Solar Christmas Lights for a Greener Christmas

In accordance with the Holiday Spirit this post is all about having an environmentally friendly and green Christmas just by purchasing a set of outdoor solar Christmas lights to illuminate your home.

Solar Christmas lights can help you save electricity and money, and they are convenient to use because they don’t have to be plugged in and there are no wires to worry about. Solar Christmas lights use LED or Light Emitting Diode technology instead of filament bulbs, which not only saves power and creates vivid light, but also stays cooler than typical bulbs and thus eliminate danger of fire.

When buying Solar Xmas lights you should be aware of charging times and lighting times. On average the outdoor solar lights will illuminate for about 7-8 hours while a few brands tout 12 to 15 hours of illumination time. Keep in mind that illumination time is affected by how fully the solar panel is recharged during the day. Also, an exceptionally cloudy, dark day will reduce the nightly illumination time.

Solar Christmas lights are becoming very popular, which has led to increased availability and design choices. They are available in many different shapes such as stars, bells, hearts, snowmen, snowflakes, Santa designs, and more.

If you want to impress your friends and neighbors you may look for some really impressive solar Christmas lights - those that come with a remote control and with options that allow you to create your own light show. Some solar Christmas lights even let you change the level of light output or change the color of the lights with the remote control.

So, buy a set of cool energy efficient solar Christmas lights and enjoy a Greener Christmas with your family and friends!

Estimate Your Roof's Solar Potential with RoofRay

Speaking of useful online tools, I should mention also a solar array modelling service, provided by RoofRay on their homepage. They use Google Maps and various other information to help you estimate the solar potential of your home or business before taking the financial plunge to invest in solar energy.

Using the site's modelling tools, you can evaluate how much solar energy your home could capture and how that would affect your monthly bills based on past weather conditions, current electricity bills, the slope of your house, as well as how many panels your roof can hold.

With Google Maps you can calculate the square footage of your roof and build virtual panels. Then RoofRay estimates the output potential of the roof, costs of installation, and ROI. Another section shows existing installations that have already been completed by other people, including specifics of the roof used and total peak power.

Of course, RoofRay does not replace solar experts, but undoubtedly could answer some of your basic questions, and generally it is a quite interesting online service that deserves our attention.

Website: www.roofray.com

Solar Power Calculating Tools Online

There are a lot of online solar power calculating tools that can help you size your solar power installation. These tools are great in order to find out how much energy approximately your household consume every day and to determinate how much solar power you'll need to run your home appliances.

Power Consumption and System Voltage Free Online Calculators

Discover Your Solar Energy Potential - This calculator will help you determine what kind of system you need. Enter your location, average electricity bill, and desired return, and the calculator will recommend a system size as well as automatically generate the cost of the panels in your area. And it even pulls up rebate information in your area. (US)

Solar Equipment Calculator - This tool is designed to provide an estimate of the quantity of solar power required to run a certain set of appliances. Here you can find also a Peak Charging Hours calculator. (US)

Solar Power Calculator - Use this great solar power calculator to determinate the cost and size of a solar energy system in your area. (US)

SunPower Solar Calculator - Another very complete and comprehensive solar calculator. (US)

Solar Estimator - Estimate the size and calculate the cost to install a solar energy system for your home or building. Besides solar electric (PV), technology options also include solar water heating, pool or spa heating, and space heating & cooling. (US)

Solar Panel Calculator - This calculator will help you calculate approximately how much energy you use every day. (UK)
Solar Panel Table - The table will help you decide which Solar Panel to choose (UK)

Amp & Watt Hour Calculator & Solar System design Tool - This Amp & Watt Hour Calculator is provided to help you make some basic electrical calculations and design your own solar power system. (AU)

Solar Power Calculator - Enter the desired or current power requirements of your appliances into this solar calculator, and the correct solar panel sizes and battery capacity of the system will be determined. (AU)

Sharp USA - The "Solar Calculator" provided by SHARP uses your zip code and current electric bill to create a solar system simulation. Estimate system cost, monthly savings, and payback using this solar calculator. (US)

Kyocera Clean Power Estimator - Use this solar calculator to estimate the energy output, pollution prevention and cost of your grid-connected photovoltaic system. (US)

PV Watts - Created by researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory this online tool calculates electrical energy produced by a grid-connected photovoltaic system. (US)

Keep in mind that the above calculators are useful as a general guide for sizing your solar electricity system and you probably will also need advices and help from professionals.

