Thoughts About DIY Solar and Wind Power.

Is solar power a practical option for you and your home or is it just a marketing strategy to get you to buy a product that doesn’t perform like it’s supposed to?

I must say that solar power is an alternative being strongly supported by governments and community alike and is being embraced by the building industry in a lot of different forms. Some government bodies even have grants offered for people to set up solar power so it must be the way to go, or is it?

Solar power has been used in homes for heating water for some time now by capturing the energy of the sun in the form of heat but the type of solar power under question is when solar energy is turned into electricity.

We know this type of power works because we have experienced it in such things as calculators, battery chargers, traffic signs and so on, but what happens in a home situation where high currents are necessary 24hrs a day?

I think we are all aware that the sun is the source for this power but nature dictates the time when the sun is available, the most obvious time is daytime. Unless I have missed something we have a period of darkness called NIGHT so what takes place then?

Solar power clearly cannot be provided during the night or even in much quantity on a cloudy day, so the biggest problem with solar power is how to overcome these situations.

Power accumulation is the only answer and can be done in various ways depending on your situation but for the typical residential home this is best achieved with batteries; and not the kind that fit in your camera.

From a practical note I can say this; the greatest demand for electrical energy is during the winter months and at the height of the summer when air-conditioners are in operation. Depending on where you live you should consider the hours of sunlight obtainable during these times.

Winter brings short daylight hours and in some parts of the world winter daylight hours can be extremely short. Winter is also peculiar for the more cloudy days than any other season and this reduces the power output from solar.

Don’t get me wrong I believe DIY solar power is a great way to help save the environment as well as gain sustainable electricity, but I also believe to make any REAL savings on power it is necessary for you to combine DIY Solar Power with wind power. When you consider it there is often wind during the winter months and on cloudy days (rainy days) so using wind power during these periods is very practical. If you want to learn more about DIY Solar Power there is some very useful information available at “Find Portable Solar Power”.

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