If you are interested to convert your home to solar power and you are interested in a grid tied photovoltaic system then you need to calculate system size. Also find information about your state’s as well as federal tax incentives and know how to source components, for starters.

Instructions

Step 1

First look at that how much is your 12 months electrical consumption; take average of those 12 months electrical consumption in kWh. After that what figure you get divide it with 150 (hours of sun per month) if you live near the coast, it can be 155 if you live in a mountains area or 160 if you live in a sunny area. That will give you a rough size of system, which you will need to size a gird tied system. Lets say if your average monthly use was 450kWh per month and you were living near the coast then you would need a 3kW (3,000W) PV system to offset 100% of your consumption.

Step 2

Settle your incentive level. The California Solar Initiative provides incentives on state level in California. The incentive levels are different depending upon the use such as residential, commercial nonprofit or governmental entity. The other states New York and New Jersey are also having great rebate incentives. Federal Government provide a 30% federal tax credit for you can consult your accountant to check if you are eligible for the tax credit or not.

In many cases rebate and tax credit both can offset roughly 40 to 70 percent of the cost of the system installed, it will be more if you do the installation yourself. Commercial systems are eligible for MACRS (Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System), it’s also known as accelerated depreciation. Utility rates vary by location so there cant be a any exact answer for payback question. Anyhow it’s usually between 8 and 15 years if installed by a contractor, financed monthly and compared only to your actual electric bill. For commercial customers paybacks can be from three to six years.

Other thing to remember is that when calculating payback is the appreciation value of the system to your home/building, insulation from future electric rate hikes, and the fact that after the system is paid off, you have free electricity. In majority of cases the system will be worth more than what you have paid for after rebates and tax credits, and today almost all modules are warranted for 20 to 25 years. There is essential value of power being produced by clean energy from the sun instead of coal or natural gas, and aside from that you are also practically guaranteed a positive return on your investment.

To make it even more complicated, some utility rate structures penalize you the

more electricity you use by increasing the prices at different consumption levels, or add in a demand charge that is not based off your actual electrical consumption. For more information about that contact your local utility provider.

Step 3

If your electric need is 3 kW (3,000 W), for that you will need to find that amount of modules and the right size inverter. There are many places to get those components online so do your homework before buying. Buy branded modules such as Sharp, Kyocera, Sunpower and Unisloar because these companies are serving from years and can back up the warranties on their products. You will pay a premium for these modules. If you want less expensive modules then search for companies such as Suntech and Canadian Solar these companies are generally known as producing quality products. Most of manufacturers in the industry make modules on same machines so product’s quality most likely won’t vary much from manufacturer to manufacturer. But you will be having a risk with these companies because there are not around long enough to serve their warranty. 20 to 25 years warranty is an industry standard, so steer clear of any module offering a lesser warranty period.

Grid tied inverter will be needed also for that SMA American, Fronius and Xantrex inverters are the industry standard. These inverters convert the Dc current to AC so that your home appliances can use electricity also. These inverters usually haves 10 years warranty.

If you are doing the installation yourself then you will also need an AC disconnect and DC disconnect properly sized according to the National Electric Code. This also goes for the size wire, conduits and connectors you will need to run from the modules to the DC disconnect, to the inverter, to the AC disconnect and to your main electrical service.

You will also need racking and standoffs for that try Prosolar or Uniarc. Prosolar is less expensive than Uniarc. You will need an extra breaker also for your electrical panel.

Step 4

After sourcing your materials calculate your output then decide what type of module and inverter you will need, play around with the PV Watts v2 calculator using different quantities of the modules you’re choosing until you get a kWh output which is roughly 90 to 100 % of your current consumption. Modules are rated in DC watts, so expect less output as subjected by manufacturer because the power is being converted to AC before it reached your main service panel. A 210-watt module will provide 198 watts after conversions and losses.

Step 5

There are local codes that enforced by inspectors for that consult an electrician. Every locale is different some may require fire borders around the modules while other may require extra double triple grounding for your system. Talk to an inspector if possible at your local city or county development department. May be he will provide you a fairly detailed guideline for your area, although don’t count on it.

You will also need to consult with your local utility provider” interconnection” or “net metering” department. These people can guide you through the interconnection process or many providers have detailed information and forms online. You will make three bureaucratic meetings, first with your local permitting agency, second with your local utility and third with your local rebate administrator. All will be having paperwork and guidelines that, if not adhered to, can drastically slow any building momentum.

Bottom line is that you should be prepared beforehand, review all requirements and have all questions answered otherwise you will waste countless hours making corrections, paying for additional reviews and possibly receiving a lower rebate than expected.

