Solar power has improved dramatically over the years and today provides a very efficient solution that is easy to install for most homeowners. Over the years both the solar panels and the conversion and connection technology needed for a homeowner to use this power have become more sophisticated and less expensive. The current solar power systems provide a great alternative for most homeowners looking to lower their electricity bills by generating their own power from the sun.

Even these new systems are greatly improved over systems available even a few years ago - there are constant changes and refinements being released that make these systems even better. Some of these introduce new applications for solar power technology and others are improvements to the equipment itself. All of them are intended to make solar power easier to use and accessible to many more people as an alternative energy solution.

Some changes have been made to solar panels to enable them to be simpler to use. For example, many of the newer solar panels include an internal micro-inverter that will convert the DC current that the solar panel generates to AC current that can be used directly by the home. In older systems this conversion was done by a single large inverter that was normally located near the home's power panel. The challenge with the old way of doing this conversion was that some of the power the solar panels were generating was lost on its long trip across the wires from the panels to the inverter. This inefficiency could be substantial in a larger system and by doing the conversion right at the panel this loss is eliminated. Also, these newer solar panels with the internal micro-inverter are easier to install for the average homeowner. They are more of a modular solution and once the first panel is installed and connected to the home's wiring, other panels can be attached to the roof later and simply plugged into this initial panel. This means that the system can be installed for vey little money and expanded each year as the homeowner's budget allows.

Another innovation is one which is designed to provide some overlap between the various solar technologies and save a homeowner a portion of their roof space, namely a group of new solar panels being released that incorporate both a collection of solar cells used for generating electricity as well as a solar webbing used for solar water heating, all in the same panel. This allows these solar panels to do "double duty" and both generate electricity for use in the home as well as heating the home's water, eliminating the gas and electricity costs of a traditional hot water heater. Adding this solar water heating element to a solar panel does raise the cost of the panel slightly, but is much less expensive than installing a complete solar water heating system and more attractive when installed in the home as well.

Improvements like these will continue with solar power systems as they mature. They are further proof that this technology is ready today and will continue to evolve to save homeowners even more money in the future.