The improvements in solar power generation have made it possible to generate enough electricity to power your home. Turn free sunlight into electricity and sell the excess to the electric utility company. That's right; any additional electricity that your solar power system produces that is not used by your home can be sold to the electricity company. Not only are you saving on electricity costs, the solar panels mounted on your roof are providing much needed shade for your roof.

How To Power Your Home With Solar Power?

A solar power system consists of a few major components.

?Solar cells capture the sun's energy and change it to electricity. Inside a solar panel, each cell contains silicon that absorbs sunlight. The energy in this absorbed light produces a small electrical current. Metal grids around the solar cells direct the currents into wires that lead to the power controls.

?Solar panel. A solar array is a panel that contains a set of solar cells in a network. When many solar cells are combined in a solar panel the solar panel produces several watts of DC electricity.

? Solar array ? Is a network of solar panels connected together. They produce DC electricity. The solar array must be facing the south and have uninterrupted access to sunlight.

?The Inverter changes the DC solar power into usable 120 Volt AC electricity which is the most common type used by most household appliances and lighting.

?Charge controller ? Is used to control the charging of the batteries and prevent over charging. It also prevents the batteries to discharge the electricity into the solar array at night.

?Battery pack ? Is charged during the day by the solar array. During the night it provides electricity to power the home.

Is it worth investing in solar power for my home?

You are going to have to pay a fairly hefty sum to install the solar power system. With rising cost of electricity purchased from the local electric utility, your investment in solar power will be paid for fairly quickly in the form of a lower electric power bill.

Think about how much money you pay each month to the electric company. You pay them to light up your home, cook your food, keep your food fresh and frozen. You pay them in the summer months to power the air conditioner and in the winter months to power the heater. But wait, I have a gas or oil heating system. True, but there is still a blower fan and possibly a pump that require electricity to run. But why should you have to pay for electricity when you can get solar power that comes a natural source: the sun.

The sun shines over head each and every day. Solar cells convert the sunlight into electricity. A solar powered system is connected to an inverter and optional battery pack. During the day time the solar array charges the battery pack and provides electricity to power your home. Any excess electricity is sold to the electric utility.

How come solar arrays are on the south side?

In order for a solar powered system to work, the solar arrays must have direct access to sunlight. They should not be blocked by any obstruction such as trees or buildings. The ideal location is on the South facing side of your roof, where the sun beats down directly.

How do I find out the installation cost?

To find out the going rate for having a solar power system installed call each of the solar power installation companies in your area. Ask them for an estimate for a solar power system. There are several things you should receive with the estimate.

?A list of components that they will be installing.

?An estimate on the maximum electricity produced by the proposed solar power system.

?Total price of installing the solar powered system. There shouldn't be any cost overruns.

?Check into any solar power rebates and tax incentives. Will they help you apply for them?

Even thought the up front cost of installing a solar powered system can be expensive, the long term production of solar power will pay for itself many times over.