Solar Energy For Homes

More and more people are turning to solar energy for their homes.  It’s easy to see why.  Electricity prices are soaring (even in areas where generation is not dependent on fuel prices/availability because the turbines are powered by wind or water).  People are looking for ways to reduce carbon emissions, greenhouse gases or general pollutants that will damage the atmosphere.  And other people like being independent of mainstream providers and want to do their own thing and produce their own energy.  As the sun’s ray striking the planet’s surface are more than enough to supply the world’s energy needs (and still have enough left over to keep the cycle of ocean currents, wind and weather going).  A lot of research and effort – and interest – is going into solar energy for homes. But there are misnomers about this.

Rely Just On Solar Electricity as Energy?

The most common mistake many people make if they are interested in solar energy for their homes is to rely totally on solar electricity (solar panels).  While solar panels are certainly an important part of solar energy for homes, as many modern conveniences rely on electricity, they are not the only way to apply solar energy for home use.

Other uses of solar energy include:

• Using sunlight to dry clothes (Don’t we all do this?  This must be the most widespread use of solar energy in homes).
• Solar water heating (which is much more efficient than using electricity from solar panels).
• Passive solar heating (or passive solar cooling for homes in hotter areas like the Outback).
• Solar ovens (not very widely used for general cooking, but small ones can be made at home for fun),
• Solar incinerators (one design for the classic self-sufficient green house, the earthship, uses a solar incinerator to deal with toilet waste hygienically).

Solar Homes Only in Hot Climates?

Another common misconception about solar power for homes is that it is only suitable for homes that are in hot, sunny locations.  While Australia certainly has plenty of areas that receive plenty of sunshine (some would say too much), even areas where the sun shines less fiercely get enough sunshine to make solar power for homes feasible (yes, including Tasmania and even New Zealand).  In Germany, which is at a latitude of about 48–55 degrees north of the equator (comparable to New Zealand, which is at a latitude of about 34–46 degrees south of the equator), solar energy (mostly solar-generated electricity) is practically mainstream – some estimate that half of Germany’s electricity needs are met by solar power.  As you can imagine, solar power for homes is not just something for the “Müslies” and “Ökos” (German terms for hippy-types).

Solar electricity and, to a certain extent, solar water heaters are the most widespread form of solar power for homes for a very simple and practical reason: they can be retrofitted to existing homes.  All you need to install these forms of solar energy in your home is a bit of capital and the help of an electrician (for solar panels and solar electricity) or a plumber (in the case of solar water heaters).  This is not the case with passive solar heating, as this is an integral part of the house design and incorporates things such as orientation and spread along the east-west axis, as well as building materials.  

Solar ovens and solar incinerators are not widely used (and it can be a bit tricky controlling the temperature in a solar oven) but they certainly have potential for homes in Australia.  Replacing the traditional outback dunny with a solar incinerating toilet would certainly smell better and attract fewer flies.  In case you’re curious about how these solar incinerator toilets work, they use parabolic mirrors to focus the rays of the sun (like the old magnifying glass trick) and burn whatever’s at the faecal – I mean focal – point; a user does not get his/her backside burned, as the parabolic mirror is at the bottom of the system and well away from where it can hurt people.  Solar incinerators have been used not just for homes but also on a commercial scale elsewhere.