Solar Power for Beginners: How to Design and Install the Best Solar Power System for Your Home (DIY Solar Power)

Description

Save hundreds of dollars by setting up your own home solar power system. Learn how to fully design, build, and fit a working solar system – even if you’re a complete beginner. Using solar energy to power your home is a no-brainer. It can save you a ton of money on your bills and it helps save the planet. But solar energy companies charge a fortune for installation and often don’t deliver exactly what you need. But now, there’s a better way. Solar Power for Beginners teaches you how to build your own grid-connected solar power system. With your system hooked up to the grid, you’ll be able to reduce your bills and even sell excess energy back to your utility company. Stress-Free On-Grid Solar Savings With this book, you can avoid unnecessary costs and pointless hassle. You’ll learn how to set up your own custom solar system for home use for a fraction of the price that the “professionals” charge. And even if you do decide to hire a solar company to fit your system, this book will help you gain the know-how to make sure you get quality work done that’s good value for money and fit for purpose. Learn how to ask the right questions and identify problems before you’ve paid for the work. The thought of fitting your own system or supervising others to do the job may feel intimidating, but don’t worry, this book makes the process easy to understand and straightforward to put into practice. Solar Panels for Dummies Even if you don’t know a thing about electricity or solar installation, or you’re unsure how to get started, you’ll find everything you need to know here. Solar Power Engineers and Consultants Paul Holmes and Shalve Mohile will be your expert guides and mentors. Between them, they’ve built hundreds of solar energy systems for homes. To make things as simple as possible for you, and easy to understand, they’ve created illustrated step-by-step instructions that make the whole process of fitting your own solar system really straightforward. Clear, Jargon-Free Instructions From start to finish, these industry insiders will show you every step you need to take to get your do-it-yourself solar system up and running successfully. And if you’re not comfortable with technical jargon - don’t worry. Using easy-to-understand direct language, and clear illustrations, our experts have boiled everything down to the essentials. Inside, you’ll learn: Need-to-know solar photovoltaic basics. Find out how you can apply this knowledge to provide cheap, green energy that will bring your home to life. Beginner-friendly methods for calculating your energy needs. How to aim for maximum energy efficiency! Step-by-step instructions on sizing your solar system so that it’s the perfect fit for your house. A buying guide to purchasing your solar equipment (solar panels, inverters, racking). Get the best deals and save even more $$$. Methods for optimal roof sizing and panel orientation. Ensure your system is tidy and maximizes potential. How to easily build the racking and securely install solar panels to your racking equipment. The lowdown on how to install a solar inverter and safely set up electrical connections. Fool-proof methods that will prevent short circuits and fire hazards. PLUS! Secret tips and tricks that other solar panel books DON’T tell you… Get the insider knowledge that makes the whole process easier and cheaper. With this comprehensive blueprint for designing your rooftop solar system, a self-sufficient life is just around the corner. Start your solar adventure and save yourself a whole load of time and money. To get started, scroll up and grab your copy today! Review: Great to calculate, size, and install a grid-tied system. - As somebody who served 5 years on our town's Alternative Energy Committee, we'd worked with the power companies to install massive solar arrays on many town-owned buildings, but I've always been hesitant to pull the trigger on a solar array for our home because, due to that same experience, I'm aware how lopsided and restricting all the "we'll install solar on your roof for free" programs really are. (News flash: NOTHING is ever free … the power company makes a KILLING while you get peanuts). We've attempted to size out a solar array for our nice, large south-facing roof, but every installer in the planet keeps shoving "get the tax credits for free" programs at us and jacking up the price of solar panels you can buy direct-from-manufacturer for 1/6th the price. We also want a system that will work when the grid goes down, which means no tax credits, or needing a way to switch from street-power to battery backup sytem. Having served on the Alternative Energy Committee, I'm familiar with some of the jargon (south-facing roof, calculating solar need, etc.), but not other jargon (I am NOT an engineer). So when I spotted "SOLAR POWER FOR BEGINNERS: How to Design and Install the Best Solar Power System for Your Home" I grabbed it on a whim. The book is organized logically, with lots of diagrams. The writing is about as straightforward as a book about highly technical information can get, with the easier topics very simple, and the more technical aspects explained step-by-step. You are not going to read through anything but the first few chapters of this book "for pleasure." It's more of a step-by-step guide that you'll use as you muddle your way through each step. I did do many of the exercises, including dig out my old energy bill and calculate my need, estimate my available roof space, etc. There are lots of buy-direct links to find some of the equipment referenced, which are really helpful. My only complaints are that: a) It doesn't talk about off-grid hookup, including sizing a battery array, maintenance, calculating loss, or how to hook it up. b) Once you go to install the brackets and panels onto your roof, there may be additional installation information you may need to know about, such as structural defects in your roof that may need reinforcing, or issues with older electrical systems, which were not given as much discussion as I would have preferred (this was often an issue when retrofitting aging town-owned buildings with solar systems). I think these issues go beyond this book, but it would have been nice to have the issues raised so the reader is aware of it and knows to do additional research. I suspect that most of the D.I.Y. people who want to read this book and install their own solar array themselves are interested in off-grid since otherwise the power company will come and install it for free (in exchange for a 20-year "buyback" agreement and no off-grid). Maybe they'll rectify this and add this information in a future edition? But other than that significant gripe, I'm still going to give this book 5-stars because the solar installation guys did nothing but espouse gobbly-gook and all the other D.I.Y. off-grid solar books waste time talking about "SHTF" and very little talk about how to power an average, everyday house NOW and not just bare-minimum after TEOTWAWKI. Thanks to this book I now know how to calculate about 80% of what I need, which is about 50% more than I knew before. Recommend even with the above-noted shortcoming. Review: Solid DIY solar energy book - The book begins with some very basic rules and terms. While these rules and terms are important to learn before setting up your own home for solar energy, they can be glossed over the first time your read the book. Yes, if you intend to diy your green home, you should read this book more than once, and refer to it over and over again. That's not to say that you should avoid asking your local home depot employees questions, but if you read this book first, you'll know exactly what to ask them, and you'll actually understand what they tell you. After the basics, there's some great information about panel size and orientation. This helps you understand how many panels you need, where to place them, and whether or not you can go full solar or just offset your standard electricity bill. The book further explains the need for an inverter, how it works, and how to calculate ideal ratios. I personally appreciated the list of manufacturers of solar panels and inverters, and how they accumulate and distribute energy to the home. Overall, this is a solid, little textbook, which provides all the information needed for someone who already knows a little about electricity and solar energy. For those who know absolutely nothing about electricity and solar energy, it does teach just enough to allow the neophyte the confidence to either ask a professional and understand the answers, or do their own research. The information provided in the the book does become more clear as it is read and reread, and the practical applications from the knowledge provided will also become more clear as one begins to actually buy and connect their panels.