Solar Power Panels Mounted On Roof Tops

The solar energy that building roof tops receive on hot, sunny days can be exploited and utilized in a useful manner as energy for households and other purposes. This technique brings down the carbon dioxide levels in the air and also brings down your electricity bill. Photovoltaic cells (PVs) can be mounted on roof tops, which can be used to boost the household’s energy independence. The type of PV that can be mounted would depend upon the load a building was capable of bearing.

Photosensitive materials including silicon, gallium arsenide and copper indium diselenide in crystalline or amorphous form generate electricity when they are exposed to light. This occurrence is called the photoelectric effect. Solar cells comprise of all these material and when they get exposure to sunlight the free electrons present inside get charged. When they are charged sufficiently, they are freed from the molecules and result in a steady flow of electrons.

How to Determine Appropriate Roof when Installing Solar Cells

Exposure to direct sunlight is the key to the efficient working of solar cells. This would probably need a kind of tracking mechanism that is motorized to ensure that the solar panel never faces away from the sun. However, it is often impossible to have this kind of system installed on roof tops. In that case, the solar cell should be mounted in a manner that the pitch should necessarily face the southern direction without anything obstructing its path. To increase exposure to the sun you may elevate the mounting, which may also depend on the inclination and latitude of the roof.

The amount of weight the roof can bear is also an important factor that will have to be considered. Solar Shingles is a relatively new product where the shingles have inbuilt PV cells, making them ideal for replacing old roofs.

PV cells cannot tolerate high temperature and tend to experience a sharp drop in efficiently as temperatures rise. Where temperatures are high you may consider using wind power. In Florida and California where the temperatures are relatively warmer grids are used effectively to produce solar energy. This technique is cheaper and more efficient as compared to the use of PV cells for individual homes.

Cost of PV Systems

The cost of a roof-mounted solar panel could range from $6,000 to $30,000. It varies according to the system’s capacity as well as its size. If you calculate the cost for a lifetime it will not cost you more that $0.25 per unit of electricity produced. There are a lot of offers and schemes that encourages the use of solar energy, and the per unit cost can also be brought down. The National Database of State Incentives For Renewable Energy that has been drawn up by the North Carolina Solar Center is a great resource for finding out more details about these schemes.

PVs also offer other advantages including insulation form the consequences of inflation, deregulation, rate hikes and other such factors. Moreover, they are environmentally friendly and can help lower the levels of carbon dioxide emitted from power plants, which burn natural gas, coal and other fossil fuels.