthly electricity consumption is X number of units or A amount of dollars. Now, if you install a solar panel at your home that can produce 6X number of units per month that is equivalent to $5A and you draw 2X number of units from the utility for night time consumption, you are still left with 6X minus 3X or 3X number of units equivalent to $5A minus $A or $4A in your hand. Selling off surplus power seems like the only sensible and smart choice because you cannot store this power for use on rainy days. If left unused, it will go to waste. So why let that happen? The best move is to sell it back and make a neat little profit from it. One of the most important considerations when you are thinking of setting up your very own solar power system is the return on investment. Be warned that the initial investment can be fairly high by most standards, even though most states will extend financial assistance to you for the cause. This is because solar energy is eco-friendly and a clean renewable form of energy does not pollute the environment. However, you can always find out the break-even point by subtracting the value of the annual sale of electricity from the initial investment made by you. Take a look below for a typical example. Initial investment $30,000 Annual sale value of solar electricity $ 5,000 Number of years to reach break-even point 6years From the 7th year onward everything is free One of the biggest advantages of using solar energy comes from its clean, renewable, non-fossil fuel oriented and sustainable nature. Solar energy production does not cause air pollution because, unlike other conventional modes of energy production, there is no discharge of sulfur dioxide (SO), carbon dioxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NO) or mercury. And for the same reason, solar energy does not contribute to the contemporary problem of global warming or greenhouse effect. And the best part of it includes the fact that it would never cause any smog or acid rain in the area where it is utilized. It is perhaps the way nature had intended us to produce energy. Another big advantage of using solar energy comes from the fact that it is virtually free and requires very little maintenance. What makes solar power so convenient to use is the fact they are completely self-sustained and are an independent means of energy production. This distinctiveness of operation helps installation of units anywhere under the sun, irrespective of whether other facilities are available or not. Nowadays, owing to the latest developments, it doesn’t take much to set up a fully functional solar power unit near your own house and start generating your own electricity. It is a great feeling to have your very own power plant in the backyard, supplying power to your entire household. Moreover, when it comes to portability, few things come as close as solar power. Powerful Solar energy units mounted on trailers, complete with control panel, converters, battery banks and switches are now in use in such remote areas like the South African Game Reserves where scientists are busy checking the genes of large animals like the rhinoceros or the giraffe. Independent solar energy operated units help light up their camp sites while powering their laptops for research work and other equipment and tools. To top it all, it has already reduced the dependence on Middle Eastern countries whose oil supplies had so far been responsible for fossil fuel generated electric power. And the way people are now becoming ready to install solar power in homes and workplaces, the day is not too far away when diesel powered generators would find their place in the pages of history books. Let’s wrap up by looking at the darker side of using solar energy. A disturbing factor is the present high cost of installation of solar panels. Though efforts are underway to improve their affordability (there are many government schemes that extend financial help to those willing to install a solar power unit), the picture is still far from encouraging. We can only hope that these issues will be resolved quickly and solar power technology will become more affordable. So are you ready to opt for solar energy – there are simply too many advantages to ignore it. What you need is a training guide – a manual, that will let you learn how to install a system. You will also need to know a few other things such as what is the best place to set up the system, where to buy the parts, how to get free batteries, safety precautions and also wiring the system. Get informed and you are ready to install solar system in your home.

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