Solar in Colorado

Lets post about Solar energy, making the world a better place. Solar energy is a renewable energy source. This means that we cannot run out of solar energy, as opposed to non-renewable energy sources (e.g. fossil fuels, coal and nuclear). We will have access to solar energy for as long as the sun is alive – another 6.5 billion years according to NASA. We have worse things to worry about; in fact, scientists have estimated that the sun itself will swallow Earth 5 billion years from now.

Solar energy is an intermittent energy source. Access to sunlight is limited at certain times (e.g. morning and night). Predicting overcast days can be difficult. This is why solar power is not our first choice when it comes to meeting the base load energy demand. However, solar power has fewer problems than wind power when it comes to intermittence.

For most American homeowners the most significant attraction to solar power is that once the capital cost of installation is paid off the energy is free. This means the only real question is whether the payback period on the capital investment is better than the returns you would get from investing the same money in other ways. You may be surprised that we now list this as the leading advantage of solar energy. The reason we do this is that most homeowners are now more interested in the financial aspects of installing solar rather than the environmental benefits.

Solar panels (also known as photovoltaic panels) are installed on your home. The solar panels convert light (photons) into electricity (voltage). Each panel is connected to a microinverter that changes the electric current from DC (direct current) to AC (alternating current). Each microinverter operates independently of the others so that if one stops working your system is still generating maximum power. An alternative to being tied to the utility company is an off-grid solar panel system. An off-grid system is similar to a grid-tied system with the exception that all the solar energy that is generated is stored in solar energy battery banks in your home. A charge controller sits between the batteries and the solar cells to ensure that the batteries do not overcharge. With an off-grid system you are 100% electricity independent.

The process of installing solar panels on your home and switching to solar electricity starts with a free survey of your home where we also perform an energy review to determine how photo voltaic solar panels can help reduce your energy costs. We create a custom installation plan that’s efficient and effective without compromising the quality of the results. Before we begin, we will walk you through the entire solar installation process down to the smallest detail to ensure you understand what will be done and how you’ll benefit.

There are a few factors that go into pricing a solar panel installation. At SunKey, we offer three types of panels and two types of inverters. This equates to five different system designs, each of which has a different cost associated with it. Next, we need to take into account the size of your home and roof space, the accessibility and slope of your roof, whether you want an off-grid or grid-tied system, and whether your electrical panel requires any upgrades prior to installing the solar panel system. See more info on Solar contractors Colorado.