Solar Panels At My House

When picking an energy resource for the topic of this paper, I bounced around a lot of ideas. Then it occurred to me that I should write about what I will be living with in about a month. My mom just finished designing and building our earthbag, solar, off-grid house, a four-year endeavor. I will soon live in a place powered by one of the most common alternative energy resources, solar energy, so I should learn more about it.

At our new house, we have two stand alone pedestals with six 170W panels on each pedestal, making for 2040W or 2kW solar system. According to Mr. Solar.com, “this type of energy production, known as the Photovoltaic Effect, is achieved by solar panels converting sunlight into energy. Solar panels are made up of several individual solar cells, composed of layers of silicon, phosphorous (which provides the negative charge), and boron (which provides the positive charge). Solar panels absorb the sunlight’s photons and by doing so initiate an electric current, producing electrons. The resulting energy generated from photons striking the surface of the solar panel allows electrons to be knocked out of their atomic orbits and released into an electric field generated by the solar cells, which then pull these free electrons into a DC or directional current.” This electricity then proceeds to a mechanical room beneath our house to a charge controller, which regulates the amount of energy sent to our 24V batteries to be stored. From these batteries, the electricity goes to an inverter, which then changes the DC to AC or alternating current in order to use our modern electrical appliances and gadgets.

There are two types of grid systems, which operate off of solar panels, “off-grid” or “grid-tied”. My mom chose an...

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... and monthly water filling. Solar energy is the cleanest and purest form of energy, allowing for cleaner air overall in our environment. There is great hope for a lot more solar panels to be installed worldwide. Solar is a viable alternative energy with solar panels becoming more affordable and more efficiently designed.

It will be somewhat of a personal challenge for me to move into our earth house. By living with a 2kW solar system, not an overly large system, I will have to be more aware of my energy consumption; not always able to blow dry my hair, remembering to turn off all the lights when I leave a room and putting my electrical gadgets on a surge protector which I can turn off to avoid “trickle charges.” This will be an adjustment for me to be conscience of what I consume, but I am proud of the fact that I am lessening my footprint on this precious planet.