Step 6

There are too many variables to go over all the steps of how to size every different type of system for that get a solar design book. For that “Home Power Magazine” is a good source in which schematics and diagrams and source of people who had installed their own system are published. You can also order its previous issues. Here is a quick review of the things you should be aware of: type of modules, inverters and racking; inverter string sizing; wire and conduit sizing; building permit requirements; interconnection requirements; rebate requirements; fire department requirements and building code requirements.

Step 7

You would have to stay on top of your rebate paperwork because it is a multi step process. Usually you will first reserve the rebate after that install the system then claim the rebate. The rebate reservation will expire if the system is not installed within a reasonable amount of time. Always make follow up call to ensure that the rebate paperwork arrived.

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According to First Solar, the electricity generated by the solar facility will be sold to Southern California Edison (SCE), under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

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The students at the University of Houston, Texas, are working towards a solution to melt the snow on the roads, automatically. Similar to a huge, heavy electric blanket, the students are trying to build “self-heating” roads, which will hopefully eliminate the need for salting trucks or ploughs during heavy snowstorms in the US.

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The students working on the project, have tried many things with sheets of  carbon nanofibres, providing the fastest way to clear snow from the roads.

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If you want to save Earth from the effects of global warming then start observing Earth Hour with the world today. To raise the awareness about the climate change, Earth Hour will be observed this Saturday from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. during that hour, more than 200 downtown Chicago buildings are switching off their lights to increase consciousness about disastrous effects of climate change.

More then 28,000 metropolis/towns are planning to observe second Earth Hour by tuning down their lights. This day is being observed from Great Pyramids to Acropolis and from Eiffel tower to Sear Towers. The awareness about this day is highlighted by the World Wildlife’s fund. This event was observed on March 29, 2008 and this year businesses and residents are asked to switch off their lights for the Earth Hour 2009.

The theme to observe this day is to switch off all unnecessary lights. It may be difficult for the people watching some tournament live or on their TVs. It can be organized like keeping break in that hour for live matches or some tournaments. In homes; it can be managed easily to watch it on TV in dark.

Great brand names are even participating in it like McDonald’s.   To highlight global climate change, this great brand will dim the yellow glow from some Golden Arches by switching off some lights which will make it visible even though.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is the main sponsor of this event. The Chief Executive of WWF, Carter Roberts, said. “Earth Hour makes a powerful statement that the world is going to solve this problem. Everyone is realizing the enormous effect that climate change will have on them.”

As compared to the Earth Hour 2008, seven times more towns will observe the day in 2009. The participation is from almost 400 cities. The awareness about global warming has raised to that much extend that in Copenhagen, Denmark the talks about new treaty about global warming issue has started as Kyoto Protocol will expire in 2012.

The Secretary General of United Nations, Ban Ki-moon said, “Earth Hour is a way for the citizens of the world to send a clear message, they want action on climate change.” He further announced and confirmed the participation of United Nations in this event by turning off the lights at its headquarters in New York on March 28.

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Richard Moss is one of the very well known person as he is not only was in the intergovernmental Panel of the Nobel Peace Prize winners and also vice president of WWF climate change desk. According to him new studies are high lighting the adverse effects of the climate change. He said,

“We have satellites and we have ships out at sea and we have monitoring stations set up on buoys in the ocean, we monitor all kinds of things people wouldn’t even think about. The scientific research is showing in all kinds of ways that the climate crisis is worsening.”

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A 56 years old ice cream shop owner, Bob Gerenser, residing in Suburban Philadelphia has no belief in Global Warming thing. He considers it a defective notion of science and senseless talk. Another resident of New Hope, Pa., and proprietor of another ice cream shop even plans to light up his store with extra lighting stuff.

2009’s Earth Hour has gathered hold up from worldwide companies, NGO’s, schools, scientists and even celebrities like actress Cate Blanchett (Oscar winner).

Many multinational companies are participating in this event. McDonald’s corporation will dim its golden arches at around 500 places in Midwest. The Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Fairmont hotel chains and Coca-Cola Company also aim to take part in this activity.

The New Yorkers will dim the lights of their Empire State Building and Broadway marquees and many other buildings. Almost 200 U.S. cities, towns and villages have promised to participate in this activity.

Some other remarkable efforts include the dimming of 50,000 light bulbs, at the Navy Pier which is a famous tourist spot and 24 focus lights on Sears Tower in USA.

Angela Burnett is a property manager in Sears Tower (most visible building) who says that this type of activity shows our dedication towards sustainable future.

According to the estimations made by The Commonwealth Edison utility, this activity in the last year has decreased the demand for electricity by 5% in Chicago and northern Illinois. This has also reduced CO2 emission by 840,000 pounds in the air.

What I’ll be doing this year’s Earth Hour to switch off all the light in my home and convince my neighbors to do so. It will not only indicate my participation in this activity but also it will help me conveying the message that we human make problems and we should address and solve them as well.