Solar Power Your Home For Dummies


Book Description

The bestselling alternative energy reference book in North America—now in an updated edition Want to take advantage of solar power in your home? Whether you’re looking to save on your energy costs by adding a few solar components or you want to build a solar-powered house from the ground up, Solar Power For Dummies, 2nd Edition takes the mystery out of this energy source and shows you how to put it to work for you! This new edition gives you hands-on tips and techniques for making your home more energy-efficient though solar power—and helping the planet at the same time. Plus, you’ll get all the latest information on changes to federal, state, and local regulations, laws, and tax incentives that seek to make solar-power adoption more feasible. Expanded coverage of the technology that underpins full-scale solar-power systems for the home New small- and mid-sized solar products, projects, and applications Rik DeGunther is a design engineer who started his own energy consulting firm Featuring ten of the easiest and cheapest DIY solar projects, Solar Power For Dummies, 2nd Edition is the fun and easy way to meet your energy needs with this clean power source!




Choosing Solar Electricity


Book Description

Choosing Solar Electricity shows you how to assess your solar resource and teaches you the ins and outs of solar power so you can talk to a PV installer with confidence. It includes full details of feed-in tariff incentives, which makes solar electricity an economically viable option for every solar friendly home, office, business or community.




The Good Solar Guide


Book Description

Are you considering solar to get your bills down, but uncertain whether solar is right for you? Are you wary of potential rogue installers in such a new industry? Would you know a good solar panel brand from a dud? What about batteries? At long last there is an independent guide to buying and installing solar in Australia with the express aim of getting your future energy bills as low as possible. The Good Solar Guide demystifies the solar buying process in Australia showing you how many panels you need, which panel brands to buy, which to avoid, and how to find a great installer.




Install Your Own Solar Panels


Book Description

Labor and related costs account for more than half of the price of the average home solar installation. But homeowners can save thousands of dollars with this user-friendly manual, which follows the same process professional contractors use. Through detailed directions and step-by-step photos, veteran solar installer Joseph Burdick and seasoned builder Philip Schmidt teach you how to determine the size, placement, and type of installation you’ll need. This comprehensive DIY guide covers everything from assembling rooftop racking or building a ground-mount structure to setting up the electrical connections and making a battery bank for off-grid systems. This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.




The New Simple and Practical Solar Component Guide


Book Description

Have you ever wanted to save money on electricity and become energy-independent? Do you want to protect your family from regular power outages and negligence of local utility? The book "The New Simple and Practical Solar Component Guide" helps you accomplish this by understanding the essentials of building blocks of solar and harnessing solar power. Written by electronic engineers this easy-to-read-and-follow solar components guide demystifies all of the components of a solar power system in a way that anyone without a technical background can understand. The book is useful for a broad audience: technically and non-technically inclined people, beginners and advanced in solar power, and professionals of engineering background. Based on thousand hours of research and experience, the book contains practical solar power information you cannot find and cannot apply by just searching the web. This book shades lights on: - electricity basics related to solar power -solar power system types -solar power system components: -solar panel module types -bypass diodes -blocking diodes -inverters -microinvertes -charge controllers -batteries -fuses -surge protectors/arrestors -disconnects (circuit breakers) -junction (combiner) boxes -cables ... and more. Furthermore, this guide provides you with a serious introduction and practical information to solar power coupled with action-oriented how-to tips and guidelines about selecting, combining and sizing solar components as well. This book, however, is not a complete A-Z guide for sizing a solar power system. Every journey starts with most important first steps and having a solid foundation about solar components is a prerequisite for getting an efficient safe and cost effective solar power system for your home, RV vehicle, boat or business. Without this essential knowledge, every attempt for designing and sizing a solar power system will be either fruitless or contra-productive. Grab the Book Today and Get Started Saving Money on Electricity and Becoming Energy Independent. Act Now!




Solar Electricity Handbook


Book Description

The Solar Electricity Handbook is a practical and straightforward guide to using electric solar panels. Assuming no previous knowledge of solar panels, the book explains how solar panels work, how they can be used and explains the steps you need to take to successfully design and install a solar electric system from scratch using photovoltaic solar panels. Accompanying this book is a solar resource website containing lots of useful information, lists of suppliers and on-line solar energy calculators that will simplify the cost analysis and design processes. Readers can also get in touch with the author directly to ask questions and get further support with their solar projects.




