Things To Consider When Building a Solar Powered Home
Posted by Eugene Stoltzfus Architects on January 30th, 2020
Over the years, homes with rooftop solar panels have gone from curiosity to commonplace. NASA has been using solar-powered satellites since late ’60s. Active solar power has traditionally been an expensive technology. It uses arrays of photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight directly into electricity. There are several benefits of residential solar power. Energy from the sun can save people money on their electric bills and provides clean energy with no greenhouse gas emissions. You can get an active solar house in Virginia, however, there are several factors that you should consider when deciding to build a solar-powered home.
1. Maintenance
Solar-powered homes require more maintenance than the regular old grid power and have no moving parts. Solar panels are part of a completely stationary system. After they are installed, there isn’t much that can go wrong. You just need to keep the panels clean since too much dust can reduce the amount of sunlight striking them. Also, you do not have to do this every day or every week. You just have to hose the panels down from one to four times a year. However, if there I any construction in your area, you may have to clean the panels more often to avoid the extra construction buildup.
2. Surroundings
The location of your home has a big effect on the solar power efficiency. Things like towering shade trees and shadow casting buildings can be a great problem. You won't even realize it but it can be a really big problem. Since different panels react differently to shade, therefore to build a solar-powered home, make sure there are no shadows on your roof’s panel during the sunniest hours. The more it is exposed to the sun, the more efficient the power generation will be.
3. Coverage area
Contrary to the popular belief, the size of a solar power installation has nothing to do with the size of the house. It is all about the insolation and the amount of power you need. For a rough idea, just look at your electric bill and you can figure out how many kWh you use per day. Also, figure in insolation and the number of hours of peak sunlight you get per day. If you are using a battery storage system with the panels, you would also have to make adjustments. So the best thing you can do is consult a professional.
Apart from these three, there are several other factors that you should consider like your budget, which is the most important. There are several companies offering active solar house design. You can consult them.
Author’s Bio - The author is an online blogger. This article is about Things to consider when building a solar powered home.
