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Solar Power System For Home: Ultimate Beginners Guide - YouTube
Channel: Best Electric
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[Music]
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every hour the earth is hit with more
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energy from the sun than the entire
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world consumes in a year solar panel
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systems for homes are increasing in
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popularity and decreasing in price many
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homeowners are discovering the
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advantages of solar power and you may
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have even seen quite a few systems being
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installed in your own neighborhood
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if you're solar curious and want to
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learn more it can all seem a bit
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overwhelming you're probably wondering
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how much does it cost to install a solar
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system and how much money will i really
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save on my electricity bill let's start
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with the basics in this video guide
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we'll provide you a general overview of
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solar energy so you can have a strong
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foundation of knowledge and make the
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best possible educated decisions
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regarding solar power for your home
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first things first what is a solar panel
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a solar panel or photovoltaic panel is a
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panel native solar cells solar cells are
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the essential component by which light
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is converted into electrical energy and
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they're usually made up of crystalline
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silicon
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each solar panel usually contains from
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32 up to 96 solar cells
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depending on the way solar cells are
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made solar panels are categorized as
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polycrystalline monocrystalline or thin
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film the first two categories which are
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the most common types of solar panels
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are made of crystalline solar cells the
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third category thin film is made of
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amorphous silicon
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apart from the typical framed solar
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panel there are also other types of
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products that can be used in residential
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applications
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frameless solar panels have been on the
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market for more than a decade also solar
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shingles and solar tiles popularized by
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the tesla solar roof are two types of
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products that are becoming more popular
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among residential applications because
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they combine the technology of solar
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panels with aesthetic integration into
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the house
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solar cells produce electricity by
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converting the tremendous solar energy
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that the earth receives every day in the
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form of sunlight and more specifically
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in the form of photons most typical
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commercial solar solutions convert
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sunlight to electrical energy at an
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average efficiency of 3 to 17
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if we could break the sunlight into the
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smallest possible pieces we would get
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photons so photons practically are the
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smallest possible energy packets of
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sunlight
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first of all the top layer of solar
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cells have an anti-reflective coating
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which helps them collect as much light
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as possible right below we have the main
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layer of a solar cell which is basically
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a sandwich of two silicon layers these
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two layers are specially treated so that
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the upper layer has a surplus of
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electrons while the bottom layer has a
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shortage of electrons what is needed for
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the extra electrons to move from the
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upper to the bottom layer is a little
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bit of extra energy and that energy is
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provided by the photons when the
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sunlight hits the solar cells when the
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solar panels are exposed to light
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electric current is generated
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the more sunlight hits the solar panel
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the more electricity is produced that
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means that during cloudy rainy or snowy
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days when sunlight is reduced solar
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panels still produce some electricity
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but it's limited compared to the
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electricity produced during a sunny day
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solar panels definitely do not generate
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electricity during the night but you can
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store excess energy collected during the
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daytime in a large battery it's
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important to place solar panels
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somewhere where the sunlight can hit
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them directly and not be obstructed by
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sources of shade like trees
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in order to have a complete system that
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will produce electricity for your home
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you need the following components
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solar panels
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solar panel mounting structures an
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inverter an electrical panel with the
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necessary switches and circuit breakers
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dc and ac electrical cables
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and the power meter now let's break down
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these individual components
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as we explained before the solar panels
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generate electricity when they are
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exposed to light more specifically they
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generate dc electrical current but in
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order to use the electricity produced by
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the solar panels we need to have ac
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electrical current alternating current
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which is the type of current used by
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your home and by the power grid so we
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need an inverter
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an inverter converts the dc electricity
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generated by the solar panels into the
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alternating current the solar panels are
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connected to the inverter not one by one
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but in groups that are called strings in
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order for the ac electrical current to
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be distributed to the grid or to the
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house an electrical panel with the
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necessary switches circuit breakers and
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wiring must be installed while a power
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meter is used to measure the electricity
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produced from the installed photovoltaic
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system many modern systems have handy
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apps for your phone so you can see
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exactly how much energy you're producing
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quite satisfying
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generally residential solar systems are
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separated into two main categories
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off-grid and on-grid
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in the case of an off-grid system the
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electricity generated by the solar
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system will be used to cover 100 percent
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of the electrical usage of a home since
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the house is not connected to the
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electrical grid the power company at all
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this can be accomplished by using large
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batteries that will store any extra
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electricity produced during the day the
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main disadvantage of an off-grid system
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is its cost since the use of batteries
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increases the cost about 20 to 30
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percent compared to an on-grid system
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many jurisdictions do not allow you to
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operate your residence off-grid so
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you'll have to check
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in an on-grid system the house where the
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solar panels are installed is connected
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to the main power grid electricity
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generated by the solar panels can either
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cover the electrical needs of the house
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or when you produce more electricity
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than needed it's sent to the power grid
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this leads us to net metering with net
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metering your monthly electricity bill
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is calculated both ways based on the net
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of your overall energy consumption and
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the monthly output from your solar
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panels if you're producing more energy
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than you're using the utility company
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will actually pay you for example if
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your solar panels have over produced 3
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000 kilowatt hours on sunny days and you
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have consumed four thousand kilowatt
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hours from the grid on dark nights you
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will get billed only for one thousand
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kilowatt hours in some cases net
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metering policies actually pay a higher
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rate for the electricity that's produced