The Ultimate Solar Power Design Guide


Book Description

Imagine how often you read books about solar panels and solar power systems and their design and felt disappointed, confused without knowing how to get started and put together the pieces of the puzzle of your much anticipated and long-awaited off-grid or grid-tied solar power system. No more confusion! The book 'Ultimate Solar Power Design Guide - Less Theory, More Practice' is the missing guide for proven simple fast design of solar electricity systems for your home, off-grid house, business, boat, vehicle or other outdoor activities. What is more, this guide is written by experts especially for beginners and professionals alike. Proper sizing of a solar system is very important. The final goal of the design of a photovoltaic system is to come up with a cost-effective, efficient and reliable solar panel system for your home, RV vehicle, boat or business - a solar system that squeezes the maximum possible power for every cent invested. In our opinion, the main drawback of many solar books is that they give too much general information about solar panels and solar components and, if you are lucky enough, just one or two very basic design formulas. Those formulas, however, are far away from a proven yet simple system for sizing a solar system from scratch. Moreover, such sizing information is buried in too much fillers and fluffs you could easily find by just surfing the web. Obviously, such authors limit solar design methods to their own cases only. Ironically the reader's case rarely coincides with the authors' solar case. You feel confused and lost without being aware of how to wire and put all the components of the solar power system together. The mission of this book is to fill this gap by offering a simple practical, fast, step-by-step approach for designing a solar system of any scale, whether simple or complex, intended for your home, business, RV vehicle or boat. The book is written by experts, holding master's degree in electronics, and is intended for those who cannot get started or are utterly confused. Grab the book 'Ultimate Solar Power Design Guide - Less Theory, More Practice' and get your solar powered home, RV vehicle, boat or business today! While reading the book you will discover that our approach to sizing a solar system is just the opposite to the currently prevailing ones. We prefer to give you lots of fast and simple step-by-step universal design methods applicable to all cases, accompanied with many sizing examples - starting from very simple solar power systems and finishing with the design of the more sophisticated off -grid solar power system. Thanks to this approach you will be capable of designing any solar power system or tailor the sizing methods according to your own needs. The book provides 3 general approaches: Business sizing - simple and fast design but not too accurate for every case Basic sizing - not so fast but more accurate, and Advanced sizing - more accurate but not so fast You may choose one of the general approaches, depending on the type of system you are going to use. For example, the fastest business case approach could be used for sizing simple solar systems for outdoor activities. It may be even accurate enough for sizing small solar systems for RV vehicles and boats. The basic and the more accurate advanced approach are best suited for designing off-grid and grid-tied solar electric systems. Grab the book 'Ultimate Solar Power Design Guide - Less Theory, More Practice' Now!




A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Energy Systems


Book Description

A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Energy Systems: With Special Focus on Photovoltaic Systems, the most advanced and research focused text on all aspects of solar energy engineering, is a must have edition on the present state of solar technology, integration and worldwide distribution. In addition, the book provides a high-level assessment of the growth trends in photovoltaics and how investment, planning and economic infrastructure can support those innovations. Each chapter includes a research overview with a detailed analysis and new case studies that look at how recent research developments can be applied. Written by some of the most forward-thinking professionals, this book is an invaluable reference for engineers. - Contains analysis of the latest high-level research and explores real world application potential in relation to developments - Uses system international (SI) units and imperial units throughout to appeal to global engineers - Offers measurable data written by a world expert in the field on the latest developments in this fast moving and vital subject




Power from the Sun - 2nd Edition


Book Description

The completely revised and updated guide to solar energy – everything you need to power your home or small business Written for the individual or business layman, this is the fully revised and updated guide for generating solar electricity. Practical and accessible, it provides a basic understanding of electricity, wiring, and solar energy, and guides the reader through solar electricity site assessment and determining the type of solar system needed for generating solar electricity, providing a solid understanding of grid-tied and off-grid systems, along with important guidelines on installation. Power from the Sun – 2nd Edition discusses types of photovoltaic and photovoltaic solar energy systems, and includes comprehensive information on recent changes and improvements in PV modules, charge controllers, inverters, batteries, generators, and net metering policies. It offers an excellent overview of the many options available as a guide for generating solar electricity, allowing the reader to make the best choices for their individual situation during the design, installation, and operation of a solar energy system. The definitive layman’s guide for homeowners, business owners, installers, architects, and just about anyone interested in generating solar electricity to lower energy bills and achieve greater independence through solar energy. Dan Chiras is Director of the Center for Renewable Energy and Green building through which he teaches workshops on solar electricity, wind energy, passive solar design, natural building, and green building. He is also president of Sustainable Systems Design, Inc., a company that installs residential solar electricity and wind energy systems and consults on passive solar design, residential renewable energy, and green building throughout North America. Dan is the author of 32 previous books, including The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy and Power from the Wind .




Solar Electricity Basics


Book Description

Solar energy is an abundant resource. Once a curiosity, solar electric systems are becoming commonplace. As we transition away from finite and polluting fossil fuels, clean, reliable, and affordable renewable technologies such as solar electricity will become the mainstay of our energy supply. Solar Electricity Basics provides a clear understanding of the sun, solar energy, and solar electric systems. It discusses the theoretical, practical and economic aspects of residential solar installations including: Inverters Batteries and controllers Costs of solar electric systems Financial incentives System installation and maintenance Permits, covenants, utility interconnection and buying a system. Whether your goal is to lower your energy bill through a grid-connected system or to achieve complete energy independence, Solar Electricity Basics is the introduction you need-no PhD required!