Solar Power For Homes

Solar power is often used in homes by people who want to be self-sufficient and/or live in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way.

In homes, solar power can be used in a number of different ways.  Solar power refers to using the energy from the sun’s rays for some purpose that is useful to human beings.  Solar power for homes can take several different forms:

• Solar electricity
• Solar water heating
• Passive solar design
• Sunlighting

About Solar Electricity

Solar electricity is often the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about solar power for homes.  No matter what latitude you live at, you can probably get enough sunshine to power your home.  However, to generate enough solar electricity requires quite a lot of solar panels, and may need to be supplemented with other forms of alternative energy for things like wind energy from turbines.

About Solar Water Heating

Solar water heating is the perfect partner to solar electricity.  Solar water heating is unique among the different forms of solar power for homes, as it can be retrofitted to existing homes, even if those homes weren’t designed with solar power and sustainability in mind.  Many people are turning to solar water heating to cut down on electricity costs.

About Passive Solar Design

Passive solar design is a form of solar energy for homes that has to be built into the home from the beginning.  Passive solar design requires a house to be oriented correctly towards the sun (if solar heating is the goal, the house’s east-west axis has to be maximised and the main rooms of the house must have large north-facing windows (south in the Northern hemisphere).  Building materials are also important – stone is often used because of its ability to absorb the sun’s heat during the day then release it slowly at night.  Double-glazing and dark colours on strategic walls are other techniques used in passive solar design.  Some of these principles are reversed in hotter climates for passive solar cooling, in which the house design is intended to use convection to let a current of air circulate and cool the house instead of using air conditioning.

About Sunlight

But by far the most common form of solar energy for homes is the use of sunlight as lighting.  Ever since people invented glass windows, people have used sunlight to see what they’re doing.  Pull those curtains during the day and let the light in!  Natural light is better for your eyes and it is good for you in general.