Building solar power systems for home use is no longer a task too far-fetched, with many professional guides available in the market nowadays. Everyone who put in substantial effort and time can build a solar panel that works - but that does not mean all the panels are built to work equally effectively.
What makes the difference, and how can you tweak your solar energy system for optimal performance? Here are a few secrets:
Secret #1: USE ANTI-REFLECTIVE GLASS
The materials you choose often decide the amount of sunlight your solar panels can receive. Some of the sunlight that hits the surface of the panels gets reflected. How effective your systems are depends on the amount of sunlight reaching the photovoltaic cells on your panels, so it is essential to make sure your system allows as much sunlight to penetrate through the glass as possible.
How much the sunlight gets reflected is largely determined by what kind of glass you use. Use anti-reflective glass for your solar panels to allow optimal sunlight penetration. Anti-reflective glass is more expensive than normal glass. If your budget does not allow you to do so, coating a layer of transparent anti-reflective material on the surface of your glass helps too.
This is proven to increase the energy output by as much as 50%!
Secret #2: OPTIMIZING THE ANGLE OF PANELS FOR MAXIMUM SUNLIGHT EXPOSURE
Most people install their solar panels on the rooftop or anyplace convenient for them, without considering the amount of sunlight that their panels are exposed to at that location. This is not good.
What you should do instead is to observe the best location for the maximum amount of sunlight. If your solar panel is not mounted on rooftop, and is mobile, you can move it around and take down the amount of energy it generates at different locations to find out the best spot for maximum sunlight exposure.
Secret #3: KEEP YOUR SOLAR PANELS CLEAN
This sounds very obvious, but it is often overlooked. In fact, the most common enemy for solar power systems are leaves and debris that gather on the glass surface of the solar panels. This is especially true for panels mounted on rooftop, considering how difficult it is to clean them.
Leaves and debris block sunlight from reaching the solar cells, and thus decreasing the efficiency of your solar power system. There are two things you should do to overcome this:
1. Schedule regular cleaning - clean your solar panels at least once a month. For panels mounted on rooftop, you might consider using professional tool like the "Mr. Long Arm 1008 Pro Curve Solar Panel Cleaning System Kit".
2. Tilt your solar panels - by angling your panels, you prevent leaves and some larger debris from gathering on the surface - they will slide to the bottom edge of the solar panels instead. In addition, you will allow rainwater or snow to 'wash' the glass surface as they flow pass it.
These are the secrets to improve the performance of your existing solar panels. But wait -- there is something else! You might want to spend a little more effort to further tweak your system to increase its performance, by...
BONUS TIP: FORMING A NEW PANEL WITH 'LOOSE' SOLAR CELLS
You can add a new panel to your existing at low cost, by forming it with 'loose' solar cells. If you search online, you can find many suppliers that would provide used solar cells that are still functional. Maybe they are not working at full efficiency (probably at only 70% only), but still they are a good deal considering the low cost.
With a little practice, you can join them together to form a new panel to add potential output to your system. It takes a little time, but it is sure worth it.
If you consider the above three tips (plus a bonus tip) and implement them, not only will you increase the power of your solar power system, but you will also lower the cost of building it.
What makes the difference, and how can you tweak your solar energy system for optimal performance? Here are a few secrets:
Secret #1: USE ANTI-REFLECTIVE GLASS
The materials you choose often decide the amount of sunlight your solar panels can receive. Some of the sunlight that hits the surface of the panels gets reflected. How effective your systems are depends on the amount of sunlight reaching the photovoltaic cells on your panels, so it is essential to make sure your system allows as much sunlight to penetrate through the glass as possible.
How much the sunlight gets reflected is largely determined by what kind of glass you use. Use anti-reflective glass for your solar panels to allow optimal sunlight penetration. Anti-reflective glass is more expensive than normal glass. If your budget does not allow you to do so, coating a layer of transparent anti-reflective material on the surface of your glass helps too.
This is proven to increase the energy output by as much as 50%!
Secret #2: OPTIMIZING THE ANGLE OF PANELS FOR MAXIMUM SUNLIGHT EXPOSURE
Most people install their solar panels on the rooftop or anyplace convenient for them, without considering the amount of sunlight that their panels are exposed to at that location. This is not good.
What you should do instead is to observe the best location for the maximum amount of sunlight. If your solar panel is not mounted on rooftop, and is mobile, you can move it around and take down the amount of energy it generates at different locations to find out the best spot for maximum sunlight exposure.
Secret #3: KEEP YOUR SOLAR PANELS CLEAN
This sounds very obvious, but it is often overlooked. In fact, the most common enemy for solar power systems are leaves and debris that gather on the glass surface of the solar panels. This is especially true for panels mounted on rooftop, considering how difficult it is to clean them.
Leaves and debris block sunlight from reaching the solar cells, and thus decreasing the efficiency of your solar power system. There are two things you should do to overcome this:
1. Schedule regular cleaning - clean your solar panels at least once a month. For panels mounted on rooftop, you might consider using professional tool like the "Mr. Long Arm 1008 Pro Curve Solar Panel Cleaning System Kit".
2. Tilt your solar panels - by angling your panels, you prevent leaves and some larger debris from gathering on the surface - they will slide to the bottom edge of the solar panels instead. In addition, you will allow rainwater or snow to 'wash' the glass surface as they flow pass it.
These are the secrets to improve the performance of your existing solar panels. But wait -- there is something else! You might want to spend a little more effort to further tweak your system to increase its performance, by...
BONUS TIP: FORMING A NEW PANEL WITH 'LOOSE' SOLAR CELLS
You can add a new panel to your existing at low cost, by forming it with 'loose' solar cells. If you search online, you can find many suppliers that would provide used solar cells that are still functional. Maybe they are not working at full efficiency (probably at only 70% only), but still they are a good deal considering the low cost.
With a little practice, you can join them together to form a new panel to add potential output to your system. It takes a little time, but it is sure worth it.
If you consider the above three tips (plus a bonus tip) and implement them, not only will you increase the power of your solar power system, but you will also lower the cost of building it.
An engineer by profession, through extensive personal research and exchanging information with the online community, Harvey Normad made himself an expert in DIY solar power system. Together with two other like-minded friends, Harvey set up a website on this topic. They are dedicated in posting their latest findings and insights on homemade solar energy system. Rich information, including steps to set up DIY solar panels, are shared. Visit the site to get more tips on DIY Solar Panels [http://www.mysolarpowerproject.net/bestHomeSolarEnergy.php?tid=art0207].
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