I want to put a solar panel(s) on my roof. What components do I need besides the solar panels? solar power controller? wires? How do I hook it into my home's electrical system and about how much electricity could I generate and save? Would the panels pay for themselves over time? Any help will be appreciated. Thank you!
Solar water heating panels are often heavy, depending on their design. Solar electric panels are rarely heavy - at mabye 3 lbs. per square foot, including mounting racks, they are not much heavier than typical roofing materials. Whether the panels pay for themselves is a highly individualized answer, dependent on your state and local rebates (if any), how much sun your area gets, and the cost of your electricity. Just about any Californian can break even, but it can take 5-20 years. Prices are dropping, so this should get better next year (but federal tax credits expire - could be renewed, a Democratic president would be unlikely to veto). A house that is conservative in electrical usage (this usually means no air conditioners in the summer or electric heat in the winter) generally has enough roof area to supply 00% of its electrical needs. We have 0% of our roof dedicated to panels, and it supplies essentially 00% for us. The best way to get answers to your questions is to ask a few solar companies to do a free analysis and quote on your house. You can always say no. If you're thinking of doing it yourself, that's possible, but not trivial. It's also possible that a professional could install it for less than you could if you bought the parts yourself and installed it yourself. We installed our own, but the experience is a little dated - from 2006. There's a video at the bottom of the page below, if you want to see what we did.
solar panels are VERY heavy and can be very complicated, youll need a professional. your roof may need to be reinforced to handle the weight added. some states like Arizona will pay for the system for you.you could use solar power to heat the water in the house and everything else off the power company. if you do, get one with a glycol heat transfer solution. they heat more efficiently.
The first thing that you have to realize is that solar panels only make DC currant. This is used to charge batteries which when hooked to an inverter will make 20 v. AC. You need a large bank of batteries and a heavy duty inverter to power your house. There is also an automatic switch that will send power back to the utility company when you have excess power available. This is not a small project. Really think this out before you invest a lot of money for nothing.
