A Look At Solar Power VS Grid Power

by Nathan Thompson

Commercial electricity sources come from many different methods that include fossil fuel burning, and hydroelectric dams, both of which may be having an impact on the environment. The costs of these sources are becoming impossible for average home owners to pay, even though they have lowered their thermostats. Solar power vs grid power might be the only environmentally friendly means of staying warm in the winter, and cool in the summer. Let's take a closer look at a typical installation.

Solar North is a term that came into being with the photovoltaic generation, and simply means a compass and protractor are used to establish the peak angles of the sun during the brightest part of the day. Once this information is gathered, the person installing the system will know what angles to set the panels for the greatest amount of year round performance.

Mounting the panels is the next step, and they are usually installed on a roof top of the house or office building. Sufficient room should be allowed between each set for EMT personnel to safely navigate the roof, in the event of a home fire. An external shut off switch is required for safety of utility and emergency workers.
If the home is already wired for Grid power, the electrical lines from the solar unit are usually brought into the home at the same point. This makes it easier to install, maintain and troubleshoot. Batteries will take up some room, and should be easy to access when checking them for water levels. They should also be properly vented to allow gases to escape to the exterior of the home.

Most add on solar systems are installed with a dual switching arrangement which allows switching back to the main power from a local electrical company. There are devices which can be used that will monitor this situation and automatically switch between the strongest incoming electrical source. With proper planning, the system can be more than efficient enough to maintain its own operation.

A full conversion can easily supply enough electricity to operate everything in a household. Some people start with partial installations, but soon find themselves going the extra mile to make a complete conversion. Exterior security devices can be solar powered, but for those which are operated off household current, these systems can provide enough electricity to keep them in operation.

Commercially generated electricity can cost several hundred dollars a month in electric bills. Calculating for an entire year comes out to several thousand dollars, all of which could easily have helped pay for a complete conversion to solar efficiency. It might be nice to never have to worry about keeping the thermostat lower and lower to reduce monthly expenses.

The ability to sell power back to the electric company is another advantage to conversion to sunlight operation. By increasing the panels and batteries needed to sufficiently operate a home, the owner may decide it is worth the extra expense to install enough of them to make money each month from the people who used to be getting paid.


If you are considering to move from grid provided power to solar, take a look at our varied product line. You will find unmatched variety of  low priced solar panels at the Solar Systems USA online store.