Better PV Solar Panels From Solar Home Energy Advances

One of the problems with photovoltaic (pv) solar panels is their inefficiency relative to other forms of renewable energy. In a way this is not important because solar energy is free. But solar home energy systems do tend to need a lot of space to produce useful amounts of electric power. Building a do it yourself solar power system is easy, and the material costs are not very much. Nevertheless, smaller systems would be very welcome, and many large energy companies – Mitsubishi, for example – are making big strides in developing both commercial and residential solar energy systems that will improve efficiency significantly, at the same time lowering costs of the pv solar panels.

Costs are likely to be halved every eight years, at the same time achieving efficiency improvements of 25% to 30%.

One development uses a type of magnifying glass to squeeze more solar power on to each pv cell. It is called the fresnel effect, which uses optical lenses to beam sunlight on to the 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.

By using new forms of polycrystalline cells it is now possible for pv solar panels to produce nearly 25% more electricity. It is clear that solar power for homes is going to cost less and work better, and not just in sunny climates. The fact is that pv solar panels depend on available light conditions rather than direct sun. They do work best in hot countries, where daylight levels are good, but they do also work very well in colder climates, for example Canada and the UK.

Don’t be surprised to see some of these developments in a local solar home in the near future.

Turning to the vexed question of investment assistance from state and local authorities, there is now a welcome improvement in many parts of the world to fund diy home energy systems properly. For instance, within the EU, there are now some very strong directives in place to force significant improvements in renewable energy systems, and these are beginning to have a very positive effect. 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 make this happen, many countries have introduced the so-called feed-in tariff to help fund commercial and domestic renewable 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 is much more attractive for investors, and can only help improve developments and efficiencies in a typical home solar power system still further.

Solar home energy has always been a favorite project for us, and we know that diy solar power is already a viable and simple option to the coming energy crisis. Certainly, current developments will yield more efficient pv cells for diy solar panels in the near future, 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.

It really is a good idea to plan to make a home solar panel or two. If you could use some expert guidance and good quality blueprints, we have a kit that we strongly recommend. It does what it says on the box, gives you great value for money, and also gives you peace of mind that you will be making the system properly. You will not be disappointed if you take our advice.