Calculating Your Solar Power Requirements

One of the most important thing you have to figure out when planning a solar power installation is the size of the solar system you’ll need.

First of all you need to calculate how much power you use on a daily basis. Your electric bill will be of help for this or you can make your own calculation. The power consumption of appliances is given in Watts (eg 21" fluorescent light, 13W). To calculate the energy you will use over time, you have to multiply the power consumption by the hours of use.

The 13W light fitting, on for 2 hours, will take 13 x 2 = 26WH.

Repeat this for all the appliances you wish to use, then add the results to obtain your daily power consumption.

You have to determinate also how much energy your battery can store. Battery capacity is measured in Ampere Hours (Ah). Convert this to Watt Hours by multiplying the Ah figure by the battery voltage: for a 20Ah, 12V battery the Watt Hours figure is 20 x 12 = 240WH.

The more energy you take, the faster the battery discharges. Keep in mind, however, that deep cycle batteries which are usually used in solar power systems, should not be discharged beyond 50% of their capacity. i.e. 50 % capacity remaining. Discharging beyond this level will significantly reduce the life of the batteries.

To calculate the energy your solar panel can supply to the battery, multiply Watts by the hours exposed to sunshine, then multiply the result by 0.85 (factor to allow for normal system losses).

For example, the Solar 40W panel in 4 hours of sunshine, 40 x 4 x 0.85= 136WH. This is the amount of energy the Solar panel can supply to the battery.

On the basis of all these calculations you'll determinate the size and number of solar panels you'll need, the number of batteries, power inverter size, etc.

Basic Things to Consider Before Buying a Solar Electric System

Installing a solar electric system requires very careful initial planning. First of all, you need to know exactly how much electricity your home uses each month. You may look up in your old electricity bills but also you should think about how your electricity needs will change over the next 10 years.

Solar photovoltaic panels can be installed on the roof, along a wall of the property or as standalone systems. If you are planning to install them on your roof, you need to make sure that the roof is strong enough to hold a solar panel because some of these panels can be quite heavy. A roof inspection (and any necessary repair) is recommended prior to a PV installation. Another thing you need to know is that the more sunlight modules collect, the more electricity they produce, thus the more energy your home will receive. Make sure that the roof (or wherever you intend to install your solar panels) is clear of any obstacles, such as trees or buildings, especially during peak production hours between 10am and 2pm.

Ideally, a solar system will go on a south/southwest-facing roof, although east and west facing roofs are good candidates, as well.

You should decide whether your system will be grid-connected or off-grid.With a solar PV system connected to an electric distribution system (grid-connected) you can receive back-up power from it when your system doesn’t produce enough energy for your needs. When your solar PV system produces excess power, that electricity can be send back into the grid, and your local utility is required to buy it from you.

Picture: apps1.eere.energy.gov

A grid-connected solar power system is easily integrated into the existing electrical infrastructure of a house and the system can provide decades of reliable and environmental friendly electricity production.

A stand-alone (off-grid) solar PV system is independent of an electricity distribution grid operated by a utility. The electricity is provided by solar power alone and stored in a battery for later use. Such systems typically make sense in remote locations.

The average solar PV panel last approximately 30 years and many manufacturer warranties last for up to 20-25 years. Solar PV panels are designed and installed to be low-maintenance. However, it is very important to have your solar panels cleaned regularly because they benefit from being hosed off with water twice a year, especially after long periods without rain. Dust or dirt may cause a 10-15% reduction in their efficiency.

Before buying and installing the panels it is also essential to make sure that you understand the installation regulations in your local area. In most cases it is wise to check with the local authority before installing your solar electric system.