10 Solar Tips (Part 2)

As promised in my previous post, here are the rest of the ten solar tips that could help us in our daily lives. Read on and learn more.

6. When calculating the number of panels you need, do so using winter sunshine hours rather than summer hours – there are roughly twice as many hours sunshine in summer and the wrong calculation could leave you needing to use backup power in winter more often than you would like.

7. In any solar system keep your panels as close as you can to the batteries to avoid losing power in the cable. Always make sure that your panels are not shaded.

8. When planning a solar heating system, always consider the use of solar shades or smart glass to augment your system – their use can save you a lot of energy that might otherwise escape from the house.

9. Many states organize tours of homes that are fully converted to solar. Try to get yourself on one of these tours so that you can see a solar home in its working state.

10.Before installing a solar system try to make your home as energy efficient as possible – install double glazing, add new insulation where possible, replace incandescent light globes with fluorescent etc. By reducing your needs you can reduce the size and cost of the system you’re installing.

[Via Solar Energy]
[Image from Solar Online Australia]