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Solar Energy for the Home

There are countless ways in which you can use the sun to make your home run more efficiently.   When it comes to solar power, you must consider both how to collect it and how to put it to work.  This largely depends on the energy needs of your home and where you live geographically.

Collecting the Heat of the Sun

There are two (2) basic types of solar collection available.  The first are basic solar collectors, and the second are solar photovoltaic panels.

Solar collectors are characterized by the way they collect heat thermally using either water or air to transfer heat into another location.  This type of solar collection is very basic and much easier and a lot more affordable to use.  However, you cannot expect to completely convert your home to this type of solar power.  It is not capable of meeting the demands.

Solar photovoltaic panels collect heat from the sun and converts it to electricity to be used anywhere in the house.  This type of collector is far more expensive and more complex than a straight thermal solar collector.   Depending on where you live, using photovoltaic panels are able to meet many of your home’s power demands.

Putting Solar Energy to Work in Your Home

The best way to go about converting your home to an alternative energy source is to take small steps.  Most home owners begin by using the sun to heat their water.  After that, they will address how to heat their homes, followed by how to use solar energy to power up the remaining portion of their energy needs.  Also, people that have pools will typically use the sun to heat their pools.

Heating Water with the Sun

This is the best place to start using solar energy simply because you can use straight solar collectors which are far less expensive and far easier to work with than a photovoltaic.  It is definitely easier to turn solar energy into hot water than electricity.  There are two (2) basic ways to heat your water with the sun.  You can either use an open loop system or a closed loop system.

An open loop system is one that heats water as a batch and doesn’t use any kind of antifreeze system.  These are typically used in warm weather climates where freezing is not a concern.  The only drawback with open loop systems is that you have to pay close attention to water quality.  Hard or acidic water will quickly corrode and damage the piping.

A closed loop system is one that utilizes antifreeze as a heat exchange medium.  While this system is more complex and has more moving parts than an open loop system, it is much more efficient and reliable.

Heating Your Home with the Sun

This will be a huge challenge in your solar conversion plan.  If you are building a new home, then you will be able to easily incorporate solar heating into your plans.  However, existing homes are another story altogether as many existing heating system are extremely inefficient.  There are two (2) basic approaches to solar heating systems: passive and active.

A passive solar heating system is one that employs direct sunlight to heat a living area.  Sunrooms and greenhouses are great examples of passive heat.  Obviously, this type of system is better suited for new homes which can be designed to directly solar heat directly into the rooms of the house.  For existing homes, passive systems are not as available for use.

An active system is one that uses fans and pumps to move heat exchange fluid around your house from various solar collection units.  Active systems are generally what are needed for most homes.

In reality, hybrid systems which are comprised of both active and passive elements are usually the end result of using solar power to heat your home.

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