Getting off the grid of at least, minimizing the amount of power taken from energy companies should be one of the goals of every home nowadays. For one thing, this not only reduces the amount of electricity bills paid by homeowners every month, but this is also an excellent way to further protect the environment from pollutants.

Out of all renewable energy sources, solar power is currently the most popular choice for households. This is because solar for homes provides easy access, with more and more companies offering kits that allows for effortless installation.

But how to choose what type of sun powered system to install?

There are basically two types of sun power systems that homeowners can choose from. The first and most popular one is the PV or photovoltaic option. This choice can be pricey and could run to several thousand dollars, depending on the expanse of the solar system. The reason why they are so popular is because PV is the one that generates electricity for lights and appliances which is the most common energy-using items in the house. The next type is the solar thermal system, which is mainly used for furnace and water heaters.

Solar for Homes Cost and Savings

As mentioned above, installation of PV is much more expensive than the solar thermal option. However, both are capable of reducing the amount of electricity expense per home. In fact, it has been estimated that using the thermal option as a replacement for electricity-powered water heating can cut back energy consumption to as much as 80%. When taken the savings into consideration, the use of solar power would eventually pay for itself after a few years.

Although it is possible to install both PV and thermal sun powered systems at the same time, most people choose just one because the two combines can be expensive. When choosing which one would be better to put up, analyzing the household's current energy consumption would be ideal. Try to figure out what appliances manage to eat off most of the electricity and use this information to make decisions. Generally, water heating is the one that burns off the most power followed by appliances like refrigerators and the flat iron.

Upon installation, make sure to take advantage of all the government perks provided for people who are using renewable energy. This can be in the form of rebates, discounts or financing-the government's way of encouraging people to utilize environment-friendly energy options.