| Solar power is an alternative energy source with | | | | almost no maintenance cost and most systems |
| tremendous economic and environmental benefits. | | | | have a 40 or 50 year life span. Not bad, eh? |
| If you're considering it for your home, here are | | | | Going solar is also more attractive now because |
| the basics. | | | | of laws passed by numerous states. Initially, |
| Sunning Your Home | | | | homeowners can get a tax rebate for installing |
| Put simply, solar power works by converting free | | | | solar. On top of this, more than half of the states |
| sunlight into usable energy. This process involves | | | | now mandate a concept known as "net metering." |
| using photovoltaic tiles or platforms to capture the | | | | Net metering is all about saving tons of money on |
| energy inherent in sunlight. The photovoltaic | | | | your utilities. Essentially, you are now allowed to |
| materials consist of positive and negative slices of | | | | "sell" power back to the utility companies at the |
| material, often silicone, that react to the sun. As | | | | same price they charge you. With solar power, |
| the sunlight hits these cells, the energy "slices" off | | | | this means you can simply feed your system into |
| negatively charged ions. This creates a magnetic | | | | the utility grid during the day and then use regular |
| field, a form of energy. The energy is then | | | | energy at night. Since your utility meter runs |
| captured in small wires, which forms an electric | | | | backwards, this effectively means you will |
| current. The wires are connected to an inverter. | | | | dramatically reduce, if not eliminate, your |
| The inverter converts the energy into a usable | | | | electricity bills. This process alone can save you |
| power source. | | | | thousands of dollars a year and $40,000 to |
| The beauty of solar power is it is a free source | | | | $100,000 over the life of the system, depending |
| of energy. Historically, the cost of capturing and | | | | on your typical monthly bills. With such savings, |
| maintaining solar power wasn't cheap, but this has | | | | you can see why solar power is becoming more |
| changed dramatically in the last ten years. | | | | attractive. |
| Systems are now much more efficient, with the | | | | When it comes to solar power, the question isn't |
| total cost usually involved in the purchase and | | | | whether you should use it. The real question is |
| installation. Depending on the system, there is | | | | why you aren't using it already! |