Better PV Solar Panels From Solar Home Energy Advances

Photovoltaic (pv) solar panels, unfortunately, have much lower levels of energy efficiency compared to other sources of renewable energy. In a way this is not important because solar energy is free. On the other hand solar home energy systems tend to take up a lot of roof space in order to provide a useful amount of electricity.

Building a do it yourself solar power system is easy, and the materials don’t cost much. Nevertheless, smaller systems would be very welcome, and many solar energy companies – Mitsubishi being one – are working hard on commercial and home solar power systems that will deliver pv solar panels with both greater efficiency and lower costs.

Costs are likely to be halved every eight years, with improvements in efficiency of 20% to 30% in the same timeframe.

One way to do this is to use a version of the magnifying glass to concentrate a greater density of solar power on the pv cells.  Known as the fresnel effect, it utilizes rows of optical lenses to concentrate light on to much smaller areas of pv material.  This has resulted in a reduction in size of as much as one fortieth of a normal cell, and there are even better efficiencies expected.

Some pv solar panels are beginning to use new types of polycrystalline cells which produce nearly 25% more power than present systems.  It is clear that solar power for homes is going to cost less and work better, and not just in sunny climates.

Click here for more information about making your own solar home energy

Quite possibly this sort of thing will be coming to a solar home near you in the next year or so.

Happily, pv solar panels depend on daylight rather than sunlight.  They operate most efficiently in hotter parts of the world, between latitudes 40 north and south, which get the best average daily light levels, but also work quite satisfactorily at higher latitudes, as can be seen in countries such as the UK.

Turning to the vexed question of investment assistance from state and local authorities, there is now a noticeable determination to be seen in many governments to put the funding of diy home energy systems on a sound footing. The European Union has various directives in force that mandate very significant improvements in renewable energy systems by 2020, and many member states are finally co-operating to achieve these targets. As part of these improvements energy from photovoltaic sources will increase from its present average of about 1% of total energy production to a creditable 12% and, to enable this to happen, so-called feed-in tariffs have been introduced by many countries to encourage investment in commercial and residential alternative energy systems. There are similar financial incentive systems already available in a number of US states.

The system shifts the emphasis from grant-based incentives, which seldom pay very much of the total costs, to a legislated price for each unit of energy fed into the national grid. This makes financial returns much more attractive for investors, and will stimulate further improvements in achieving an efficient home solar power system. The Renewable Energy Association and the European Photovoltaic Industry Association have more information about all this for those interested.

We have always believed in solar power for homes, and we know that diy solar power is both easy to make and also very rewarding.  We know that there are going to be better pv cells available shortly, but every second’s delay in building your own system NOW loses you more money as you continue to pour cash in to the utility company’s pockets.

Building a home solar panel will make a big difference. It is also a good idea to get some professional guidance and to use good quality plans, so we suggest you take a look at the Earth4Energy Kit, which we believe to be the best presently available. It works very well, doesn’t cost much, and will give you an excellent return very quickly. You will not regret taking our advice.

Click here for more information about making your own solar home energy