Save Money With Solar Panels - The Cost is Getting Competitive

The thing Mr. Obama said which especially caught my attention was this: "We will harness the sun and the winds"... In other words, the President declares a focus on renewable energy sources here.

Now, what's that got to do with you and your life here and now, you may wonder. Well, for one thing, do you know what solar panels could do for you? Yes, I am talking about those photovoltaic cells which used to be very exclusive high-tech gadgets. So expensive actually, that they were primarily used to power satellites orbiting in space.

This was back in the 1960s, but solar cells have come a long way since then.

Traditionally, solar cells used to be made from silicon crystals. These crystals needed to have very special properties to be of use as solar energy collectors, and were therefore very difficult to make.

Nowadays, however, many years of intensive research have resulted in the development of solar cells made from other, cheaper materials. Therefore there are several different varieties of solar cells on the market now, too many to go into here.

The main difference among them is that...

-- Some varieties have an extremely high conversion efficiency (meaning they convert a high percentage of the sun's energy to electric energy.) They are a bit expensive to produce, however.

-- While other solar cells are slightly less efficient, but really cheap to make.

Yes indeed, cheap solar panels are now available on the market! Actually, they are getting so cheap that people are beginning to talk about "grid parity".

Grid parity means that a source of electric power is getting down to a production cost at the same level as the cost of electricity delivered on the grid -- into your electrical outlet at home.

In other words: you can expect to be able to install solar panels on your home, and make your own electric power, at a cost no higher than the price you pay right now to your utility company. And with some do-it-yourself work, you may even end up saving money. How does that sound to you?

Autor: Abel MacLaren

To me it is a fine example of how new technology can be used to save money, while also saving the environment. Read more about home solar panels at:

http://www.SunWindNow.com

Added: March 20, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/