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from your solar panel system than what
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you pay to purchase the electricity from
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the grid
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how much you actually save depends on a
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number of factors most important of
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which include of course how much
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electricity your home or business uses
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the average annual electricity
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consumption for a us residence was 10
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766 kilowatt hours an average of 897
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kilowatt hours per month
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and a typical domestic solar
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installation aims to offset 70 to 90
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percent of your monthly usage
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of course the exact savings on your
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electricity bill depends on other
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factors if your family has electric cars
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that need daily charging your
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electricity requirements might be much
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higher
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where you live matters a lot sunnier is
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better for example a 5 kilowatt
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installation consisting of 20 solar
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panels can produce approximately 8 000
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kilowatt hours every year if your house
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is in a hot and sunny state like
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california but the same system will only
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produce approximately 6 000 kilowatt
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hours every year if your house is in a
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less sunny state like connecticut
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that means that a five kilowatt system
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could offset between sixty and eighty
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percent of your electricity bill
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depending on how sunny your region is
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based on an average annual electricity
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consumption of approximately 10 000
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kilowatt hours
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there's a great online tool where you
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just plug in your address and it
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calculates how much electricity you can
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generate and how much money you can save
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on your electric bill i've linked to
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that in the description below
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the available surface on your roof the
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unshaded part with the appropriate
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orientation determines how many solar
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panels you can install and consequently
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your savings a simple case to have in
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mind is that you need roughly 350 square
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feet in order to install 20 solar panels
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which would have a total power of 5
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kilowatts an average size solar system
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in the u.s
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that tool i just mentioned actually
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allows you to select your roof on google
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maps and it factors it into the
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calculations
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the inclination and orientation of your
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roof are also important to produce
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maximum electricity solar panels should
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face south and your roof should have an
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inclination in which the sunlight hits
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vertically on average during the whole
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year the more you go up north the
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steeper the incline of your roof should
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ideally be
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in 2019 the average cost of a
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residential solar panel is 2.99 per watt
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so with an average solar panel system
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size of 5 kilowatts you're looking at an
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average cost of thousand nine hundred
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fifty dollars before any tax credits or
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incentives
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equipment makes up the majority of the
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cost but permits and labor are also
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factored in
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you can deduct thirty percent for the
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current federal solar tax credit and
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there are also many other localized
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incentives offered by your state or your
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utility company
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these prices of course vary depending on
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the brand of solar panels the size of
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your installation your installer and
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also on your state but this is just to
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give you a rough idea of what to expect
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the best way to get a good price on
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solar is to compare quotes from many
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different installers and there are some
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great services for that which have also
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been linked below
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based on the parameters we've already
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mentioned like cost electrical
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consumption of your house or business
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how sunny your region is a solar energy
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system provider can help you determine
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which would be the ideal system for you
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in order to save as much as possible on
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your electrical bills don't forget that
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there are many choices regarding brands
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of solar panels and solar inverters and
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a good installer will help you select
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the optimal system for your budget
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the most important parameter that
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determines whether or not a roof is
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appropriate for a solar panel
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installation are its inclination and its
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orientation your solar energy provider
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can calculate exactly how much sunlight
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your roof will receive during the whole
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year although solar panels have a weight
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of only about two to four pounds per
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square foot structural safety is
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definitely another important factor for
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new houses the design of the whole
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mounting structure with the solar panels
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must include a static evaluation of the
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roof for existing homes the service of a
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professional structural engineer is
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required in order to carry out an
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inspection of the roof structure and do
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a calculation of the structural loading
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capacity
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as there are practically no moving parts
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in a solar installation minimal
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maintenance is required however routine
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maintenance is needed in order to ensure
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the system is performing properly
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solar panels require routine inspection
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for signs of damage buildup of dirt or
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shade encroachment
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although solar panels are usually
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designed and installed in order to be
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cleaned by rainfall they should be
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cleaned manually if there's a buildup of
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dust or any other obscuring material
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periodically system mounting structures
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must be checked for corrosion in order
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to ensure the photovoltaic system is
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safely secured also any solar system
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connected to the electrical grid of a
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house is an electrical installation so a
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licensed electrical engineer should be
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appointed periodically to ensure
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electrical safety
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to sum it up here are some pros and cons
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of solar systems
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a true renewable energy source
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reduce your electricity bill and
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provides insurance against rising power
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prices
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low maintenance cost
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financial incentives from the government
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they operate quietly with no moving
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parts and emit zero pollution
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they have a long service life and
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reliability in operation
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initial costs but marginal cost drops to
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zero once the price of installation is
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paid off
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weather dependent so it is an
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intermittent energy source and cannot be
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relied on in critical applications
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energy storage systems to smooth demand
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and load like the tesla powerwall are
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expensive
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are you ready to go solar check out the
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link in our description and input your
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address to quickly estimate the solar
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potential of your home
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if you have any questions about solar
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feel free to ask us in the comments
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below and we'll do our best to get to as
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many as we can
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this concludes our video featuring some
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basics about solar panel systems for
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homes if you found this video helpful or
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interesting please subscribe to our
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channel thanks for watching and have a
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great day
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