The power the sun provides is a clean and renewable source of virtually unlimited energy that we can use to help us in many ways. Energy from the sun comes to us in two main ways and supplies us with both light and heat. Both of the technologies that transform this solar power into electricity and heat for your home have improved tremendously in recent years, and today provide a viable alternative to buying this power from your local utility.

The visible light that the sun provides can readily be converted into electricity for use in your home through the installation of a solar panel system. These solar panels have the ability to convert simple sunlight into an electrical current that can be used to power all of your appliances and eliminate the need for you to purchase this power from your local utility. The way that a solar panel does this conversion is by exploiting a scientific principle known as the photovoltaic effect. Many solar panels are actually referred to as PV panels because they use this conversion method. The photovoltaic effect happens when certain materials are struck by sunlight, which causes them to release free electrons. These electrons can be used as a source of power if properly collected and converted. In the case of a solar power system, the PV material used is a specially grown crystal cell that will produce a small amount of DC current when exposed to sunlight. Even though the amount of current that this individual cell can produce is tiny, a group of these can be wired together inside of a solar panel to produce a sizeable amount of power. Most solar panels consist of a large array of these solar cells that have been connected in a very specific way to produce a certain voltage and current when placed in sunlight.

A modern solar power system will include a number of these solar panels that are connected together and used to provide all of the power a home may need. These solar panels produce a DC current, which needs to be converted into AC current before it can be used in the home. This conversion is done by a device called an inverter that is usually mounted near the electrical panel for ease of connection. This inverter will convert the power created by the solar panels during the day and route this through the home’s wiring. During the evening when the solar panels are inactive, the inverter will connect the home to the local power utility so it has access to power from there. This conversion of the solar panels power and transition between power sources is seamless and transparent to the homeowner. These solar power systems are normally designed to generate more power than is needed during the day and the excess is sent back up the power lines to the local utility where it generates a credit that can be used to offset power that is bought back by the home in the evenings. A properly sized solar power system will balance this generation and consumption so that the home won’t have a bill for electricity each month.

The heat that the sun produces can also be used to lower costs in a typical home by using it to heat the water the home needs. There are solar heating systems available that can be mounted on a roof to collect this heat and use it to help supply hot water to the home. The way these solar heating panels work is by exposing a webbing of pipes to the sun that are heated by the sunlight. Water is then circulated through these pipes and is heated during its travel through the pipes and back to the home. This type of solar power water heating solution works very well and can have a big impact on a home’s utility bills.